Depleted Aces deal Elite 6th loss

MANILA, Philippines — A nine-man Alaska Milk squad continued to do a wondrous job, scoring a second straight win on a 103-101 nipping of Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City last night.

Chris Banchero, Carl Bryan Cruz, Jeron Teng and Sonny Thoss led the way for the badly crippled Aces as they fended off the Elite to stay among the front-runners heading to a two-week break.

Banchero and Thoss best demonstrated the poise and composure the Aces showed at endgame to nail a second win after a 94-72 rout of Columbian Dyip a week ago.

The two players coolly sank pressure-laden shots that had the Aces grabbing the lead for good at 103-100 with time down to 34 seconds.

The Elite couldn’t keep the momentum of a chase from 13 points down and reeled to a sixth loss against a lone win.

“We’re missing a lot of key players but the other guys are stepping up. I’m just proud of my teammates,” said Thoss, himself turning back the hands of time to help with 16 points, five rebounds and one assist.

“Give us a few weeks back, and our key guys will be back, we’ll be getting back to the system, and we could be a lot better,” Thoss also said.

Later in the night, James Yap rebounded quickly from a two-point game the last time out, firing away 18 this time, including the game-winning three-point play as pacesetter Rain Or Shine stayed on a hot run with a 75-74 nail-biter over Magnolia.

Yap beat Paul Lee on their exciting showdown at the finish, eluding the double-teaming defense of Rome dela Rosa and Rafi Reavis to deliver the winning play in Rain Or Shine’s seventh win against a lone loss.

The scores:

First Game

Alaska 103 – Teng 18, Cruz 18, Thoss 16, Exciminiano 14, Banchero 11, Ayaay 9, Pascual 8, Galliguez 7, Potts 2, Baclao 0.

Blackwater 101 – Maliksi 25, Sumang 18, Digregorio 14, Jose 9, Tratter 7, Belo 7, Sena 6, Cortez 6, Desiderio 4, Alolino 3, Eriobu 2, Javier 0, Banal 0.

Quarterscores: 29-28, 49-48, 75-72, 103-101

Second Game

Rain Or Shine 75 – Yap 18, Ahanmisi 13, Torres 11,  Rosales 7, Norwood 6, Almazan 5, Belga 4, Nambatac 3, Ponferada 3, Mocon 3, Onwubere 2, Daquioag 0.

Magnolia 74 – Sangalang 16, Barroca 16, Herndon 11, Lee 10, Reavis 9, Brondial 7, Dela Rosa 2, Jalalon 2, Pascual 1, Melton 0.

Quarterscores: 24-14, 40-33, 55-49, 75-74