Back on track

Once teammates at Lyceum in the NCAA, Alaska’s Jesper Ayaay and Columbian’s CJ Perez go up against each other in last night’s game. —SHERWIN VARDELEON

The league’s traditional powerhouses flexed their muscles in a major way—and had a little humor to spare after.

In front of national television, San Miguel Beer big man June Mar Fajardo spoke about the motivation behind his strong showing against Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday.

“Sabi ni coach our backs are against the wall,” said the reigning five-time MVP. “Buti nga may wall pa kaming nasasandalan. (It’s good that we still have a wall to lean on).”

Well, Fajardo was that wall, putting together 20 points, 21 rebounds, five assists and four blocks as the Beermen crushed the Elite, 93-79, at Mall of Asia Arena.

Earlier, coach Alex Compton was also in the mood for wit when asked when he expects the injury-riddled team to sport a full roster.

“Next Christmas,” Compton, a handsome full beard framing a wry smile, answered, before adding: “I don’t know when it (roster) will be full, but if we keep playing this way, I’ll be proud of [the team].”

How did the Aces play? They ground it out on the defensive end to rip Columbian, 94-72, in the first game.

“We only dressed 10 players and they really played hard,” Compton said. “I really appreciate their efforts. I thought we were energetic, all over the place, [we] went for loose balls. I thought the guys ground it out today and I am really proud of them.”

Even with four starters riding the bench because of different injuries, Alaska was in control practically the entire game and even led by as large as 30 on the way to rising to 1-1 and put a disastrous debut against Rain or Shine on Sunday behind.

Carl Bryan Cruz hit four triples on the way to a team-high 20 points and three others tossed in 10 or more for the Aces, who went on to deal the Dyip a third straight loss in a 2-4 card.

Heavy scorer Vic Manuel, Kevin Racal, Simon Enciso and JV Casio all sat it out for the second straight game.

The Beermen also evened their record to 3-3 after breaking the game open in the third period and Fajardo spoke about the importance of avoiding a misstep.

“If we lost, we would have dropped to 2-4 and it would be difficult to catch up [with the leaders],” he said in Filipino.