Aces surge to 3rd win in row

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk, still working to get back in shape coming off the season break, remained tough as ever, making it three in a row in the PBA Philippine Cup with an 88-80 drubbing of Rain or Shine at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Aces again employed a resolute defense, holding the Elasto Painters to 35-percent field goal shooting as they notched their third straight win in the season following earlier victories over the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados.

Meanwhile, the PBA holds a game for the first time in over two decades in Naga City tonight, pitting the Llamados and the Air21 Express in the second leg of the Phoenix Fuel PBA on Tour.

Derby Ace and Air21 are the two remaining winless teams in the tournament, setting out for their match with 0-2 (win-loss) marks.

“We can’t complain with 3-0. This is where we want to be. But we’re just lucky to be here. We’re not in playoff form. We should be in playoff form every time. That’s the standard I want our team to bring all the time,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“Maybe it’s because of fatigue but they’re (Rain or Shine) tired as well. We have to improve. Teams like San Miguel Beer, Talk n Text and Ginebra are playing very well,” Cone added.

Like in their first two games, the Aces – playing in retro uniform as part of the celebration of their 25th year in the league – had to shake off a sluggish start in fending off the Elasto Painters.

Starters Joe De Vance, Cyrus Baguio, LA Tenorio, Sonny Thoss and Tony dela Cruz all delivered huge stats as the Aces handed the Elasto Painters their second loss in three games.

De Vance and Thoss both came through with a double-double performance with the former logging 25 points and 12 rebounds and the latter tallying 16 rebounds and 11 points on top of six assists.

Baguio also had a solid all-around game with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals with Tenorio and Dela Cruz adding 11 points apiece.

The whole team also combined well on the other end, allowing no Rain or Shine player to score by more than 10 points.

Sol Mercado, the team’s top scorer last season with an average of 16.7 points, was held to five points in the first 47 minutes of the game. He added five points in the dying seconds.

The Elasto Painters, who squeaked past the Express, 89-86, last Wednesday on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Jeff Chan, actually got off to a good start, taking the opening quarter at 26-19.

Talk n Text played heads-up game throughout as it clobbered Meralco, 92-84, also for its third win in as many games.

Larry Fonacier, Kelly Williams, Ali Peek and Ryan Reyes all put in double-digit outputs for the Texters who dealt the B-Boys their second loss against one win.