By Olmin Leyba
GAMES ON SATURDAY
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
4 p.m. – NLEX vs Phoenix
6:45 p.m. – Ginebra vs. Magnolia
MAKING the most of the opportunity against a long-skidding opponent, Alaska Milk steamrolled Blackwater, 98-75, to regain traction in the 46th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Skipper Maverick Ahanmisi took charge with 17 points plus eight rebounds as the Aces arrested a two-game slump and improved to 3-2 in a game that was essentially an all-Filipino battle with both imports playing sparingly due to injuries.
Alaska’s Olu Ashaolu strained his calf and managed to score 10 in 22 minutes while Blackwater’s Jaylen Bond, bothered by groin injury, posted two in what could possibly be his farewell outing for the Bossing (0-5).
Jeron Teng added 14 while Rob Herndon and former Blackwater Mike Tolomia chipped in 12 apiece for Jeff Cariaso’s squad, which bounced back from heartbreaking losses to Barangay Ginebra (80-77) and TNT (81-77).
“We felt those two were winnable games so going into this game, we just focused on the intangibles and not committing many turnovers,” said Mr. Cariaso.
“Just staying hungry, staying focused, and playing within what we do and we believe good things will happen to us.”
Mr. Cariaso added they made sure they had the right mentality in the clash with the Bossing, who were determined to snap a long-standing 23-game losing streak prior to Wednesday’s matchup.
“We used an analogy of playing against your older brother in one-on-one pickup all your life. There’s always one time when you’re going to beat your older brother so we focused on making sure that tonight, that doesn’t happen to us,” he said. “I think perspective played a big part in understanding that they (Bossing) are gonna be ready to play.”
A limping Mr. Ashaolu exited the game in the third quarter and Mr. Cariaso is praying he will recover fully in time for the Aces next assignment after the holidays.
The Aces unleashed a 17-7 second-quarter closeout to establish initial separation from the Bossing, 50-43.
Further tightening the defensive screws after the break, the Aces held Blackwater to only 17 points in the third quarter on a 29.4% clip and enjoyed a 20-point lead at one point.
They later widened the gap to as many as 26 at 92-66 before settling for a 23-point winning margin.