The Alaska Aces are halfway through the eliminations of the 2014 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup and will next meet the Meralco Bolts 8 p.m., Wednesday, December 18 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Aces (2 wins, 5 losses) are in eighth place in the standings ahead of the San Mig Coffee Mixers (1-5) and the Air21 Express (1-6). At the top are the unbeaten Petron Blaze Boosters (7-0) and surging Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (5-1). The other teams include the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-2), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (4-3), the Talk N Text Tropang Texters (3-2), the Bolts (3-4) and the Barako Bull Energy Colas (2-4).
The top eight teams advance to the playoffs after they each play 14 games. The top two teams gain a twice to beat advantage against the seventh and eighth place teams. The other four teams battle in a best-of-three for the right to advance to the semifinals.
Alaska Aces head coach Luigi Trillo is hard at work preparing his team for the final push to the playoffs.
“At 2-5, we’re still there. It’s not that you’re out of it. Seven games, just halfway through. If you win half of all your games, maybe you get 7-7 and make the playoffs. You got to take the good and the bad. But now, it’s more of the bad because of the wins and losses,” said Trillo in a published report.
If the eliminations were to end today the Aces would still qualify to the playoffs. But they would be similarly situated after the eliminations of the past 2013 PBA Governors Cup. Last conference the Aces advanced to the quarterfinals and won their first playoff game against San Mig but lost the second to ultimately bow out early.
The Aces also hope to have Calvin Abueva back in action when they face Meralco. Abueva missed the game against the GlobalPort Batang Pier last Friday, which the Aces lost 84-94, because of a sprained right ankle.
Against GlobalPort point guard Jvee Casio scored a game-high 28 points to go with four rebounds to lead the Aces. Sonny Thoss added 13 points and seven rebounds. RJ Jazul scored 10 markers and tallied four assists and three rebounds.
The Aces missed Abueva’s scoring and rebounding but most importantly his infectious enthusiasm and gung-ho playing style. The reigning PBA Rookie of the Year said he did not suffer a serious injury and hopes to return to action on Wednesday.
“Wala naman. Okay lang, natapilok lang. Therapy lang muna at saka rest. Next game namin babawi kami, at sana makabalik na ako,” he said in a published report.
Alaska’s head coach remains upbeat despite his team’s place in the standings. He realizes that the Aces did not really start the tournament that badly pointing out that his team could have easily won three of the five games they lost which really could have gone either way.
Against Barako the Aces led by 15 points at one point and lost their lead only at the end game. Against Talk ‘N Tex, the Aces lost because of too many missed free throws. While against Petron, the Aces played their hearts out and could have won if not for Arwind Santos’ last second defensive heroics.
Coach Trillo said he remains optimistic that they have good chances against Meralco. But they have address their biggest issues on the floor. They have to improve their transition defense to cut down on turnover points by their opponents. They have to improve their free throws to maximize their height advantage against the Bolts.
Alaska Aces forward Calvin Abueva fires a jumpshot over Meralco Bolts counterpart Cliff Hodge. The Alaska Aces face the Meralco Bolts 8 p.m. December 18, Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Alaska Aces guard Cyrus Baguio tries to dribble past then Meralco Bolts guard Ronjay Buenafe. The Alaska Aces face the Meralco Bolts 8 p.m. December 18, Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Alaska Aces point guard Jvee Casio protects the ball against then Meralco Bolts guard Chris Ross. The Alaska Aces face the Meralco Bolts 8 p.m. December 18, Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.