Saturday, December 06, 2008 Alaska breaches 10-win mark
MANILA - A fired up Alaska Aces showed what it takes to be at the top of the heap as they demolished the Coca-Cola Tigers, 99-83 , yesterday in the second round of elimination in the 34th PBA-KFC Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Even as all the rest of the nine teams are trying to pull them down from the top of the standing, the Aces stood firm and played with a solid defense and fluid offense to become the first team in the conference to win 10 games.
LA Tenorio, Joe Devance and Willie Miller led the Aces’ fiery offense from start to finish with a combined 50 points that wrought havoc on the Tigers’ offense.
“It’s a good win for us and it was a good recovery from that loss to Sta. Lucia. We got going after that loss and we are playing with a lot of energy now,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.
Aside from Tenorio, Devance and Miller, Jeffrey Cariaso and Larry Fonacier also finished with double-digits in a fiery display of firepower that moved them just three wins away from formally clinching the first outright semifinal berth.
“We do everything that we would like to do especially against Asi (Taulava). We have been very cautious of him. We got to play Purefoods without (Kerby) Raymundo, we got to play Ginebra without Mark (Caguioa). Those were lucky breaks for the team,” said Cone.
Coach Cone, however, expressed deep reservation in the team’s fine performance and for their quest for their third All-Filipino crown, saying they are not yet at the peak of their game.
“Well done by our team so far in this conference. But you don’t peak this early when you think you are going to enter the semis. We can not afford to peak early. We are still rebuilding the team,” said Cone.
Tenorio top-scored for the Aces with 18 points, three rebounds, five assists and a lone steal. Devance and Miller added 16 points apiece and a combined 12 rebounds. Cariaso had 14, while Fonacier added 13.
Taulava had another double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while Mark Telan contributed 15 points for the Tigers.
And with Miller, Devance and Tenorio firing well in both ends of the court, the Aces jumped to an early 27-15 first period advantage.
The 6-foot-7 sophomore Devance connected two straight baskets and Tenorio added a jumper to make it 33-16 en route to a big 20-point lead, 51-31, at the half.
Despite the big lead, the Aces used the match as a showcase of their awesome firepower and tight defensive gem that stretch the gap to its biggest, 75-47, still 1:22 remaining in the third quarter. (FCC)
