The Alaska Aces won their third game in a row to move up to fourth in the team standings even as the Gin Kings responded positively after being called out on twitter by Mark Caguioa.
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| Mark Caguioa sparks Ginebra's big win over Meralco (above), while Rob Dozier pushes the Aces to their third straight win (below). (image by Enzo Flojo/Hoopp Nut) |
In the curtain-raiser, Alaska overcame Barako Bull, 78-71
Luigi Trillo breathed a huge sigh of relief after the Aces made big plays down the stretch to preserve their lead and finally nail a winning record since the conference began.At 4-3, the Aces are now running fourth in the team standings and are riding high on a three-game winning run. Alaska plays Ginebra and then San Mig Super Coffee in its last two games, and the Aces have a more than fair chance against both. They might even move up to as high as second by the end of the elims.
JC Intal has been having an impressive a great conference, but in this particular game he struggled big time, scoring just 2 points in 18 minutes of play. The rest of the team didn’t do so well, too. Josh Dollard shot just 7/19 from the floor for a pedestrian 26 points (nine lower than his average), while the backcourt duo of Willie Miller and Denok Miranda combined for just 5/17 field goals. And the 18 turnovers? Don’t even get me started.
Rising Rob: Unlike Dollard, Rob Dozier will never give you 40 points a game. He’s just not that kind of player, but he will give you a lot of the other things needed for a team to win. Yes, Dozier was barf-worthy from the floor, shooting just 6/14 from the field, but he affects a game in so many other ways. He hauled down 15 rebounds, had 2 steals, dished out 2 assists, and blocked 1 shot. This much is clear: he won’t give up that Commissioner’s Cup title without a helluva fight.
In the nightcap Ginebra defeated Meralco, 88-78.
Weirdly enough, perhaps Mark Caguioa’s calling out his team on twitter was, pardon the pun, just the spark the Kings needed to finally notch a W after losing four of their last five. The iconic Caguioa tweeted a reprimanded clearly directed at his teammates, who, generally, seemed to play just for the cameras instead of for the win. He backed this up on the court, too, scoring 13 points, grabbing 4 rebounds, and handing out 4 assists to help the beleaguered Kings stay alive in their hunt for a top four spot heading to the next round.
The numbers don’t lie — Meralco shot just 33% from the field, were -15 in assists, and had three more turnovers than Ginebra. The Bolts were the ones zapped here, and whatever momentum they might have had early on in the conference has all but disappeared. Sure, they should still make the next round, but they’ll be easy pickings for whomever they will face (most likely sister team Talk N Text).
The Right Response: The rest of the Gin Kings responded well to Caguioa’s challenge of playing with more intensity. Chris Ellis, Greg Slaughter, LA Tenorio, and Josh Urbiztondo all
scored 10 points or more to underscore Ginebra’s balanced attack in this game. Air Force Ellis paced all locals with 16 points, while Gregzilla contributed 15 markers, 7 boards, and 2 blocks. These made up for the rather underwhelming debut of two-time NBA champion Josh Powell, who delivered just 16 points.
Game Recaps:
ALASKA over BARAKO BULL, 78-71
Last season, the Alaska Aces rode their stingy defense all the way to winning the Commissioner’s Cup.
After a slow start, the defending champions have begun to pick up their effort on that end, which has translated into a winning roll.
The Aces clamped down on Barako Bull, 78-71, on Wednesday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum for their third straight victory in the PLDT Home TVolution Commissioner’s Cup.
“Good defensive job again,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, whose team improved to 4-3, moving into a winning record for the first time in the tournament.
But with a short nine-game elimination round, Trillo underscored the importance of their remaining two games.
“We just have to keep on winning, that’s how important the games are,” said Trillo, as the Aces will wrap up their elimination round schedule against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Coffee.
“We’re not out of it yet.”
Alaska held prolific Barako Bull import Josh Dollard to just 26 points, below his per-game norm of 35. The Aces won despite making just 38 percent of their shots by holding Barako Bull to below 36 percent shooting.
Barako Bull was still in the game until the final minute, after Dollard made two foul shots to cut the Alaska lead to just three points, 70-67.
But JVee Casio nailed a clutch jumper to push the Alaska lead to five points, before the Aces forced a turnover on Denok Miranda to seal the deal.
Barako Bull was unable to build on its upset win over the Mixers last Tuesday, dropping to 2-5 in the standings.
ALA 78 – Dozier 18, Espinas 14, Casio 10, Abueva 9, Hontiveros 8, Jazul 6, Thoss 6, Manuel 4, Baguio 3, Reyes 0, Dela Cruz 0.
BAR 71 – Dollard 26, Pennisi 12, Miller 7, Isip 6, Miranda 6, Lastimosa 5, Fortuna 2, Buenafe 2, Pena 2, Wilson 1, Marcelo 0.
QS: 13-17, 26-30, 53-50, 78-71
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| Robert Dozier and the Aces are gaining momentum as we close out the elims. |
GINEBRA over MERALCO, 88-78
After calling out his Barangay Ginebra San Miguel teammates amid their slow start in the PLDT Home TVolution Commissioner’s Cup, Mark Caguioa walked the talk, sparking the team to an 88-78 victory over the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Prior to the game, Caguioa took to Twitter as the Gin Kings started the tournament with a 2-4 record.
“If this team play the way we practice we would be unstoppable. Kaso pag meron ng camera wala na parang pa pogian lang. Walang gigil at galit sa laro. Gusto ko rin makita na sana yung nakikipag laban sa bangaan hindi yung lagi kami tinitulak or binabanga #LETSWAKEUPGINEBRA” he wrote on his account.
Caguioa came out aggressive, scoring seven points in the first quarter to set the tone for the Gin Kings, who took a 27-21 lead in the opening period.
But the Bolts battled back behind new import Darnell Jackson, who had 25 points. Behind his inside game, Meralco took the lead briefly midway through the fourth period.
Ginebra was ahead by a hairline, 71-70, when Caguioa hit a three-pointer. That shot touched off a 15-3 run that put the game away for the Gin Kings.
Debuting Ginebra import Josh Powell had a quiet game with 16 points. Chris Ellis also had 16, leading five locals in double-figures for the Gin Kings.
Meralco dropped to 3-4 in a tie with the Gin Kings in the standings.
GIN 88 –Powell 16, Ellis 16, Slaughter 15, Caguioa 13, Tenorio 10, Urbiztondo 10, Aguilar 3, Helterbrand 3, Baracael 2, Mamaril 0.
MER 78 — Jackson 25, David 18, Dillinger 11, Hugnatan 9, Hodge 9, Caram 3, Al-Hussaini 2, Artadi 12, Ildefonso 0, Sena 0, Guevarra 0, Wilson 0, Mandani 0.
QS: 27-21; 44-40; 63-60; 88-78
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| Mark Caguioa shoots over new Meralco import Darnell Jackson. |
Recaps by Rey Joble/InterAKTV.
Images by Nuki Sabio/PBA.
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