The Alaska Aces rode a hot start to cruise to an 87-70 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the opening match of the Commissioner’s Cup championship round Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
For Alaska’s veteran players, the 1-0 advantage is a huge deal in a short series.
“Sobrang laking bagay ng Game One sa best-of-five series kasi kapag nanalo ka ulit sa Game Two isa na lang champion ka na,” said guard Dondon Hontiveros.
“It’s huge winning first game of best-of-five series,” added center Sonny Thoss. “Game Two is going to be just important so we need to stay focused.”
Hontiveros said that Alaska was the fresher team heading into the series, and it showed in the opening period of Game One, which saw the Aces outscore the Gin Kings, 28-6.
“I think fatigue factor has something to do with Ginebra’s slow start. They’re coming off five games versus Talk ‘N Text which loves to run. Pero we played good defense on [Ginebra import Vernon] Macklin early in the game,” said Hontiveros.
The two men are wary of Ginebra’s trademark never-say-die spirit, which has allowed the Gin Kings to rebound from a 0-4 start in the conference before winning four do-or-die playoff games to reach the finals.
“Hindi pa rin dapat mag-relax kasi yung Ginebra capable of coming back just like they did in the third and fourth quarter,” said Hontiveros.
“Ginebra is gonna come out strong in Game Two,” added Thoss.
Source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/1-0-lead-over-ginebra-a-huge-deal-for-alaska-say-veterans-dondon-hontiveros-sonny-thoss
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