Alaska rookie Barkley Eboña shone as the Aces crushed the Blackwater Elite, 120-82, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation in Pampanga on Tuesday, October 20.
Eboña, who was only averaging 3 points per outing, finished the game with 24 points – the most points scored by a rookie so far in this year’s Philippine Cup.
The fourth-overall pick in the 2019 PBA draft almost had a perfect game from the field as he finished on a very efficient 10-of-11 shooting.
“We’re happy with the growth of Barkley. To be honest, we had a plan for him. He’s still learning and improving,” said Alaska head coach Jeff Cariaso.
“What I like about him is his fight. This kid is tough as nails,” he added.
The Aces, who improved to 2-2 in the standings, opened up the game with a fiery 9-0 start and ended the 1st period leading by 21, 38-17.
The lead that the Aces built in the opening frame proved too much for the Elite to overcome as the Alaska even stretched its advantage to 41 points, 114-73 in the final frame with 5:08 to go.
It was a total team effort for Alaska as 6 Aces posted double figures, while every player that Cariaso fielded in scored at least a bucket.
Robbie Herndon added 21 points for the Aces, while Vic Manuel tallied 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Ed Daquioag led the way for the Elite with 18 points, while Mike Tolomia chipped in 10 points and 7 assists in the disappointing loss that also put the Elite to 2-2 in the standings.
The Scores:
Alaska 120 – Eboña 24, Herndon 21, Manuel 16, Tratter 14, Digregorio 12, Teng 11, Casio 7, Galliguez 3, Ahamnisi 2, Marcelino 2, Ayaay 2, Publico 2, Brondial 2, Andrada 2.
Blackwater 82 – Daquioag 18, Tolomia 10, Canaleta 9, Salem 9, Gabriel 6, Trollano 6, Dennison 6, Belo 5, Desiderio 5, Dario 3, Sumang 2, Golla 2, Escoto 1, Magat 0.
Quarters: 38-17, 58-40, 90-61, 120-82.
– Martin Mendoza/Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.