Carl Bryan Cruz led the way for his team at 20 points and nine rebounds, while Jake Pascual also stunned with a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds, along with two blocks. Besides Cruz and Pascual, Ping Exciminiano contributed as well with 12 points. As for their opponents, rookie CJ Perez was the top scorer at 15 points, while teammate Jackson Corpus provided 12 points and six rebounds.
Alaska Aces head coach Alex Compton shared that he’s “really proud of [his team’s] defense,” which “clearly won [them] the game” saying, “We had two days to prepare and we talked about this game being an opportunity to bounce back from the absolute whooping that we got from Rain or Shine.”
Vic Manuel, JVee Casio, Simon Enciso, and Kevin Racal were not able to play for the Aces during the game due to injuries, leaving only ten of their teammates suited up to play. Coach Alex elaborated, “We only dressed 10 players and all 10 of them played, and I thought all of them play hard. I appreciate their efforts,” adding, “Pretty much the whole game, we were energetic and all over the place, and we covered the ground.” Pascual also shared, “It’s a challenge for us to step up especially we are undermanned. We really needed to help each other and play as a team.”
Alaska will have a chance to grab another victory on February 13 as they next face Blackwater Elite at the Mall of Asia Arena, while Columbian Dyip will have a long break waiting for their next game on February 27 against the Meralco Bolts at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.