Aces nab first win, beat Meralco

Calvin Abueva. PBA IMAGES

Alaska notched its first win after holding off Meralco, 103-98, in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Calvin Abueva did a little bit of everything with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals despite battling through foul trouble for the Aces, who improved to 1-2.

But it wasn’t just Abueva with Alaska drawing 50 points off the bench led by Vic Manuel’s 19.

“It was a tough hard-fought game against a tough team. Most particularly, I’m proud of our defensive energy. I thought that set the tone,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton.

“I felt there was contributions from everybody who stepped on the floor. [Kevin Racal] knocks down two huge threes and that’s the game. I’ve been talking to K-Racs a lot and he’s a smart basketball player,” he added. “It was really a team effort.”

With Meralco threatening to take over, Kevin Racal kept the Bolts at bay with two straight 3-pointers — the last giving Alaska a 93-86 cushion with 2:08 remaining.

Things got testy in the third quarter when Abueva and Meralco swingman Jared Dillinger got tangled underneath the basket. Both got slapped with a technical foul.

The incident was reminiscent of their scuffle four years ago when Dillinger held Abueva by the collar.

Chris Newsome led all scorers with 23 points while Niño Canaleta and Baser Amer added 16 and 15 points, respectively for the Bolts, who dropped to 1-2.

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