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Sports: ALASKA GUARDS SHOW WAY IN GAME 1 WIN OVER RUSTY REALTORS
January 31, 2008
ALASKA GUARDS SHOW WAY IN GAME 1 WIN OVER RUSTY REALTORS
Cortez-Miller-Cariaso combo strike to end Realtors’ win streak at 8
| Sunday, 27 January 2008 | |
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Playing their third game in five nights didn’t seem to bother the Alaska Aces.
Alaska’s veteran backcourt trio – Mike Cortez, Willie Miller and Jeffrey Cariaso — and the team’s playoff experience propelled the Aces to a 107-94 victory over Sta. Lucia Realtors in Game 1 of the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series Sunday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Aces, who are coming off a two-game sweep of the Coca-Cola Tigers in the quarterfinals, didn’t show any sign of weariness although they faltered in the early goings and had to overcome a 12-point deficit in the second quarter. |
But the Aces got back into the game quickly the moment Cortez, Miller and Cariaso got their games going.
"We could have been blown up right in the first quarter. It took a lot of mental strain for us to stay in the game. But I felt the key was that we were able to stand our ground in the first quarter. By doing that we were able to comeback in the second and gain our bearings," observed Alaska head coach Tim Cone.
"I really thought Mike, Willie and Jeffrey did a really good job of staying emotionally steadfast. They didn’t get rattled. Even when things weren’t working for us, there was no finger-pointing and they didn’t get mad," Cone explained.
Alaska’s veteran guards accounted for 60 of the Aces’ total points on a combined 20-of-35 shooting from the field and ran the team’s offense efficiently.
Cortez showed the way for the Alaska with 23 points while Miller turned in a double-double with 19 points and 10 assists. Cariaso scored 18 – making eight of his last nine shots after missing his first four — and Reynel Hugnatan and Tony dela Cruz added 14 apiece for the Aces who extended their winning streak to five straight dating back to the elimination round.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is set Wednesday also at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Realtors, in their first semifinal appearance since the 2003 Reinforced Conference, played with high energy and showed a lot of confidence in the early goings but their raw talent was simply no match compared to the Aces’ experience and savvy.
The loss snapped Sta. Lucia 8-game winning streak and left them with a lot of questions to be answered if they intend to level the series on Wednesday.
Nelbert Omolon scored 26 points, Kelly Williams had 21and Dennis Espino added 16 for the Realtors, who shot splendidly in the first quarter but finished shooting just 37 percent (22-of-58) compared to Alaska’s 52%.
Sta. Lucia’s carelessness in the second half also was a big factor in the loss. After committing only nine turnovers in the first half, the Realtors’ produced 11 turnovers in the second half for a total of 23 that earned the Aces 16 turnover points.
Despite shooting just 1-of-8 from the field, the Realtors still led 25-15 at the end of the first quarter largely because they made 6-of-11 shots from 3-point range. They also scored 13 points on eight Alaska turnovers.
Sta. Lucia opened the second quarter with a 27-15 lead on a basket by Espino but after that the Realtors started to falter and missed easy shots enabling the Aces to claw back into the game.
And with Miller and Cortez scoring 10 apiece in the third quarter, Alaska outscored Sta. Lucia, 36-18, to finish the period ahead, 81-64.
The Aces’ 36 points was the most Sta. Lucia gave up in a quarter this conference while the 107 points was also the most in a game by an SLR opponent in the tourney.
Coupled with Alaska’s 30 points in the second period, it was also the first time Sta. Lucia gave up at least 30 points in back-to-back quarters (DBC).
The scores:
Alaska 107 — Cortez 23, Miller 19, Cariaso 18, Hugnatan 14, Dela Cruz 14, Thoss 8, Ferriols 7, Quinahan 2, Junio 2, Aban 0, Laure 0.
Sta. Lucia 94 — Omolon 26, Williams 21, Espino 16, Aquino 8, Mendoza 7, Yeo 6, Reyes 5, Miranda 4, Gonzales 1, Daa 0.
Quarterscores: 15-25; 45-46; 81-64 ;107-94
Source: www.pba.ph
gud luck sa career=)