INQUIRER Sports

 W L
 Alaska 5 0 
 San Miguel 3 2 
 Sta. Lucia 3 2 
 Talk ‘N Text 2 1 
 Ginebra 2 1 
 Purefoods 2 2 
 Barako Bull 2 2 
 Coca-Cola 1 3 
 Burger King 1 3 
 R. or Shine 0 5 

GAMES FRIDAY (Cuneta Astrodome)
2:30 p.m.—Smart Gilas vs Coca-Cola
5 p.m.—Burger King vs Alaska
7:30 p.m.—Ginebra vs Barako Bull

MANILA, Philippines — Had Alaska coach Tim Cone not explained it well enough, one would actually think that he did not know what he was talking about.

“We’re scared playing teams that come to games with hard hats on and lunch boxes in their hands and are ready to work hard,” Cone said Wednesday night after his Aces stayed on top of the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup heap at 5-0 with a victory over the Sta. Lucia Realtors.
Cone was referring to another tough game at 5 p.m. Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City, when the Aces slug it out with the hard-nosed, superstar-bereft Burger King Whoppers.

“I’d rather play star-studded teams like Ginebra and San Miguel,” he said. “I hate playing teams like that, especially Burger King, which plays tough and physical that they sometimes get under your skin.”

“They (Whoppers) have no superstars, and because of that, they work hard every night and we are not an athletic team that matches up well with that.”

In the nightcap, Ginebra seeks solo second against Barako Bull at 7:30, with the Kings out to rise to 3-1.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola slugs it out with national developmental team Smart Gilas in a no-bearing contest at 2:30 p.m.

Ginebra is one of three teams with a win stricken off their marks after the PBA declared the Smart Gilas games no-bearing.

The Aces are in their finest start in 11 years, or since the 1998 All-Filipino, when they jumped out of the gates with the same poise only to lose their sixth assignment.

Alaska is strongest at the backcourt with Willie Miller and LA Tenorio holding fort. Interestingly, this is where the Whoppers are weakest after losing Wynne Arboleda for the rest of the season after attacking a fan.