Hot Aces burn Fuel Masters to clinch q’finals berth

Coming out of the gates firing, Alaska manhandled Phoenix, 106-85, and clinched a seat in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals Friday at Cuneta Astrodome.

The Aces got off to a hot start, jumping to a 11-2 lead which ballooned to 60-42 at halftime behind the hot shooting of RJ Jazul.

Phoenix waged a rally in the third quarter, trimming the lead to as low as nine, 67-58, with 6:51 remaining in the period, but Alaska answered back with a killer 12-1 blast to bring the lead back to 20, 79-59.

The Aces stretched the lead to 25, 104-79, thanks to a Vic Manuel jumper with 1:54 to play.

“I can’t ask for much more than that,” said coach Alex Compton. “We made some shots today, defense was a lot better, and the energy was there. There’s still some things we can work on, but the guys played really hard and I felt everybody contributed, felt there was a consistent threat of urgency. We needed this one bad.”

Manuel led the cavalry with 21 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Kevin Racal notched a career-high 20 markers, six boards, three assists, and two steals.

Jazul got 12 of his 14 points in the first half, as he shot 4-of-7 from threes and got six dimes and four rebounds.

Alaska improved to 6-4, tied with TNT for the second spot, and stayed in the running for the twice-to-beat incentive in the playoffs.

Phoenix, meanwhile, fell to the fourth spot as it ended the eliminations with a 6-5 card.

Matthew Wright paced the Fuel Masters with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.