Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Alaska was in a festive mood as it blew out crowd darling Barangay Ginebra, 101-86, for its third straight win in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
There are now five teams in joint third place with the Aces joining Blackwater, Star, Rain or Shine and TNT that all have 3-2 records.
Alaska hit its stride in the third quarter when it erupted for a 13-0 run to go up, 77-53, with Jake Pascual capping it off with an uncontested layup.
Aces head coach Alex Compton said it wasn’t solely their offense that opened up the game for them but it was his team’s defense that was catalyst in their scoring runs.
“We’re known for pressing, and in the halfcourt we did a good job of scrambling and taking away shots,” said Compton whose team limited Ginebra to a paltry 39 percent shooting, 30-of-76.
“This game it was really about defense, and we don’t have guys like Terrence [Romeo], Jayson [Castro], or June Mar [Fajardo], pero gusto ko (but what I want) is a blue collar team.”
RJ Jazul finished with 16 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc, to lead Alaska while Calvin Abueva added 12.
Rookie Kevin Ferrer was a brightspot in an otherwise dim Ginebra offense with a career-high 19 points and hit five three-pointers in the process.