Aces show deadly form to dominate San Mig

MANILA, Philippines – The Alaska Aces finally unleashed their full throttle to dump the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, 88-75, in the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, December 27 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

The Aces overcome a sloppy first half and dominated the Mixers in the second half with punch after punch to record their fourth win in 10 games. 

“The guys in the second group: RJ Jazul, Gabby Espinas, it’s just a collective effort. They’re on a two-game winning streak; they also had some sick guys so we took advantage of that,” said Aces head coach Luigi Trillo.

Battling through pain and with his right elbow heavily wrapped in protective gear, James Yap torched Alaska with 13 first half points as the Coffee Mixers got off to a quick 22-13 edge late in the first quarter.

But Calvin Abueva, as buoyed as he was by the pro-San Mig crowd, asserted his dominance in the second quarter to overturn the Mixers’ lead at the half, which ended 35-all.

A nip-and-tuck battle ensued early in the third period, but it lasted only until the Aces rifled in a 16-4 blast to put up their first double-digit edge at 57-47 late in the third quarter.

San Mig Coffee ran out of steam in the final canto, as the Aces’ second unit finished what the primary protagonists started. A Cyrus Baguio fadeaway gave Alaska their biggest lead at 88-68 until the Mixers made it look respectable at the end. 

Sonny Thoss asserted his might anew, scoring 16 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists. But it was Calvin Abueva and RJ Jazul, who both came off the bench, that gave Alaska a huge lift by combining for 25 points and 15 rebounds.

With the loss, Coach Tim Cone’s crew dropped to 3-6 while Alaska (4-6) moved just half a game behind Globalport (4-5) in the middle of the standings. – with reports from Levi Verora/Rappler.com