Aces streak past exhausted Tigers

A well-rested Alaska Milk team prevailed over a weary Coca-Cola side in Game One of their Smart PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal showdown at the Astrodome last night.

Asi Taulava suffered cramps at endgame obviously due to exhaustion and the Aces cashed in on his exit, scoring an 89-82 victory to move within a game of a semifinal showdown with the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

“The game went the way we wanted it to be. We’re hoping that somehow, somewhere they wear down and they did. They lost the bounce in their steps and it’s completely understandable because of what they’d gone through,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“We kept on pushing them and pushing them, hoping to stem the tide in our favor in the end and it did,” Cone added.

The Aces simply proved to have a lot more energy playing their first game in nine days. The Tigers ran out of gas towards the end of their fourth game in eight days.

Willie Miller scored a game-high 23 points while Reynel Hugnatan had a double-double game with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Aces past the Tigers who had to go through the wildcard stage after finishing ninth in the double-round eliminations.

Taulava churned out a huge double-double game with 25 rebounds and 22 points but limped out of the court due to cramps with a little over two minutes left to play.

Miller knocked in a trey right after Taulava’s exit and the Aces gained a comfortable seven-point advantage at 88-81.

“Asi got his numbers and no wonder he’s cramping. If I do the same, I would be cramping everywhere,” said Cone.

Cone, however, said they’ve conceded that they can’t stop the 6-foot-10 Fil-Tongan behemoth.

“No way we can stop him. We can only limit him by doubling up on him. He’s too big and too strong. We’re hoping to hold him down to 12 to 15,” said Cone.

With Taulava still fresh, the Tigers seized control in the first half, leading by 11 points once at 41-30.

The Tigers took the half at 48-41 before slowly fading away, trailing by five, 64-69, entering the final quarter.

Cone said their plan is to keep on pushing Coca-Cola Friday as they seek to finish the Tigers in two games.

“This is not a slam dunk just because we won Game One. It’s kind of scary because they play well with their backs against the wall,” said Cone.