Miller triple double lifts Aces vs Bulls

MANILA, Philippines - Willie Miller came through with a career third triple-double performance as Alaska Milk scored a 99-83 win over Barako Bull to start its campaign in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night on a high note.

Miller piled up 19 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds with Reynel Hugnatan, LA Tenorio and Joe Devance putting in their share as the Aces got to a winning start in the tourney where they’re looking to improve their second-place finish last year.

“We played a little nervous at the start with only our defense allowing us to keep the game close. But we started to hit our shots in the second half, we got our rhythm and pulled away,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“Hopefully, this game set the tone of the season for us. We lost to an all-Filipino San Miguel side at the start of last conference and it set the tone of our campaign in that tourney,” Cone added.

Barako Bull took control in the first half while employing a box-and-one defense and going to Yousif Aljamal and Jojo Duncil on the offensive end.

The Aces, however, figured how to handle the Energy Boosters’ defense in the second half, hitting their strides with Miller, Hugnatan and Tenorio leading their assault.

“Lots of credit goes to coach Joel Banal for our big time halftime adjustment. He designed the plays enabling us to break their box-and-one,” said Cone.

Miller put in 15 points, Hugnatan added 13 and Tenorio contributed eight as the Aces beat the Energy Boosters by 19 points in the final half.

Hugnatan finished with 18 points and six rebounds, Tenorio wound up with 15 points, three rebounds and three assists with Devance adding 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

Aljamal, a transferee from Talk n Text, led Barako Bull with career highs 18 points and 15 rebounds for a career first double-double job.

“The pressure was on us as we all know that expectations are low on Barako Bull. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose in this contest,” said Cone. “Good thing, we figured how to beat them.”

“We’re surprised by their box-and-one defense. Everyone wanted to attack on isolation play and it didn’t work. We needed some adjustment to get our game going in the second half,” said Miller.