Thoss joins fray in hot night for Aces, nails 4th career triple

Sonny Thoss. PBA IMAGES

With Alaska firing on all cylinders on Saturday, even Sonny Thoss wasn’t spared from the three-point bug.

When he was left open beyond the arc at the 4:42 mark of the third quarter, he didn’t hesitate to fire a long bomb. To everyone, and even Thoss’ surprise, the ball met the bottom of the net.

“It went in and I’m happy with that,” he said, draining his first trey in five seasons and only the fourth in his career.

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That triple sparked a 20-8 tear for the Aces as they turned a slim 75-70 affair to a 95-78 lead at the end of the frame.

That paved the way for a huge 128-102 victory for Alaska over Rain or Shine for its second win in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Thoss said that the second half explosion is just a product of the team being relentless on both ends of the floor: “Guys just never give up.”

“That’s what we preach every time, next play. Guys just kept on executing, shots were falling in, we played good defense, and it kept on rolling over,” he said.

Thoss is elated with the way things are going for the Aces despite them being forced to find a temporary import in Shane Edwards for the injured Rob Dozier.

“We’re doing well right now. It’s a start but we still got a long way to go. Some of the big names are coming up,” he said. “We’re happy with the win. We’re happy with the growth that we’re developing here, and hopefully, it keeps going.”

“You try to accumulate wins as much as possible early in the conference so at the end of the conference, there’s less pressure and you don’t have to think of a must-win situation. We’re grateful that we’re in this situation and we hope it continues.”

But will Thoss will also start jacking up threes like Calvin Abueva has been doing?

“If it’s available, I’ll shoot it,” he said. “But right now, if it’s within the system, whatever shot is available, we’ll take it.”