Aces smother Bulls

by Noli Cortez
Source: Malaya Online Edition | December 26, 2007

Alaska showed little of the Christmas spirit yesterday, drubbing Red Bull 100-77 in a lopsided win that stunned even Aces coach Tim Cone in the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

"I honestly didn't think we'll win today, much less win the way we did. So I was completely surprised," said Cone of the victory that cut short his team's slide at two and gave the Aces a 9-7 win-loss card overall.

"I'm really proud because we struggled with our energy the last couple of weeks and I didn't think our energy would come back in this game," Cone added.

Foremost among those who stood out were Mike Cortez and John Ferriols, each providing the spark and sustaining fire as the Aces led from start to finish to snap a jinx that saw them lose two of their previous Christmas Day games.

Cortez had 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Ferriols notched 15 points and 15 rebounds and the Aces led by as much as 97-63 on a put-back byAaron Aban, only 3:31 to go.

"It's nice to break that streak there," said Cone, whose team headed straight to a dinner hosted by Jeffrey Cariaso. "For once, we're going home happy following a Christmas game."

Red Bull, which went into the game hoping to solidify its hold on second-running spot, seemed to be on a holiday mode and consequently dropped to a 9-6 slate in a tie with idle Sta. Lucia Realty.

The Bulls' field shooting started out at a shade under 15 percent before ultimately winding up at 27.4 percent (23-of-84) and only because of a 35 percent fourth quarter.

In contrast, Alaska made 40 of 92 tries for 43.5 percent, had a whopping 73-53 advantage off the boards and also had a 28-10 margin in the assists department.

"They were really shooting bad and I thought it would be different in the second half," admitted Cone. "But they still struggled with their shots and I would like to think it was (because of) our defense."

Cyrus Baguio had 18 points on 5-of-12 field shooting, but no other Bull scored in double figures as the team lost its second game in three outings.

The one-sided complexion of the match took its tone right in the first half, where Alaska started with an 11-0 run that had Cortez scoring five points and making it 23-9 on a triple by Reynel Hugnatan.

The Scores:

First Game
Alaska 100 - Cortez 19, Ferriols 15, Cariaso 15, Miller 13, Thoss 12, Hugnatan 11, Aban 8, Dela Cruz 5, Bono 2, Quinahan 0, Cabatu 0, Laure 0.

Red Bull 77 - Baguio 18, Bugia 8, Cruz 8, Duncil 7, Najorda 7, Ybanez 7, Pennisi 7, Camaso 5, Sharma 3, Robinson 3, Hrabak 2, Valenzuela 2.

Quarterscores: 25-11; 43-28; 74-47; 100-77.