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MANILA, Philippines – Purefoods Star gave Alaska Milk a ruthless beating to start their quarterfinals pairing with a lopsided 120-86 victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday night.
The defending champions showed they meant business when they held the Aces to just 7 points in the first quarter, 31-7.
The lead ballooned to 25 points by the end of the first half, and by the time they closed the third canto, the Aces were staring at a 29-point gap, 88-59.
Six of Purefoods’ players churned out double-digit outputs. Denzel Bowles had 20 points to go with his 8 rebounds. James Yap had 18 points, while Mark Barroca chipped in 14. PJ Simon finished with 12, while Marc Pingris and Joe Devance combined for 21 points.
Alaska’s Damion James led all scorers with 21 points. But the Aces didn’t get much from key players Jayvee Casio, Calvin Abueva and Cyrus Baguio.
Baguio, who helped Alaska complete a 104-98 win against Ginebra recently, only managed 2 points. Abueva was limited with 4.
According to PBA’s statistician, Fidel Mangonon, it was Purefoods’ biggest win margin in the PBA playoffs.
The Hotshots are now leading the best-of-3 quarterfinals series, 1-0.
Before the game, Hotshots coach Tim Cone was expecting a tough matchup with the Aces.
“Alaska it is, and we probably could not have picked a tougher opponent,” said Cone said earlier. “At this time of the conference, every team is tough… In a short series, anything can happen. We’re hoping we can get that first game.”
The scores:
Purefoods 120 – Bowles 20, Yap 18, Barroca 14, Simon 13, Pingris 11, Devance 10, Pennisi 8, Maliksi 6, Melton 5, Reavis 5, Mallari 4, Gaco 4, Allado 2, Alvarez 0.
Alaska 86 – James 21, Jazul 12, Manuel 10, Banchero 9, Eman 8, Dela Rosa 6, Casio 6, Abueva 4, Baclao 4, Baguio 2, Exciminiano 2, Dela Cruz 2, Thoss 0, Hontiveros 0.
Quarters: 31-7, 54-29, 88-59, 120-86
Photo: Mark Cristino/ABS-CBN
This story was republished with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com
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