The Alaska Aces have exorcised the ghosts of their past, as they booked their second straight win at the expense of the Globalport Batang Pier, 101-88, Friday evening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Milkmen have now improved their card to 2-6, keeping their 2017 Governor’s Cup quarterfinal hopes alive. The Batang Pier, on the other hand, dropped their second game in a row and now sport a 3-5 record.
“I’m happy to see these guys put together another win,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton. “Lamang kami, humabol kalaban, lumamang kalaban and imbes na mag-fold kami, nag-bounce back kami.
“And I think that’s the thing I’ve been waiting to see,” added Compton. “We got a few bounces that have gone to our favor and we’ll take it.”
LaDontae Henton powered the Aces with 36 points and 21 rebounds in the 45 minutes he played. Calvin Abueva provided 12 markers, while JVee Casio and Sonny Thoss provided 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Globalport came from ten points down to within five, 88-83, with 3:28 in the final frame, but the Aces had more will down the stretch. They scored seven straight — ended by Jvee Casio’s lay-up — to post a 95-83 lead with 40.9 ticks to go.
That mini-run proved to be the knockout blow Alaska needed, as the Batang Pier, despite punching in a few more buckets, did not have any gas left in the tank to mount another serious fightback in the closing seconds.
Murphey Holloway paced Globalport with 25 points and nine boards. Sean Anthony scored 19 and had nine caroms as well, while Mac Cardona had a notable outing with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 21 minutes and 35 seconds.
Terrence Romeo was limited to just five markers on 2-of-9 shooting in 27 minutes.
The Batang Pier missed the services of Stanley Pringle for the second time around, as his father passed away. The Fil-American point guard is currently in the States.
The Aces asserted supremacy in the boards, 66-40, and their defense forced the opposition to 21 turnovers, which thet converted to 24 points. Furthermore, Alaska’s bench provided better than their counterparts, 37-27.
Alaska will look to make it three in a row versus the Kia Picanto this Sunday, September 10, 4:30 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Globalport will aim to bounce back against the Star Hotshots next Friday, September 15, 7:00 PM also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Alaska 101 – Henton 36, Abueva 12, Casio 11, Thoss 10, Baclao 8, Racal 7, Encisio 7, Exciminiano 6, Banchero 2, Pascual 2, Mendoza 0, Cruz 0.
Globalport 88 – Holloway 25, Anthony 19, Cardona 12, Guinto 10, Cortez 9, Romeo 5, Arana 4, Grey 2, Baracael 2, Celiz 0, Paredes 0.
Quarterscores: 26-18, 46-45, 67-67, 101-88.
