Although the Alaska Aces deflated the Meralco Bolts with a 92-72 win in Game Three of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals duel to regain control and take a 2-1 series lead, guard Chris Banchero is wary the Bolts may still come out with new tricks in Game 4, so the Aces have to be ready for whatever adjustments the Bolts come up with.
“Coach Norman (Black) is a great coach They are not in the semi-finals because of an accident. For sure they are going to look at film and see what they can do,” Banchero said.
Banchero, who finished with 16 points on 50 percent shooting and six rebounds in Game 3, also said the Aces were able to pull away using their defense.
“It starts on the defensive end. We have to come down and we played good defense. That second half, we weathered the storm. They made their run but we kept coming back. We needed to win this one tonight to take control of the series,” Banchero shared.
Alaska forced 21 Meralco turnovers and also scored 26 extra points off those miscues. The Bolts shot only 35 percent from the field, and had only 24 points in the paint.
Aces head coach Alex Compton also spoke highly about his team-s defense, saying the Aces did not let up unlike in Game Two where they blew a double-digit lead in the second half.
“We defended for 39 minutes in Game 2, I thought we defended for 48 minutes in Game Three,” Compton said. “They played great down the stretch in Game Two. I thought today, we didn’t give them as much wide open shots.”
For Game Four, Banchero says the Aces have to brace for another difficult match.
“I think Meralco is going to come out tough. They are not just going to lay down. Hopefully we get off to a good start. They are a tough team,” Banchero said.
“They are definitely going to bring something out. They are not just going to sit down and watch us play.”
