Aces spill Blackwater in Govs Cup opener
Alaska Milk played with fire on its belly in its return from a mere sixth-place finish in the Commissioner’s Cup, blasting Blackwater, 106-80, in the opener of the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Tuesday night.
Import Romeo Travis and the Alaska locals came through with an efficient balanced game, negating Marcus Douthit’s game-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds as the Aces got to a triumphant start the season-ending tourney after being swept by the Purefoods Star Hotshots in a best-of-three quarters showdown last conference.
Travis debuted in the local pro loop with 18 points and 12 rebounds while Jvee Casio, Cyrus Baguio and Chris Banchero contributed at least 12 points each as the Aces dominated the Elite even more after a pair of 14-point triumphs in their face-offs in the Philippine Cup and in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The Aces pulled off the huge 26-point triumph without a help of an Asian reinforcement. Alaska is one of the five teams that have opted to play with just regular imports.
“Our focus is developing our (local) guys,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton. “It’s possible we’ll suffer without the benefit of an Asian import, but our focus really is to develop the guys for the longer picture.”
Meanwhile, Barako Bull and Kia introduce new seven-foot imports as they tangle with NLEX and San Miguel Beer, respectively, in Day Two of the Commissioner’s Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday.
The Energy and 7-2 behemoth Liam McMorrow play the Road Warriors at 4:15 p.m. then Sorento and 7-0 center Hamady Barro N’Diaye face the Beermen at 7 p.m.
The Beermen, the Philippine Cup champs, believe they have made the most of their entry exit in the second conference, making them optimistic they can bounce back strong in the Governors Cup
Import AZ Reid could well give the Beermen a big edge in terms of his familiarity with his team, the opposition and the kind of play in the local pro league. After failing to get the Beermen past the eliminations in the second conference, Reid stayed around and trained the whole time with the team.
Romeo put in solid basketball in his first game with Alaska, helping the Aces dominate the Elite from start to finish.
“He’s solid, smart and good defender. He’s not one who’ll wow the crowd with 50 points. He’s just the type of guy who makes the right decisions, and it’s a valuable trait,” said Compton of their import, a teammate of NBA super star Lebron James in high school.
Travis went 7-of-11 from the field and 3of-4 from the stripe as he shared the load with Banchero and Casio who tossed in 13 apiece and Baguio who chipped in 12.
The Aces established control early, taking the half at 55-41 and leading by as many as 35, 81-46, in the second half.