Alaska takes quarterfinals opener over San Mig Coffee

By: Mark Giongco - 11 years ago

James Yap of San Mig Coffee (dark) vs Dondon Hontiveros of Alaska (light). PBA IMAGE by NUKI SABIO

MANILA, Philippines — Alaska pounced on a scoring drought in the fourth quarter by San Mig Coffee to win, 86-77, and take their best-of-three quarterfinals opener in the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces broke loose after the Mixers went on a dry spell–going scoreless in a six-minute span–that saw the defending champions lead grow from a point to 15, 84-69, on a 3-pointer by Rob Dozier with 2:19 remaining.

“Defense in the fourth,” Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo said on how his team was able to get the victory. “We limited them to 16 points.”

Dozier, the reigning Best Import, notched a double-double with 24 points and 15 rebounds.

Alaska’s locals also stepped up led by Cyrus Baguio, Calvin Abueva and Sonny Thoss.

Baguio finished with 14 points while Abueva and Thoss had 12 each.

Playing with a controlled recklessness that made him a Rookie of the Year, Abueva also grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocks to offset his seven turnovers.

James Mays paced the Mixers with 18 points and 11 rebounds in his first game back after missing games due to injury.

The game also marked James Yap, Marc Pingris and Justin Melton’s return but the three appeared far from being their usual selves.

Yap had 12 points but went five-of-17 from the field while Pingris, hobbled by foul trouble, scored four points – missing six of his eight attempts – to go along with measly four boards.

A step closer to the semifinals, Alaska goes for the kill on Wednesday

“It’s huge. It’s not a guarantee but it puts you in a good situation,” Trillo said of his team’s 1-0 lead. “This team is tired. They’ve won back-to-back championships we know that they’re hurting. All we’ve done is we’ve gotten closer but it still takes two to knock them out.”

“We know it’s going to get harder.”