Aces roast Coffee Masters

WITH its championship core very much intact, Alaska started its quest towards another title on a high note with an 88-64 drubbing of Barako Bull in the 36th Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City last night.

 

Following a so-so first half of play where they were still trying to get the feel of things, the Aces, coming off a championship in last season’s Fiesta Cup, showed their mettle in the third quarter to grab total control en route to a comfortable finish for their first win.
 
Alaska blasted away in the third and shone on both ends of the floor, making the stops and dropping bombs from all over the floor on its way to outscoring the Coffee Masters 29-16 in the period, including a string of five straight treys, for a sizeable 64-50 edge heading to the final frame.
The Barakos tried one last push push via 10-2 run to start the fourth and managed to close to within six, 60-66, with 7:25 left but that proved to be short-lived. The Aces unleashed a furious 10-0 run to stretch the lead back to 16, 76-60, to finally put the game to rest. They finished the game on a 22-4 spread for a 22-point victory, their largest lead of the game.
 
“We talked about getting more aggressive offensively at the half. They played a lot more freely in the second half and stepped up. They got a little bit more aggressive defensively and created some things for their offense through their defense. We played a really good second half on both sides of the floor,’’ said Alaska coach Tim Cone.
The usual suspects for Alaska picked up where they left off, with Joe Devance finishing with a double-double of 24 points with 12 boards along with five dishes while star quarterback LA Tenorio added 18 and seven rebounds.
 
Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio also inserted 11 markers apiece for Alaska. The Aces joined Meralco, Powerade and Talk ‘N Text, who likewise won their opening games, in the winning column.
The Coffee Masters jumped on the Aces and started the game with a 10-0 run and led 27-15 halfway in the second period before the Aces crawled back and grab a slim 35-34 edge heading to the half.
 
“It was a little frustrating back there at the beginning of the basketball game. I think we missed our first seven or eight shots. We talked about that slow start and we kind of expected it but we didn’t expect it to be that bad. I hope we don’t see that kind of half anymore throughout the conference,’’ added Cone.
 
Barako transferee Sunday Salvacion quickly gave what his new team expected of him, scoring a team-high 22 points along with five rebounds off the bench while big man Mark Isip had 14 points but didn’t score a single point in the fourth after being saddled with five fouls early in the final period.
 
Undrafted rookie Hans Thiele surprisingly had a strong debut as the athletic center dropped in 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
The Coffee Masters, who finished dead last in the last four conferences, joined Ginebra, Rain or Shine and defending champions B-Meg Derby Ace as teams who dropped their opening assignments.