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Alaska downs Coca-Cola in PBA action
Written by staff   
Saturday, 06 December 2008 00:55

Alaska AcesAlaska moved closer for an automatic semifinal seat after crushing Coca-Cola, 99-83, Friday night in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum, with the victory assuring them of least a quarterfinal slot in the next round.

The Aces drew big performances from LA Tenorio, Joe Devance and Willie Miller to silence the hapless Tigers and tightened their hold of the top spot with a 10-4 win-loss mark.

Tenorio had a team-high 18 points and dished out five assists while Devance and two-time Most Valuable Player Miller each had 16 markers for coach Tim Cone, who bounced back from a 12-point loss to defending champion Sta. Lucia in their previous game.

"This is a good response after our last loss," said Cone. "We wanted to come out with a higher intensity and we were able to do that."

Skipper Jeffery Cariaso returned to action after sitting out in the previous game and scored 14 points off the bench while Larry Fonacier added 13 markers for Alaska, which controlled the tempo right from the very start.

Tenorio had 10 of his total output in the first quarter where the Aces outscored the Tigers, 27-15, and seized control of the match.

Alaska padded the lead to 20, 51-31, going into the break and had its biggest lead in the game at 1:21 mark of the third period after Fonacier banged in a jumper for a 28-point cushion, 75-47.

The Aces were never threatened since then as Coke absorbed its second straight defeat to slide further in the team standings with 5-9 slate.

Asi Taulava and Mark Telan were the only bright spots for the Tigers as they both finished in double figures for interim coach Kenneth Duremdes, whose team look miserable in the court with the absence of starting guard Alex Cabagnot.

Cabagnot did not play due to a hurting right knee and Cone it was a big blow for the the Tigers and a welcome development for them.

"We've been fortunate because we played Ginebra without Mark (Caguioa) and Rafi (Reavis) and Purefoods without Kerby (Raymundo," said Cone. "We're very fortunate we were able to take advantage of those absences and good teams do that, take advantage of the opportunities presented to them."

Taulava netted 20 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting from the floor to go along with his 15 rebounds while Telan chipped in 15 markers. Nic Belasco, who was averaging close to 15 points a game, was held to just nine in the game on 3 –of-10 shooting from the floor.

But the rest of the Tigers failed to contribute to the team's cause as they were outworked early by the Aces. Alaska also won in its first-round meeting, 69-62 in the tournament's first out of-town game in Victorias City, Negros Occidental.

Coke is now 4-6 under Duremdes and with Red Bull (3-10) gropping for form, the Tigers may be headed to the knockout wildcard phase of the tournament. They need to sweep their last four games to avoid the wildcard stage.

Express 102 Gin Kings 84

In the second game, Air21 put an end to Barangay Ginebra's four-game winning streak after pulling off a 102-84 decision to tie its victim to 7-7 win-loss mark and avenge its 92-101 loss in the first round.

Gary David led the Express with 24 points while Ranidel de Ocampo chipped in 16 and 11 rebounds in 43 minutes of action.

Billy Mamaril and Alex Crisano surprisingly led the undermanned Kings with 15 points each while Ronald Tubid had 13 and 10 boards. Starting guard Jayjay Helterbrand again skipped the game due to a groin injury.
 
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