MANILA: With everything seemingly in place, the challenge right now for Alaska coach Tim Cone is how to maintain his team’s focus.
The Aces last night clinched at least a playoff for the last quarterfinal slot by easily disposing of Coca-Cola, 99-83 at the Araneta Coliseum, and Cone does not want his players to look too far ahead, but instead, keep their sights on the immediate task.
“I have told then time and again to stay focused on the immediate right now, and that is Red Bull (the Aces’ next assignment),” Cone told scribes after leading by as many as 28 points and later on improving their league-leading slate to 10-4.
And while Alaska is having it rosy, Barangay Ginebra lost for the first time in five games, and in a very ugly way, later.
The Gin Kings, with Jay-Jay Helterbrand still out with a groin injury, took an 102-84 defeat at the hands of Air21 in the second game to drop into a four-team logjam for fifth spot that made the final weeks of the elimination even more interesting.
Ginebra trailed early and was never able to get back in the game, dropping to 7-7, the same slate now held by the Express, idle Purefoods and defending champion Sta. Lucia. Gary David tossed in 25 points to lead Air21, which also got 16 points and 11 rebounds from national pool member Ranidel de Ocampo in the Express’ first victory over the Gins since the Fiesta Cup Finals last season.
It was the eighth double-double for De Ocampo, who tied Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams and Coke’s Asi Taulava for the most number of that achievement this conference. Taulava had 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Tigers last night.
With Helterbrand out, the Kings had the same problem as the Tigers, who were also without starting point guard Alex Cabagnot.
Both teams looked like headless chickens in their respective games last night, with the Tigers committing 22 turnovers in the first three quarters and Ginebra coughing the ball up 20 times in the first two periods. Ginebra, which came into the contest riding the crest of a four-game winning streak, was averaging just 17 boo-boos a night.
And that translated into 26 Air21 points as the Express broke away early and never looked back even if a slight altercation between Ginebra’s Junthy Valenzuela and Air21’s KG Canaleta occurred late in the second quarter.
Valenzuela was tossed out of the court after hitting Canaleta with a closed fist at the back of the head, gaining a flagrant foul 2 in the process to face suspension and another hefty fine.
Billy Mamaril and Alex Crisano paced the Kings with 15 points each.
The Aces held the Tigers to just 31 first half points, taking a 20-point lead into the third period before cruising the rest of the way.
Though the Tigers did manage to cut a 75-47 third quarter deficit to just 12 a couple of times late in the game, it was clear that the Aces were already on their skates and were beyond reach.
