MANILA — The Alaska Aces finally tasted victory after a long while, defeating the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 110-97, on Wednesday in a PBA preseason pocket tournament featuring four teams.
The Aces thus finished the three-day tournament with a 1-2 win-loss record after losing to NLEX and Phoenix earlier.
Calvin Abueva, the Aces’ leading scorer in their first two games, was again the main man for Alaska, coming off the bench to score a team-high 19 points along with seven rebounds and three assists in 24 minutes.
Five other Aces scored in double digits. Rookie Jeron Teng had 15 markers and four assists, Vic Manuel and Ronald Pascual added 12 points apiece while Simon Enciso and Carl Bryan Cruz scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Alaska led by as many as 17 points, but ROS unleashed a blistering run in the final quarter, cutting the Aces’ lead to four, 99-95. The Aces regrouped, however, and cut short the Painters’ uprising.
Ed Daquioag top-scored for ROS with 18 points. Chris Tiu and Maverick Ahanmisi added 13 points each.
Despite the loss, ROS won the mini-tournament with a 2-1 record, the same record that Phoenix had. However, ROS was declared the winner of the tournament since it defeated Phoenix in the opener on Monday.
Phoenix 111, NLEX 104
The rejuvenated Phoenix Fuel Masters played their last tune-up game on a winning note, beating the NLEX Road Warriors, 111-104, on Wednesday.
Phoenix will thus be heading into the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup on Dec. 17 with a 2-1 win-loss record, having previously beaten Alaska after a loss to Rain or Shine.
Fil-Am 6’3” forward Jayson Perkins formerly of the De La Salle Green Archers showed his worth as the Fuel Masters’ fourth overall pick in the last rookie draft, finishing with a team-high 21 points on top of four rebounds, and two assists.
Veteran Jeff Chan added 17, while top gunner Matthew Wright and new recruit Justin Chua added 15 apiece.
The Fuel Masters raced to a 19-6 lead and still led, 52-42, at halftime. But the Road Warriors came alive in the second half, knotting the count at 89-all.
But Perkins scored back-to-back baskets followed by two three-pointers by Wright to give Phoenix a 10-point cushion with 4 minutes left en route to victory.
Larry Fonacier led NLEX with 18 points. Raul Soyud added 15 points and 12 rebounds while JR Quinahan and Kiefer Ravena chipped in 12 and 10 markers, respectively.
Game on Thursday, Dec. 7 (preseason): GlobalPort Batang Pier vs Magnolia Hotshots.
