WELL-RESTED and prepared, Alaska Milk proved too much against a weary Coca-Cola side to score an 89-82 win in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinals series in the PBA Smart-Philippine Cup last night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Willie Miller scattered a game-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field in 39 minutes to lead the Aces.
Veteran forward Reynel Hugnatan came through with 17 points and 10 rebounds while forward John Ferriols and playmaker Mike Cortez contributed 11 points apiece and Jeffrey Cariaso made 10 to complement Miller’s offensive.
The Aces go for the semifinals tomorrow when they face the Tigers anew at 7:20 p.m., also at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The 4:50 p.m. opener will also see Red Bull gunning for the coveted semifinals slot against Magnolia Beveragesl.
The Bulls similarly gained a 1-0 lead by outplaying the Beverage Masters, 107-104, in their separate series in the second game.
"That was a tough game," Alaska coach Tim Cone, whose team is coming off a 12-day break when they last beat Purefoods TJ Hotdogs, 109-102, last Jan. 11, said.
"It was such a defensive battle out there. But we kinda wear them down a little bit, and they did. Asi (Taulava) cramped, Mark (Telan) got tired. They lost their balance, their step and it’s understandable with what they went through," Cone added.
The Tigers made it through this stage after surviving the wildcard phase, beating Talk ’N Text, 81-73, last Friday and Air21, 109-102, over the weekend.
The 6-foot-9 Taulava, the 2003 MVP whom Coke got via a trade with TNT last Nov. 26, had a monstrous game with 22 points and 25 rebounds.
It was Taulava’s 15th double-double this season and the second time he had a 20-20 performance. But this proved not enough to lift the Tigers past the inspired Aces.
Coke was actually dictating the tempo in the early going and led 41-30 on a three-pointer by Ricky Calimag with six minutes left in the second period. The Tigers were up, 48-41, at halftime.
However, things started to turn the Aces’ way in the second half.
With Cortez and Hugnatan leading the attack, Alaska outscored Coke in the third period, 28-16, to take a 69-64 lead entering the final frame.
Twice the Tigers got to within a single point, the last at 77-78 on a jumper by Alex Cabagnot. But Miller starred in a 10-4 run which he capped with a three-pointer to take an 88-81 lead with 1:39 to go.
The scores:
First Game
ALASKA 89 — Miller 23, Hugnatan 17, Ferriols 11, Cortez 11, Cariaso 10, Thoss 8, Dela Cruz 7, Quinahan 2, Bono 0, Aban 0, Cabatu 0.
COCA-COLA 82 — Taulava 22, Telan 13, Calimag 12, Cabagnot 9, Tolomia 6, Buenafe 5, Dimaunahan 5, Arigo 4, Enrile 2, Isip 2, Misolas 2.
Quarters: 21-21, 41-48, 69-64, 89-82.
ALASKA — 21 20 28 20 — 89
COCA-COLA — 21 27 16 18 — 82
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20080124115223.html
No comments:
Post a Comment