Rappler Fastbreak: Aces zap Bolts; Boosters manhandle Mixers

Alaska Aces (85) – (81) Meralco Bolts

Box Score

Best: Did you see “The Boss” Sonny Thoss play D on Meralco’s Eric Dawson?! After he scored 37 against TNT last weekend, Dawson netted just 15 points this time around thanks to Thoss’s aggro defending, which limited the former Austin Toro to just 5-of-16 FG shooting.

Worst: There was once a time Cliff Hodge was thought of as maybe the best of the current rookie class. That time has long past due to the emergence of Calvin Abueva and the inconsistency in Hodge’s production. In this game, he registered 4 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 fouls in 18 minutes.

Alaska likes it really close: A few days after they beat the Elasto-Painters in controversial fashion, the Aces won another close one. Two Ronjay Buenafe triples trimmed Alaska’s lead late in the game, but Tony dela Cruz was fine from the line to ice the game for coach Luigi Trillo.

Petron Blaze Boosters (98) – (73) San Mig Coffee Mixers

Box Score

Best: Renaldo Balkman may be undersized compared to his import peers, but that doesn’t mean he’s a patsy. The former Knickerbocker knocked in 28 points to go along with 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 steal to spearhead the Boosters’ dominance.

Worst: The Mixers’ already awful 14-point first quarter became even worse when they scored just 8 markers in the second frame. Balkman actually outscored SMC by his lonesome in that period, 10-8.

I don’t know, but these Mixers seem all mixed up: Were they actually better with import Matt Rogers finally playing and missing 12 of his 19 field goals? How about getting outrebounded, 57-42, with Marc Pingris grabbing only 3 boards in 25 minutes? Is this Alex-Mallari-at-point-guard experiment still worth continuing after it yielded unfavorable results again – 3 assists against 4 turnovers in 21 minutes?