Alaska tops San Miguel to snap Aces’ worst ever losing streak

MANILA, Philippines – The Alaska Aces, who hadn’t won a game since April, snapped their longest losing streak in franchise history with a 90-79 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup on Saturday, September 2 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Pampanga.

The Aces locked in defensively early on as they contained the Beermen’s firepower, holding them to a 9-point production in the opening frame. 

Alaska weathered whatever run San Miguel tried to come up with in the second half, and even managed to stretch the lead to as much as 17. 

LaDontae Henton paced the Aces with a game-high 36 points and 15 boards, while Calvin Abueva added 13 points and 9 rebounds in his homecoming game. 

Emotions also ran high throughout as the match witnessed a series of technical fouls thrown out to Chris Ross, Abueva, and Chris Banchero, who was later ejected after picking up a second technical.

Arwind Santos delivered 29 points and 9 boards off the bench for the Beermen, who connected on just 6 triples in the game.

The grand slam-seeking Beermen brought in a new reinforcement in Terik Bridgeman, who will be taking over the spot of Wendell McKines for the remainder of their season-ending conference campaign.

Bridgeman, a product of William Paterson University, is fresh off a pro stint in the Georgian Superleague. He played for the Cactus Tbilisi, where he averaged 11.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.

In his PBA debut, however, Bridgeman finished with only two points and 6 rebounds in over 20 minutes of action.

The Aces have now put a halt on a franchise-worst 14-game skid, and also snapped the Beermen’s 8-game streak against them. 

While Alaska is on the board at 1-6, San Miguel meanwhile slipped to an even 3-3 slate. – Rappler.com