PBA: B-MEG trounces Alaska, continues to shadow TNT

If there's one coach who knows Alaska like the back of one's hand, it's Tim Cone no less. B-MEG followed Cone's instructions, of limiting the production of three of his former players, to the letter and the Llamados coasted to a 90-75 win over the Aces Friday night to clinch a playoff spot in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Astrodome. The Llamados failed to shut down L.A. Tenorio, but successfully held Cyrus Baguio and BonBon Custodio to a combined eight points in the game B-MEG began to control only in the second period. Baguio and Custodio's low offensive production seemed to affected the entire Alaska squad, which scored just eight points in the game-turning quarter on 18 percent field goal shooting. In contrast, the Llamados poured in 23 points during that stretch, turning a two-point deficit at the end of the opening period to a 48-35 halftime lead. "We're concerned in controlling L.A, Cyrus and Bonbon," said Cone, who was the Alaska coach for 22 years but moved over to the B-MEG bench at the start of the season. "We really concentrated on controlling those three." B-MEG claimed its fifth win in seven games for solo second and became the second team to gain  a quarterfinals berth after defending champion Talk 'N Text. Alaska fell to its fourth defeat in eight outings. Import Denzel Bowles was again an intimidating presence inside for the Llamados with 35 points and 18 rebounds. "Denzel had a wonderful game tonight," said Cone. "He has overpowered guys. He's maturing right in front of us...he seems to be really locked in." The Aces tried to rally back in the second half, coming to within 54-49 on Baguio's three-pointer. But Bowles reasserted himself inside, and with James Yap and Peter June Simon hitting their shots from the outside, B-MEG posted an 82-64 spread with four minutes and 41 seconds left in the game. Yap finished with 14 points, Simon had 13 and Josh Urbiztondo came off the bench to contribute 10 points.   Parada led the Aces with 24 points while Tenorio had 18. Baguio, who two nights ago scored 19 in Alaska's 93-88 win over Petron, was limited to just seven points while Custodio was held without a field goal to finish with one point after exploding for 17 also against the Boosters. — JVP, GMA News