MANILA: At least for Game 1, it seemed like rest was everything.

Early semifinalists Alaska and San Miguel zoomed to comfortable wins over separate, fagged-out foes Wednesday night to draw first blood in their respective Final Four series in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

With both squads coming off three-week rests, the Aces and the Beermen found Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods as easy pickings with Alaska scoring a 104-79 victory over the Gin Kings and San Miguel pounding out a 99-83 win over the Tender Juicy Giants.

“It’s a good start, definitely something we hope we can build momentum on,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone, whose team did not show any ill effects of a 19-day layoff, the prize for topping the elimination round with a 13-5 slate.

“But it’s nothing to get too excited about. They were tired and emotionally drained that’s why there’s always an advantage to get the top two (places in the eliminations to qualify outright) for the semifinals.

Sonny Thoss scored 21 points, Joe Devance had 20 and LA Tenorio scattered 19 for the Aces, who got just four points from former two-time MVP Willie Miller but still won with plenty to spare.

Thoss and Devance also combined for 29 rebounds as the Aces posted a 51-40 edge in the battle off the boards. Our guys were sharp,” added Cone. “We didn’t turn it (ball) over (so many times), and we made our shots. We looked like the team with fresh legs.” Mark Caguioa, who is being broken back into full time duty after sitting out majority of the tournament because of an injured knee, paced the Kings with 23 points, but most of them came during garbage time when the Aces already had formidable leads.

Alaska built a 23-8 lead in the first nine minutes as De Vance and Thoss combined for 17 points, and basically, it was all over from there as the Aces never wavered in form and the Kings never really got to show theirs.

The closest the Gin Kings got was at 29-38 on Kevin White’s triple with 7:55 remaining in the second period. But the Aces outscored the Gin Kings, 17-4, in the next six minutes to erect a 55-33 lead.

“Our long break became a big advantage for us because it gave our injured players the time to recover,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen, who let Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso loose for the first time in the tournament.

“Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso rejoined us in this game and they were of big help,” added Tanquingcen.

“However, it’s just one game. We must not fall into a false sense of security,” he said. “For sure, Purefoods will play with a lot of energy in the next game.”

Jay Washington scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for San Miguel, which had a total of five players shooting in twin digits as the Beermen dealt the Giants one of their worst losses in the tournament.

And Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio has but one explanation.

“Their fresh legs worked well to their advantage. They executed very well and they shot well,” said Gregorio. “They have a powerhouse lineup and just everybody played well. Their reserves almost matched the production of their starters and that speaks well of their roster power.” Purefoods, which was dragged into a deciding fifth game by Rain or Shine in their quarterfinal series, dropped to 0-3 for the tournament against San Miguel, and the Giants would need to win Game 2 if only to get the psychological monkey off their back.

The game was close only in the first quarter, and once the Beermen established control in the second, it was a San Miguel show all the way.

“San Miguel is really a tough match-up for us with their talent-laden lineup. Their last man can start for other ball clubs, and that’s how formidable their lineup is,” said Gregorio.

“What’s worse for us tonight was that most of our players were absent in the game. Only Kerby Raymundo and Marc Pingris carried the fight for us,” Gregorio added.

Raymundo paced Purefoods with 18 points while Pingris had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

James Yap, the former MVP, was a horrid 0-of-8 from the field with all of his eight points coming from the free throw line.