Games today
Mall of Asia Arena
3:00 p.m.- Talk ‘N Text vs. Mahindra
5:15 p.m.- Barako Bull vs. Barangay Ginebra
After posting an easy win against a powerhouse team the last time out, the Alaska Aces had to scramble before surviving a lightweight opponent as they survived expansion team Blackwater Elite, 87-79, yesterday in the week-old 41st PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The scrambling victory allowed the Aces to earn a piece of the lead, tying the NLEX Road Warriors, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and defending champions San Miguel Beermen at the top spot with identical 2-0 (win-loss) cards.
Alaska was heavily favored against Blackwater after starting the All-Filipino tournament with a rousing 114-98 win over the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.
The Elite, however, gave the Aces a bit more than they could handle before caving in at the endgame.
“Honestly, I didn’t like our form much today. I think we were fantastic against TNT. There’s just not an easy game in the PBA. Blackwater is an expansion team and they came to play, gave us more than what we wanted. I feel fortunate that we won this game,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.
The Aces went into the final half down by seven points, 41-48. They got going in the third period before Vic Manuel scored the bulk of his 13 points in the final stanza to help the Aces seal the win.
Manuel dumped eight of his total output in the fourth and also added seven rebounds and two blocked shots.
“Hopefully, the mistakes that we made, we will learn from it.”
Chris Banchero also scored 13 points for Alaska, Tony dela Cruz added 11 points while JVee Casio finished with 10.
JP Erram tallied 13 markers for Blackwater, which dropped to 0-2.
In the second game, the GlobalPort Batang Pier (1-1) barged into the win column after tripping the Star Hotshots (1-2), 101-94.
THE SCORES
FIRST GAME
ALASKA (87)- Banchero 13, Manuel 13, Dela Cruz 11, Casio 10, Abueva 7, Dela Rosa 7, Thoss 6, Hontiveros 5, Baclao 4, Baguio 4, Exciminiano 4, Jazul 2, Magat 1, Eman 0.
BLACKWATER (79)- Erram 13, Cervantes 11, Canada 10, Melano 10, Cortez 9, Reyes 7, Gamalinda 5, Ballesteros 4, Sena 4, Agovida 3, Golla 2, Lastimosa 1, Vosotros 0.
QUARTER SCORES: 20-22, 41-48, 69-66, 87-79.
SECOND GAME
GLOBALPORT (101)- Pringle 23, Romeo 20, Kramer 14, Jensen 12, Washington 10, Mamaril 8, Yeo 8, Maierhofer 4, Paniamogan 2, Sumang 0, Uyloan 0.
STAR (94)- Pingris 14, Barroca 13, Simon 12, Sangalang 11, Torres 10, Yap 10, Pascual R. 7, Taha 7, Melton 4, Pascual J. 4, Mallari 2.
QUARTER SCORES: 24-17, 48-46, 74-73, 101-94.