Unlike in the series opener where Alaska had to come back from a huge gap to win, the Aces dominated the Star Hotshots from start to finish inGame 2 for a 95-74 victory Friday and push the series lead to 2-0.
The Aces received a huge boost from the inspired play of Calvin Abueva in the first half which gave the team some separation before they broke the game wide-open.
Abueva was a key part of the small lineup of the Aces and had 11 points and 6 rebounds by halftime, even hitting one from beyond the arc to help the squad’s cause.
“Sana magtuloy-tuloy na at pagiigihan namin para makuha na namin to,” Abueva said, adding the performance of Alaska import Romeo Travis also helped ignite fire for the team.
“Sa amin, nadadala kami sa import namin. Yung energy niya at depensa andun, kaya ginaganahan kami.”
Abueva however is wary that the group had achieved nothing yet, and against an experienced side, the team needs to do an even better effort on the defensive end to emerge victorious.
“Nalimitahan lang siguro namin [sa rebounds] pero siyempre hindi naman susuko yang mga yan. Champion team yan at babalik at babalik yan. ‘Yung depensa namin dapat ganun pa rin,” he said.
“Hindi kami pwede magsaya dahil hindi pa tapos ang series na to. Sana madoble pa naman yung depensa para sa kanilang opensa.”
Asked about how he plans to manage his foul situation, Abueva said he’d rather care about what he does inside the floor to help his team succeed, regardless of the scene.
“Hindi ko iniintindi ang fouls ko. Kung ano ang ginagawa ko sa court, ‘yun ang iniintindi ko.”
