MANILA – Alaska Aces secured the remaining incentive of the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals with a 114-91 triumph over Phoenix Fuel Masters last night at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Vic Manuel top-scored with 28 points to go along with nine rebounds. Diamon Simpson had double-double 18 points and 19 rebounds.
The Aces secured a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals with its 8-3 win-loss card.
It also bagged the quarterfinals slots of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, GlobalPort Batang Pier and Magnolia Hotshots while also eliminating the Fuel Masters from playoffs contention.
From a slim 13-10 lead at the onset of the first period, the Aces went on a huge run behind Simpson, Manuel and Chris Exciminiano for a 36-20 lead. The Fuel Masters countered with a run to come to within 11 at the half.
The Aces were still comfortably ahead in the second half when the Fuel Masters made its last push at 71-84. But consecutive inside hits by Manuel ballooned the advantage to its largest at 108-81 on a Simon Enciso triple.
“It was good to get a win going to the playoffs after playing poorly in the last two games,” said Aces head coach Alex Compton. “It (twice-to-beat advantage) is always better, but it’s not gonna be easy.”
In the second game, the Kings rode on the hot hands of Justin Brownlee to tally its fifth consecutive win at the expense of the Batang Pier, 116-98, and secure the last spot in the best-of-three quarterfinals.
Brownlee waxed hot offensively in the opening half as the Kings surged to a 58-45 lead at the break. It went up to its highest in the third canto at 81-58 on consecutive inside shots by Japeth Aguilar.
The Batang Pier made its last run in the fourth quarter and was able to come to as close as 14 points on baskets by Malcolm White but baskets from LA Tenorio and Brownlee sealed the win for the Kings.
Brownlee led the way with double-double 36 points and 11 rebounds, Aguilar added 19 markers, while Negrense Joe Devance contributed 16 points for the Kings, which ended the eliminations with 6-5 win-loss slate. The Batang Pier dropped to 5-6.
BOX SCORE:
ALASKA 114 – Manuel 28, Simpson 18, Banchero 14, Exciminiano 12, Enciso 10, Thoss 7, Teng 7, Baclao 4, Casio 4, Racal 3, R. Pascual 3, J. Pascual 3, Galliguez 1, Cruz 0.
PHOENIX 91 – Phelps 23, Wright 13, Revilla 10, Perkins 10, Jazul 8, Intal 6, Eriobu 6, Guevarra 4, Dehesa 4, Mendoza 3, W. Wilson 3, Chua 1, Kramer 0, Gamboa 0.
Quarterscores: 34-17, 53-42, 80-63, 114-91./PN
