Aces try to pull away, face Texters

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk presses its bid for the No. 1 spot even as three other teams continue to jockey for position behind the Aces in an explosive twinbill in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum today.

The Aces, now a full game ahead of the second running San Miguel Beermen with a 10-1 win-loss card, battle the Talk n Text Tropang Texters at 5 p.m., looking to distance themselves farther from the rest of the field.

Barangay Ginebra and Sta. Lucia Realty clash in the other game at 7:30 p.m. with both hoping to improve their records in the middle of the pack.

“This time of the year is always a difficult time to keep your focus on the task at hand. That’s our battle for the Talk n Text game because we know if we’re not focused, they can embarrass us. They are that good,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“We’re playing the best team so it will take nothing less than our best to prove that we can compete with the big boys,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

In the spirit of the Christmas season, the league, meanwhile, has announced it is giving away mobile phones and cash prize worth P10,000 every game day to lucky ticket holders.

Since the league started the “Pamaskong Handog ng PBA” promo last Dec. 2, eight PBA patrons have already won Cherry Mobile phones.

One ticket holder is drawn every Wednesday and Friday game days while two winners are picked during Sunday’s doubleheader. Besides the classy mobile phones, the league has also put up a cash pot of P10,000 every game day for the winner of the “PBA Sakto Shot.”

The Aces and the Texters are expected to figure in a fierce duel with both riding the momentum of a hot streak.

Alaska upended Talk n Text, 110-106, in their initial tiff with Willie Miller churning out a solid all-round game with 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists and five other Aces also finishing in double figures.

It’s a contest pitting the hottest backcourt duos in the league today — Miller and LA Tenorio for Alaska and Macmac Cardona and Jimmy Alapag for Talk n Text.

Cardona leads the league in scoring, Alapag paces everybody in assists while Miller and Tenorio are in the top 10 in both scoring and assists.