With Jvee Casio and Kevin Racal back, the Alaska Aces made sure to give them a warm welcome by beating the Meralco Bolts, 92-77, in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup, Wednesday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s nice to have Jvee and Kevin Racal back,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton, as Casio and Racal chipped in 12 and nine points, respectively.
The Milkmen finally put an end to their three-game losing skid, where they lost by an average margin of 17.3 points. They also improved to 4-5 to tie the NLEX Road Warriors in the sixth spot of the team standings.
Jeron Teng led Alaska with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while Simon Enciso supplied 14 points laced with four three-pointers. Chris Banchero churned out a double-double outing with 13 markers and 11 dimes.
Sonny Thoss made 13 points as well as eight rebounds.
Alaska wasted their 13-3 start, as Meralco rallied and even led by five in the second frame. But the Aces would regain their bearings in the third quarter and pull off a 15-2 run en route to a 60-44 lead to put the game away for good.
“I thought we did a bunch of things better today. The fact that we held them to seventy-seven points is something to be happy about,” Compton said.
Nico Salva had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Meralco, who are now virtually out of contention as they dropped to 3-7. KG Cañaleta made 18 points, as Chris Newsome provided 11 markers and nine caroms.
Alaska will look to get going versus the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday, March 24. On the other hand, Meralco next face rivals Barangay Ginebra San Miguel next Wednesday, March 27. Both games will still be at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Alaska 92 – Teng 16, Enciso 14, Banchero 13, Thoss 13, Casio 12, Racal 9, Cruz 7, Pascual 6, Baclao 2, Exciminiano 0, Ayaay 0.
Meralco 77 – Salva 23, Canaleta 18, Newsome 11, Amer 8, Quinto 5, Tolomia 4, Hodge 3, Hugnatan 2, Pinto 2, Jackson 1, Caram 0, Faundo 0.
Quarterscores: 20-16, 45-38, 69-57, 92-77.
