Aces triumph, keep playoff hopes alive

ANTIPOLO—Damion James played his worthiest game for Alaska despite going just 9-for-27 from the field Wednesday night, towing the Aces to an 82-68 win over Blackwater and stay alive in the playoff race in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ynares Center here.

James still finished with 29 points by going 9-for-13 from the stripe and pulled down 22 rebounds as the Aces won for the first time in three games with him as an import to rise to 3-4 and keep a quarterfinal berth within reach.

The loss was the seventh in nine games for the Elite, who practically bowed out of further contention for the second straight conference, but not after giving the Aces fits the whole night.

Alaska ground out the win despite playing without starting point guard JV Casio, who will sit out at least the next two weeks after having surgery to repair a broken nose.

“We played a lot better defense,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton, whose wards finished second in the Philippine Cup behind San Miguel Beer.

“But I still feel that we have a long ways to go,” he added. “It’s a step in the right direction, but that’s not the level of (defensive) basketball we played in the last conference.”

Alaska gave up an average of a shade over 93 points in its first six games here, a far cry from the defense that netted the Aces a 12-1 record when holding foes under 80 points in the Philippine Cup.

James, a member of the 2014 NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, was actually held down below his scoring average but was willing to do a lot of the intangibles for the Aces, who are now just a full game out of eighth place.

Marcus Douthit, the naturalized center on loan from the Gilas Pilipinas program, had 21 points and 15 rebounds but was silenced in the fourth quarter.

The scores:

First Game

ALASKA 82—James 29, Banchero 12, Exciminiano 10, Hontiveros 9, Abueva 7, Manuel 5, Thoss 4, Espinas 3, Jazul 3, Eman 0, Baguio 0, Dela Rosa 0, Dela Cruz 0.

BLACKWATER 68—Douthit 21, Reyes 11, Gamalinda 11, Laure 8, Heruela 5, Salvacion 5, Faundo 4, Bulawan 2, Golla 1, Erram 0, Celiz 0, Acuna 0, Ballesteros 0, Timberlake 0, Canada 0.

Quarters: 18-12, 41-33, 60-49, 82-68

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