Cyrus Baguio of Alaska Aces (dark) vs Simon Atkins and Rey Guevarra of Meralco Bolts (light). NUKI SABIO/PBA
MANILA, Philippines—It was one dark Hallow’s eve for the Meralco Bolts as the Alaska Aces whooped them cold, 105-64, during the Halloween showdown at the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Friday evening.
From the get-go, the Aces imposed their will on the Bolts with center Sonny Thoss tipping in a Cyrus Baguio miss to cap a 7-0 run.
With a strong start, the Aces unleashed their trump cards throughout the game holding their lead in all 48 minutes of regulation.
Alaska then staged a 16-0 blitz across the third and fourth quarters to build a 34-point barrier, 86-52, with Ping Exciminiano capping it off with a layup.
Aces head coach Alex Compton downplayed the massive margin of victory saying that it was an all-out effort from the team.
“The team played fantastic, played really well,” Compton said as his team sits atop the standings with a 3-0 slate. “We all played hard and shot the ball really well.”
Sometimes it just happens.
Compton, despite his team getting the better of Meralco, had nothing but respect for coach Norman Black.
“They just had an off night, coach Norman’s a great coach,” Compton said.
Forward Vic Manuel and guard Dondon Hontiveros paced the Aces with 17 and 16 points respectively with “the Beast” Calvin Abueva and rookie Chris Banchero combining for 21.
Cliff Hodge and Sean Anthony were the only double-digit scorers for Meralco with 16 and 11 respectively.
The scores:
ALASKA 105-Manuel 17, Hontiveros 16, Banchero 11, Abueva 10, Baguio 8, Jazul 8, Exciminiano 7, Eman 6, Dela Rosa 6, Thoss 5, Bugia 4, Vanlandingham 3, Dela Cruz 2, Casio 2.
MERALCO 64-Hodge 16, Anthony 11, Dillinger 9, Hugnatan 6, Buenafe 5, Ildefonso 4, David 4, Morrison 3, Wilson 2, Cortez 2, Ferriols 2, Atkins 0, Guevarra 0, Wilson 0.
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