The 2014 PBA Philippine Cup Playoffs opened last
night and saw the dethronement of the Purefoods Star Hotshots at the hands of
the Meralco Bolts. In the other game, the Alaska Aces survived a gritty stand
by the NLEX Road Warriors to advance to the next round.
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| Vic Manuel led Alaska's win over NLEX, while Jared Dillinger made sure Meralco would dethrone the Hotshots. |
Game Capsules (adapted from InterAKTV):
ALASKA ACES over NLEX ROAD WARRIORS, 82-78
The Alaska Aces advanced to the second phase of the
quarterfinal round after surviving a tough challenge from 10th seed NLEX,
82-78, in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay
City. The No. 3-ranked Aces didn’t even need their twice-to-beat advantage as
they closed out their series in a single game, moving one step away from the
semifinals. Vic Manuel led the way with 13 points for Alaska, while Cyrus
Baguio and JVee Casio each added 11. Dondon Hontiveros added 10 from off the
bench. Alaska led by double-figures at the half, but had to stave off an NLEX
comeback in the last two periods before escaping with the win. Aldrech Ramos
hit 2 triples and finished with 17 points to pace the Road Warriors, who also
got 10 markers and 14 boards from Asi Taulava.
Line of the
Game: Asi Taulava - 10pts, 14rebs,
4asts, 1blk, 4/7 FGs. |
| Asi Taulava tries to wrestle the ball away from an Alaska player. |
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| JV Casio pops the cap from long range. |
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| Vic Manuel played big for the Aces. |
MERALCO BOLTS over PUREFOODS
STAR HOTSHOTS, 77-65
The Meralco Bolts put an end to Purefoods streak of
four consecutive championships after dismantling the Grand Slam champions,
77-65, in their quarterfinal clashat the Cuneta Astrodome. Meralco entered the
matchup with a twice-to-beat advantage but didn’t even need it after putting
away Purefoods in just one game. Jared Dillinger led the way with 14 points and
Cliff Hodge added 12 to lead a balanced effort for the Bolts. JR Sena scored 11
points, several of those at crucial points for Meralco, and Mike Cortez added
11 points, including three three-pointers. As for Purefoods, Joe Devance scored
a team-high 21 points on 9/13 FG shooting, while James Yap and Mark Barroca
added 14 and 12 points respectively.
Line of the
Game: Joe Devance - 21pts, 6rebs,
3asts, 2stls, 2 triples, 9/13 FGs.
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| JR Sena was solid in the middle for Meralco. |
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| Jared Dillinger tries to get past Yousef Taha. |
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| Not even JDV's great game could save the Hotshots. |
Images by Paul Ryan Tan/Sports5.
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