The way Alaska played defense on Friday night, it was hard to see Meralco having a chance.
Holding the enemy’s top guns to harmless numbers with a defensive effort that was nothing short of unrelenting, the Aces took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Final Four playoff in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after a 92-72 thumping of the Bolts at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
And the Aces were equally sharp on the other end, with import Robert Dozier shooting 25 points, Calvin Abueva 23 and Chris Banchero 16 in a three-sided battering ram that flustered the Bolts in the second half.
Game 4 of this series, where the Aces will undoubtedly be the overwhelming picks, will be played on Monday also at the Big Dome.
“We played defense for 48 minutes today,” Alaska coach Alex Compton told reporters when asked what the key for the blowout victory was. “In Game 2 (which the Bolts won), we played defense for 39 minutes and let it (victory) out of our grasps.”
The Bolts came into the game with their morale at a high, especially after coming back from 14 points down in the fourth period of Game 2 to knot the series at 1-1.
But the Aces didn’t give them a chance this time, as they shut down beefy import Arinze Onuaku with a pounding double-team every time an entry pass was made.
Onuaku practically bled for his 16 points and Dozier made him work double time by connecting on a lot of medium range jumpers that took the Meralco import out of the shaded lane on defense.
“If we could double him on the bench, we will,” Compton said of their defensive ploy on the Meralco import. “We just can’t let a huge guy like him get a rhythm like he did in the previous game.”
Dozier and Abueva completed double-doubles with 14 and 12 rebounds, respectively, and the Aces won the battle off the board, 56-46 after Onuaku grabbed just 12.
Alaska’s win was the most lopsided in the semifinals thus far, and it certainly reversed the form charts since the Aces qualified as the third seeds and the Bolts the No. 2 ranked squad in these playoffs.
It was also very impressive since the Aces continued playing without Vic Manuel and JV Casio and got measly outputs from outside gunners Dondon Hontiveros, Cyrus Baguio and RJ Jazul.
Jazul, who led all Alaska shooters with 18 points in a tight Game 1 win, made just four points and is averaging just 3.5 in the last two games. He did start out at the point again in place of Casio.
Jimmy Alapag, Cliff Hodge and Reynel Hugnatan scored 12 each for the Bolts, who couldn’t keep in step with the Aces in the third after making just 16 points.
Abueva and Dozier outscored the entire Meralco team in that span by combining for 20 as the Aces scooted away from a 36-all game at the half to take a 66-54 lead into the fourth.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer, which is 1-2 down in its half of the Final Four against Rain or Shine, has brought in Arizona Reid to take the place of Tyler Wilkerson starting Sunday’s Game 4.
The Beermen gutted out a 104-98 Game 3 win on Thursday and averted a sweep by the Elasto Painters even after playing all-Filipino as coaching staff and management sent Wilkerson home for conduct unbecoming.
Holding the enemy’s top guns to harmless numbers with a defensive effort that was nothing short of unrelenting, the Aces took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five Final Four playoff in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup after a 92-72 thumping of the Bolts at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
And the Aces were equally sharp on the other end, with import Robert Dozier shooting 25 points, Calvin Abueva 23 and Chris Banchero 16 in a three-sided battering ram that flustered the Bolts in the second half.
Game 4 of this series, where the Aces will undoubtedly be the overwhelming picks, will be played on Monday also at the Big Dome.
“We played defense for 48 minutes today,” Alaska coach Alex Compton told reporters when asked what the key for the blowout victory was. “In Game 2 (which the Bolts won), we played defense for 39 minutes and let it (victory) out of our grasps.”
The Bolts came into the game with their morale at a high, especially after coming back from 14 points down in the fourth period of Game 2 to knot the series at 1-1.
But the Aces didn’t give them a chance this time, as they shut down beefy import Arinze Onuaku with a pounding double-team every time an entry pass was made.
Onuaku practically bled for his 16 points and Dozier made him work double time by connecting on a lot of medium range jumpers that took the Meralco import out of the shaded lane on defense.
“If we could double him on the bench, we will,” Compton said of their defensive ploy on the Meralco import. “We just can’t let a huge guy like him get a rhythm like he did in the previous game.”
Dozier and Abueva completed double-doubles with 14 and 12 rebounds, respectively, and the Aces won the battle off the board, 56-46 after Onuaku grabbed just 12.
Alaska’s win was the most lopsided in the semifinals thus far, and it certainly reversed the form charts since the Aces qualified as the third seeds and the Bolts the No. 2 ranked squad in these playoffs.
It was also very impressive since the Aces continued playing without Vic Manuel and JV Casio and got measly outputs from outside gunners Dondon Hontiveros, Cyrus Baguio and RJ Jazul.
Jazul, who led all Alaska shooters with 18 points in a tight Game 1 win, made just four points and is averaging just 3.5 in the last two games. He did start out at the point again in place of Casio.
Jimmy Alapag, Cliff Hodge and Reynel Hugnatan scored 12 each for the Bolts, who couldn’t keep in step with the Aces in the third after making just 16 points.
Abueva and Dozier outscored the entire Meralco team in that span by combining for 20 as the Aces scooted away from a 36-all game at the half to take a 66-54 lead into the fourth.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer, which is 1-2 down in its half of the Final Four against Rain or Shine, has brought in Arizona Reid to take the place of Tyler Wilkerson starting Sunday’s Game 4.
The Beermen gutted out a 104-98 Game 3 win on Thursday and averted a sweep by the Elasto Painters even after playing all-Filipino as coaching staff and management sent Wilkerson home for conduct unbecoming.
