ALASKA may have its manpower woes, but that did not stop it from adding on to Columbian's miseries.
Carl Bryan Cruz scored 20 points on top of nine rebounds to lead the Aces' balanced attack on both ends of the court that resulted in a 94-72 victory over the Dyip Friday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asa Arena.
Jake Pascual and Ping Exciminiano were also among those who made the most out of their extended playing times, helping Alaska assert its overall savvy against Columbian to easily fashion the wire-to-wire win and notch a fifth straight victory in the import-less tourney over the team formerly known as Kia.
Pascual finished with 13 points and as many rebounds and Exciminiano also came off the bench to add 12 points as the Aces won despite playing without the injured Vic Manuel, Jayvee Casio, Simon Enciso and Kevin Racal.
Winning coach Alex Compton commended his team's fine showing that negated their 72-85 loss to Rain or Shine in its season debut last Sunday.
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"I thought they all played hard," said Compton.
"I really appreciate my guys' efforts. I thought pretty much the whole game, of course there were spots, but I thought pretty much the whole game we were energetic, all over the place, covering grounds, getting to the loose ball. The things that really matter."
Columbian was unable to match such efforts and consequently lost its third straight and dropped to 2-4 overall.
CJ Perez's 15 points and Jackson Corpuz, playing despite being feverish, chipped in 12 points to pace the Dyip, who trailed by as many as 30 points twice in the fourth period.
Mainly, it was because of Alaska's defense that exposed Columbian's weaknesses, compounded by Reden Celda and Jeepy Faundo being sidelined by illness.
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The Dyip went just 25-of-68 from the field and committed 15 turnovers. So completely thrown off were they off their rhythm that they made just 14 of 37 free throw tries.
In contrast, the Aces made 39 of 90 shots, missed just seven of 16 attempts from the stripe and committed just eight miscues.
All those propped Alaska's continuous surge that started from the last three minutes of the first quarter and steadily gained momentum as the game wore on.
Columbian coach Johnedel Cardel tried different combinations, but nothing really worked as Alaska steadily padded a 10-point halftime lead to 68-50 at the end of the third quarter.
A 10-2 charge in which Cruz accounted for all but one point gave the Aces their first 30-point bulge at 89-59. (NC)
The scores:
Alaska 94 - Cruz 20, Pascual 13, Exciminiano 12, Banchero 10, Potts 9, Teng 8, Ayaay 8, Baclao 6, Thoss 4, Galliguez 4.
Columbian 72 - Perez 15, Corpuz 12, Khobuntin 8, Cabrera 6, Reyes 5, Escoto 5, Gabriel 5, Cahilig 4, Camson 4, Calvo 4, McCarthy 2, Tabi 2, Agovida 0.
Quarters: 20-13, 46-36, 68-50, 94-72.
