The Aces dominated the main game of a weekday doubleheader at the Astrodome, but didn’t have their second straight win in the bag until James Yap missed a long three-pointer in the final 14 seconds with Alaska up by only four, 89-85.
L.A. Tenorio iced the victory by going 3-of-4 from the line the rest of the way.
The reigning Fiesta Cup champions are now tied with idle Talk `N Text on top of the standings with identical 2-0 records.
Joe DeVance, who had 24 points, seven rebounds and two block shots to pace the Aces, said the team is bound to get even better as the season-opening meet progresses.
“We’re just about 85 percent. We still have to work on our Triangle (offense), and we still have to work on our defense. But the sooner we get to that, we’ll get better," said DeVance, who failed to finish the game due to cramps.
Four other Aces also finished in double figures, including Sonny Thoss, who scored 10 markers, but grabbed 21 rebounds in a dominant showing at the low post against a depleted Llamados team that played without injured big men Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris and Raffi Reavis.
The Aces clobbered the Llamados off the boards, 50-38.
Derby Ace remained winless after two games in the conference it won a year ago following a four-game sweep of Alaska in the Finals.
But the Llamados didn’t simply fade away against the Aces.
Several times they trailed by double-digit deficits, and yet always managed to claw their way back.
Their last stand came with 28 seconds left when Yap converted on a one-hander inside the shaded box to cut what was once a 10-point Alaska lead to only two, 87-85.
The Aces answered back at the other end as Bonbon Custodio made a spin move against Roger Yap to make it a four-point game.
The Llamados went to Yap following a time out, but the two-time league MVP’s hurried three-pointer went short to seal Derby Ace’s fate.
James Yap shared scoring honors with Peter June Simon at 16 points apiece to lead the Llamados’ losing cause. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV
No comments:
Post a Comment