MANILA—The Alaska Aces and the Derby Ace Llamados will gun for a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2 of the best-of-five quarterfinal series of the 35th Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome today.
Import Diamon Simpson is again expected to lead the Aces against the Ginebra Kings at 4 p.m., while James Yap and Peter Jun Simon vowed to make it two in a row over Rain or Shine in their 6:30 p.m. encounter.
The 2007 MVP Yap fired 31 points while the 6’ Simon, a 43rd pick by Sta. Lucia in 2001, connected a triple in the crucial stretch to lift the Llamados to a pulsating 108-102 triumph over the Elasto Painters last Friday.
Not to be outdone, the 6’6” Simpson, a former St. Mary’s College standout, finished with 20 points and 22 rebounds to lead Alaska, 76-72, over Ginebra last Friday. He also scored three of Alaska’s last four points.
Simpson’s spirited play deflated the Kings in the endgame and that paved the way for the Aces to make it five in a row against the Kings in the playoff matches. Alaska swept GInebra, 4-0, in the recent Philippine Cup.
“We are expecting a tough series,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone, whose defensive play held the Kings scoreless in the last 2:13 of the game.