Aces turn back Painters, grab Philippine Cup lead

Alaska made Rain or Shine its latest victim and stretched its winning run in the PBA Philippine Cup.

With Joe DeVance again asserting his offensive might and four other Aces doing their share, Alaska turned back the Elasto Painters Friday night, 88-80, to register their third straight win and gain the solo lead in the All-Filipino tournament. DeVance came through with 25 points, while Cyrus Baguio added 20 in the win that brought a smile to Alaska coach Tim Cone, but not enough to satisfy him. "I’m really happy with the win, but I am not happy with the way we played," said Cone afterwards. “We’ve got to be more disciplined. We’re not in playoff form yet, but we have to be in playoff form all the time." "But you can’t complain with a 3-0 (win-loss) start," he added wryly. Tenorio chipped in 11 for the Aces, the same figures for Tony De La Cruz and Sonny Thoss, who also grabbed 16 rebounds, just two nights after posting a career-high 21 boards in the Aces’ 92-87 win over defending champion B-Meg Derby Ace. DeVance added 11 rebounds. The Aces led by as much as 56-44 in the third period, but saw their 12-point cushion trimmed down to 63-61. Only after four straight free throws by Baguio and De La Cruz down the stretch did Alaska finally seal the victory. The Elasto Painters are now 1-2 overall, as they failed to carry the momentum of their dramatic 89-86 triumph over Air21 the last time, behind Jeff Chan’s buzzer-beating three-pointer. Three players, including Sol Mercado, paced Rain or Shine with 10 points each. – JVP/KY, GMANews.TV