Miller posts triple-double as Aces beat Energy Boosters

It took a while before Alaska finally found its rhythm going right on its debut game in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup. But when the Aces finally did, there was nothing the Barako Bull Energy Boosters could do. With former league MVP Willie Miller dishing out a triple-double, the Aces shellacked the Energy Boosters, 99-83, Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Miller scored 19 points, hauled down 11 rebounds and dished off 12 assists, leading the charge for an Alaska team that surprisingly met a tough resistance from a pesky Barako Bull side in the first half. The Energy Boosters even took a 41-38 lead at the turn. “Parang na-excite kami dahil first game of the season namin, so medyo nag-struggle nung simula," said Miller, who registered his third career triple-double, second with the Aces. “But sabi ni coach Tim (Cone) nung halftime, let’s just play our usual game. So yun, we began to settle down." The Aces came out for the second half with renewed enthusiasm, outscoring the Energy Boosters, 32-18, in the third period as Miller pumped in seven points, before coasting the rest of the way. The Aces had their biggest lead at 20 points (94-74) on a split free throw by Miller with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter. “We knew that if we beat Barako Bull it’s not going to make news, but if they had beaten us, that’s big news. We just hit some big shots in the second half, we got rolling and got the rhythm," said Cone later. Four more players scored in double figures for Alaska. LA Tenorio had 15, Joe DeVance contributed 12 and Larry Fonacier and Tony De La Cruz each added 10 points. Yousif Aljamal led the Boosters after finishing with career-highs in scoring (18 points, 12 coming in the three-point area) and rebounding (15). - GMANews.TV