PBA: Aces, Beermen want to move 2-up vs semis rivals

While it came as stunning to many, Tim Cone, Alaska’s long-time coach, has labeled the Aces’ 104-88 rout of top seeded Talk `N Tex as `certainly expected.’ Truth is, Cone’s even certain his Aces are capable enough of repeating the act when Game 2 of their PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals series with the Tropang Texters is played Friday at the Araneta Coliseum. “We need to find a way to follow it up," said Cone. “But if we can stay focused on the defensive end, we believe there’s no reason we can’t." The Aces, seeded fourth entering the Final Four, jumped off to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series following that runaway win made possible by their bench outscoring the Tropang Texters, 36-13. Back up big man Reynel Hugnatan was the one responsible for that, pouring in 16 points behind a 7-of-9 shooting from the field in leading a big third-quarter breakaway by Alaska. “The real key was our guys coming off the bench," Cone admitted. “Reynel was the player of the game, they had no answer for him. And we’ve got to do that continually to beat that team in this series." It was the worst beating administered this conference against the Tropang Texters, who lost only five games during the elimination round of the season-ending meet. “We got our butts kicked. We were beaten badly," said Talk `N Text coach Chot Reyes in the aftermath of the opener debacle. “Now, we really know we’re in the semifinals." The Tropang Texters go into the 5 p.m. encounter with top scorer Mac Mac Cardona a doubtful starter as the deadly shooting guard out of De La Salle will get married on Friday afternoon. Still, the team remains formidable enough even in the absence of Cardona, with Kelly Williams, Jared Dillinger or even Jason Castro easily filling up the void. More than that, the Tropang Texters have to do a lot of things for them not to go down 0-2 in the series. “Our guards need to contain LA (Tenorio), our bigs need to contain their bigs. Kelly needs to get his game back, and I need to coach better for us to compete in Game Two," said Reyes. Derby Ace also hopes to avoid going 0-2 against defending champion San Miguel in the other semifinals series. “We should not allow ourselves to be buried under a 0-2 hole," said Llamados coach Ryan Gregorio. “We had bad shot selections and committed turnovers that resulted to a series of easy baskets – totally unacceptable in the playoffs. We must regroup." Like the Alaska-Talk `N Text series opener, the Beermen decided the outcome of their 101-88 win over the Llamados by ripping the game apart in the third period. Jay Washington was the man of the hour for the Beermen, accounting for 14 of the Beermen’s 35 points during that telling breakaway. Washington finished with a game-high 28 points. San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen however, stressed that one game does not guarantee a victory in a series. “You just can’t relax on them," said Tanquingcen of the Llamados. “The worst thing you can do is to give them open looks since a lot of their players can light it up anytime." - RCJ, GMANews.TV