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Streaking Aces eye 7th win vs unlucky Painters


The remaining members of Alaska’s fabled 1996 grand slam team never felt like this in a long time. And Alaska’s 6-0 in a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tournament brings back memories for Aces mentor Tim Cone, assistant coaches Joel Banal and Jojo Lastimosa, veteran Jeff Cariaso and other members of the "Spirit of 96" squad.

Standings W-L Alaska 6-0 San Miguel 5-2 Ginebra 4-1 Talk ‘N Text 3-2 Sta. Lucia 3-3 Purefoods 3-3 Barako Bull 2-3 Coca-Cola 1-4 Burger King 1-4 Rain or Shine 0-6
Now Cone and his troops want to relive their momentous run as they gun for a seventh straight win when they clash with the still winless and tailender Rain or Shine in Friday’s main game in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. A win by Alaska over ROS will give the Steven Uytengsu-owned franchise its best start ever in its 23-year-old stint in the PBA. For Cone, Friday’s game against the Elasto Painters is one they really hate to lose. “That’s definitely one thing we want to avoid. We hate losing against Rain or Shine. We have been perfect for six games then your morale will definitely go down when you lose against a winless team." “The most difficult game is playing a team that has yet to win and play in desperation. More than Rain or Shine has improved in terms of talent, the team is also expected to come all out," he added. Two more games are scheduled Friday with Smart-Gilas going up against Sta. Lucia in a 2:30 p.m. no-bearing encounter followed by the Talk ‘N Text- Barako Bull 5 p.m. match.
Games Friday (Ynares Center, Antipolo City) 2:30 p.m. – Smart-Gilas vs. Sta. Lucia 5 p.m. – Barako Bull vs. Talk N Text 7:30 p.m. – Alaska vs. Rain or Shine
Rain or Shine’s 0-6 start in the Philippine Cup is hard to imagine since the Painters have players that can make them contenders in the season-opening tournament. Veterans Mark Telan and Mike Hrabak, rookies Jervy Cruz and Marcy Arellano and sophomore Jeff Chan were some of the notable players acquired by the Elasto Painters prior to the start of the 35th season. Unfortunately, they have yet to play cohesively alongside the holdovers. In contrast, chemistry and sound basketball are the key elements for the Aces’ early success. – GMANews.TV
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