MANILA, Philippines -- Stopped the last time out, Alaska Milk came back strong and regained solo lead after halting Petron Blaze’s own hot charge, 83-73, in a tight seesawing game marred by a bizarre finish in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
The Aces made a good defensive job on tournament scoring leader Renaldo Balkman, so much so that they drove the Petron import to go wild with 21 seconds left to play.
After missing a shot off Rob Dozier, Balkman made a scene, confronting the referees and later some teammates in an incident that went so bad seeing the Petron import choke Arwind Santos in full view of everyone at the Big Dome and those watching on TV.
The Aces held Balkman down to six points on 3-of-16 field shooting as they bounced back from a loss to the San Mig Coffee Mixers 48 hours ago and moved back atop the heap at 6-1.
Before the game, Balkman averaged a tournament-best 28.2 points a game.
He shoved away teammates Ronald Tubid and Santos, not wanting to be pacified as he’s after the referees.
“We had a law today. Balkman was the reason why they got 5-0. It’s not everyday you stop him but I’m proud how Rob Dozier matched up with him,†said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.