Alaska overcomes Blackwater for second win in a row

“Final: 103 – 101 in favor of the Alaska Aces!
Best Player: Sonny Thoss with 16 points and 5 rebounds #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

Despite their opponents’ persistence, the Alaska Aces were able to gain another win last Wednesday, February 13 for the elimination round of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena, conquering Blackwater, 103-101, for their second victory in a row.

Carl Bryan Cruz and Jeron Teng were the biggest point contributors, both providing 18 points for the Alex Compton-led squad, while Chris Banchero and Sonny Thoss were the heroes at the last few minutes of the game as Blackwater did not back down from being 13 points down. Specifically, Banchero hit a jumper at 1:04 minutes left while Thoss chipped a three at 34.3 seconds. The 37-year-old German-Filipino showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with, chipping 16 points for his team, while Banchero had a double-double at 11 points and 16 assists.

Alaska Head Coach Alex Compton shared, “I thought the guys did a tremendous job considering all the stuff that was going on,” joking, “Blackwater really scares me,” referring to Allein Maliksi and Roi Sumang’s 25 and 18-point contribution respectively. Compton added, “Their players are playing well, and they scare me. To come out with a win in this situation is nice.” When talking about one of his best players of the game, Thoss, Compton also elaborated, “Coaches are less concerned about points and more concerned about how you play. He played the right way. He played the right way again. And his level of activity tonight was tremendous,” concluding, “Sonny Thoss won the game.”

The next time both teams will try to score a victory is again at the Mall of Asia Arena on March 1, as Blackwater faces Columbian Dyip and Alaska battles it out with the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.