MANILA, 12 June 2008 — Alaska stayed in seventh heaven. Sad thing for Welcoat, the Dragons fell from it.
The Aces tore the Dragons to shreds in the final three periods last night to go on and coast to a 104-81 victory, the Aces’ sixth straight triumph that put them into a third place tie in the eliminations of the Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Alaska established the longest winning streak in the tournament and the Aces, from looking like champions with no chance of repeating, are looking like formidable threats once again after improving to 8-6.
“We’re just coming out and playing hard each game,” Alaska coach Tim Cone later said, trying so hard to downplay how easy this win came. “This current group is playing so well. It’s just an amazing thing.
“I guess we just did a good job at preparing for this game,” the grand slam-winning mentor added. “We knew that Welcoat is a dangerous team and no way were we going to take them lightly.”
The run started when the Aces were toting a 2-6 card, playing disorganized basketball and looking very much like a lost lot. But things have suddenly fell in their right places with everyone contributing their share.
“We know that it is (winning streak) not going to last forever,” Cone also said. “But we will see how long we can ride it.”
Barangay Ginebra dealt sister team Purefoods a second straight loss later and the Gin Kings sustained their steady ascent out of the cellar after pounding out an 89-81 victory over the Tender Juicy Giants.
Jay-Jay Helterbrand nailed a critical three-pointer with 36.6 seconds remaining as the Kings, playing without the injured Mark Caguioa for the fourth straight game, finished the Giants with a flurry.
Helterbrand actually shot seven points in an 11-2 closing spurt by the Kings, who also got a personal season high 21 points and nine rebounds from Ronald Tubid and 20 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks from import Chris Alexander.
Ginebra rose to 6-8 and tied its victim with the win, now good for an eighth place tie, a good two games clear of the cellar-dwelling Dragons, who dropped to 4-11.
“It’s really tough playing without Mark (Caguioa),” Ginebra coach Jong Uichico said. “We really need guys like Jay-Jay and Ronald to step up, otherwise, we’re doomed.”
Welcoat came into the game with most experts giving them a chance of upsetting the hottest team in the league. The Dragons were, after all, coming in fresh from a 102-97 victory over Purefoods in a road game in Tubod, Lanao del Norte on Saturday.
But after a tied game at 23 in the third, the Aces steadily broke away, closing out the half with a nine-point lead and then the third with a 14-point bubble.
And there was no stopping Alaska after that as the entire Welcoat crew struggled in the second half. The Dragons even trailed by 29 late in the fourth quarter, no thanks to another uninspired performance by their second import, Corey Santee.
The 6-foot Santee scored just three points and could join the growing roster of reinforcements who have been given their pink slips in the past couple of days, including Magnolia’s Jameel Watkins and Sta. Lucia’s Jamar Brown.
Watkins has reportedly been waived by coaching staff with a still unnamed replacement set to plane in just in time for the Beverage Masters’ clash with the Realtors tomorrow at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Lee Benson, a 6-foot-9 ex-convict who served an eight-year sentence because of abduction with a firearm and drug trafficking, will be coming in to take the place of Brown, the Realtors’ ineffective replacement for the tantrum-filled Wesley Wilson.
