PBA: With Abueva and now Banchero out, Aces struggle to keep in step with hot-shooting San Miguel

The San Miguel Beermen led from the end of the first quarter up until the final buzzer on Saturday, preventing any serious challenge from  the Alaska Aces to take Game 1 of their semifinals series, 92-79.

Alaska was simply outclassed, with their starters falling silent as they faced the Beermen. Aside from Diamon Simpson’s 31 points and 24 rebounds, no other member of the Aces’ starting five scored more than seven markers.

Vic Manuel vs Alex Cabagnot

Kevin Racal and Simon Enciso were limited to seven points apiece, while Jayvee Casio and Sonny Thoss combined for eight more points. The four settled for a paltry 10 of 31 clip.

Vic Manuel was the lone bright spot for Alaska, as the big man hit 16 points off the bench. The rest of the reserves, however, combined for just 10 points.

It was a totally different story for the Beermen, who had the luxury of having six players score in doubel figures. Import Renaldo Balkman did not have to carry the squad, as June Mar Fajardo scored 17 points.

Alex Cabangnot and Balkman added 15 and 13 points, respectively, while Arwind Santos and Marcio Lasssiter chipped in 12 apiece. Even Kelly Nabong got into the mix, hitting 11 points in under 15 minutes on the floor. Almost joining the double-digit club for San Miguel was rookie Christian Stanhardinger, who tallied nine.

“It feels good to be back playing for San Miguel again,” said Stanhardinger, who played just nine minutes in a reserve role. The big man, however, collected five rebounds with an assist and a steal, but with three turnovers.

The two teams will play again on Monday for Game 2, but it remains unclear if Chris Banchero will be suiting up. Banchero missed Game 1 due to a “family emergency”. After the game, Alaska head coach Alex Compton refused to disclose why his pointguard is out, instead he took the time to express the franchise’s support. — LA, GMA News