MANILA, Philippines—With Alaska playing without most of its starting five in the early part of the PBA Philippine Cup, Carl Bran Cruz picked the perfect time  to put on a show.

Cruz had a game-high 20 points with nine rebounds to lead the Aces to a 94-72 walloping of Columbian Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena in a game Alaska badly needed to win.

The Aces were coming off a sorry 85-72 loss against Rain or Shine and they were obviously missing the help of Vic Manuel, JVee Casio, Simon Enciso, and Kevin Racal.

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Alaska vs Columbian. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines–Alaska’s severely undermanned Aces on Wednesday night still proved too much to handle for Columbian, scoring a 94-72 ripping of the Dyip at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay for their first win in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations.

With four traditional starters on sick bay, the Aces played with remarkable consistency all night long to make what started out as a close game into a blowout and deal the Dyip a third straight loss in a 2-4 card.

Alaska played without Kevin Racal, JV Casio, Simon Enciso and Vic Manuel, but despite that, was able to
bounce back from a woeful first outing just three nights ago against Rain or Shine.

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ANTIPOLO CITY—Phoenix has zoomed right to the top of the PBA Philippine Cup standings with its four consecutive victories. But gunner Matthew Wright said there’s no reason to celebrate.

At least, not yet.

“We haven’t done anything yet. We haven’t done anything worth bragging about. We haven’t won a playoff game yet,” the Filipino-Canadian marksman told the press shortly after the FuelMasters decimated Blackwater, 114-95, Friday night at Ynares Center here.

The team’s recent strides, Wright said, is a testament to how much work the FuelMasters have put in.

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Written by: Denison Rey A. Dalupang

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ANTIPOLO CITY–Mike DiGregorio went from shooting the lights out on Wednesday to shooting blanks on Friday.

The Phoenix defense got in the way somehow.

Blackwater’s shifty guard was a nonfactor in the Elite’s 114-95 losing stand against the league-leading Phoenix in the PBA Philippine Cup at Ynares Center here.

After having an unconscious night against Rain or Shine where he fired 27 points—including seven hits from long range—DiGregorio was held to just five against the Fuel Masters. He was unable to convert any of his tries from downtown.

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Calvin Abueva. PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO–Playing with an immeasurable amount of energy right from the get-go, Phoenix Pulse went on to blow Blackwater to smithereens, 114-95, on Friday night as the Fuel Masters kept their unbeaten run going in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Ynares Center here.

With a balanced offensive and a defensive stand that didn’t budge an inch, the Fuel Masters led by as large as 85-48 on the way to improving their league-leading record to 4-0–the only unblemished card remaining.

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Written by: Musong R. Castillo

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Paolo Taha vs Jackson Corpuz. PBA IMAGES

ANTIPOLO–Columbian grabbed command late in the third quarter on Friday night and claimed another big fish in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations after posting a 110-100 victory over NorthPort at Ynares Center here.

The Dyip came roaring back from 10 points down in that quarter and took an 86-79 lead into the fourth, which they protected with much ferociousness on the way to handing the Batang Pier their first defeat in three games.

In tying their victims at 2-1, the Dyip survived a huge first half by Mo Tautuaa by getting him to pick up a fourth foul early in the third and holding down NorthPort’s prolific rookie Robert Bolick to just three points.

Jackson Corpuz and pint-sized rookie point guard John Paul Calvo were big during the breakaway with the NorthPort coaching staff never finding ways to stop them when it mattered.

Stanley Pringle scored 14 points in the third quarter built around three triples that had NorthPort threatening to break the game wide open. But the lack of support later on–and with Tautuaa never getting back in the groove after 20 first half points–sealed the Batang Pier’s doom.

There were seven players in twin digits for the Dyip, whose first big victim was four-time defending champion San Miguel Beer two weeks ago.

Written by: Musong R. Castillo

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CJ Perez impressive in PBA debut. PBA IMAGES

CJ Perez said he wanted to find out what he and Columbian are made of.

The top overall pick of this season’s PBA draft got his answer when the Dyip carved out a gritty 124-118 win over San Miguel Beermen in the curtain-raiser of the 2018 Philippine Cup on Friday at Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

Perez unleashed 26 points as he paired with Jackson Corpuz and Reden Celda to hand the reigning conference champions a stunning loss in the two teams’ all-Filipino debut.

“I told the boys before the game, ‘If we apply the [what we learned from] three weeks practice and the [week-long] camp, we’ll have a chance,” said Columbian coach Johnedel Cardel said in Filipino.

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Written by: Denison Rey A. Dalupang

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TNT KaTropa. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—TNT team consultant Mark Dickel has drawn up a system suitable for his undersized lineup, but he still rued the glaring size difference between his team and Barangay Ginebra was still a tough bind.

The KaTropa lost to the Gin Kings 90-79 in the PBA season opener in Dickel’s first game running the offense.

Although the team had some semblance of success going up against the big guys of Ginebra in 7-foot Greg Slaughter and 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, there was still the factor of getting banged up throughout 48 minutes.

“We’re king of out of position, no matter who we put in now,” said Dickel Sunday at Philippine Arena.

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Written by: Bong Lozada

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For someone picked fourth in a draft that was supposedly lacking in depth, Paul Desiderio will have some of the spotlight trained on him.

Most of it will be residue sheen from his stint with University of the Philippines in the UAAP, where he ended a career that took on folk hero proportions when he led the Maroons to their first Finals stint in decades.

But he feels little pressure. What he embraces is the challenge.

“At this point, all I really want to gain is the experience,” Desiderio told the Inquirer during the recent PBA media day.

He knows he has to find his niche in Blackwater coach Bong Ramos’ system, a search that should be easier after the Elite dealt away Paul Zamar.

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