Alaska posts 2nd straight win, spoils Magnolia’s debut

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Alaska clobbered a debuting Magnolia side, 103-80, in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces bumped their record to 3-2 to move behind NorthPort and TNT, which hold identical 3-1 cards, for the No. 4 spot in the standings.

Magnolia played its first game since losing to San Miguel Beer in a grueling seven-game finals series in the Philippine Cup more than two weeks ago.

Alaska pulled away in the second quarter, building a 12-point lead, 50-38, at the half before putting the game to bed in the third.

Vic Manuel, who was sidelined for almost seven months, returned and capped off the Aces’ 20-8 run in third with a layup to put Alaska ahead, 80-58, with 3:09 remaining in the quarter.