The Alaska Aces ousted the hard-fighting Meralco Bolts, 89-75 Tuesday, and a veteran stepped up without having to dominate possession or get that many touches.
Dondon Hontiveros entered the game averaging only 17.4 minutes per ball game. With the absence of Cyrus Baguio (left ankle), the wing guy played extensive minutes and affected the Aces’ performance in a positive way.
Hontiveros played 26 minutes, took only 9 shots and made only 1 of his 5 three-point attempts for 8 points, but the Aces outscored the Bolts by a whopping 28 points when he is on the floor.
With a constant reputation as one of the league’s best outside shooters, Hontiveros drew a lot of attention and changed the the way the Bolts defense reacted.
“If you look at a model, it would be Ray Allen with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. There will be times you won’t get touches and he wouldn’t even make shots but his plus-minus is through the roof because everybody knows his reputation and what that does,” Aces Head Coach Alex Compton said. “He makes the weakside guys come closer and make driving lanes open. If they do sag, then he has freedom to shoot it. Even if he misses five in a row I’d tell him to shoot it.”
“With a great shooter like that, whether they are shooting or not, it is big. I love to have him on my team. I just like having a shooter who is smart and valuable. I am just glad to have Dondon on our team,” he said.
Hontiveros attracted so much defense on offense, opening the lanes and spreading the defense of Meralco. On defense, Hontiveros also made life difficult for Gary David, who missed all of his 7 three-point tries and was 4-for-14 overall and a minus-4 against the Aces.
“He is a great shooter and a veteran player. He does everything to help the team. He shoots well, defends well, and is an all-around team player. Every time Dondon is on the floor, they have to pay attention because he can go for 30 points on any night,” import Romeo Travis said.
“If they help, I will pass and let him knock it down. When he is there it opens the game so much for me.”
Hontiveros once again proved the importance of being a system player. While not being the primary scoring threat, the veteran impacts the game in ways not seen in the stat sheets.
*Cover photo from PBA Images
