PBA Fastbreak: Alaska prevails over Meralco
ZAPPED. Jared Dillinger of the Meralco Bolts dishes a pass under the rim in a valiant but losing effort. Photo by Nuki Sabio/PBA Images
Alaska Aces short circuit Meralco Bolts 94-91
The Best: Veterans Sonny Thoss and Dondon Hontiveros stepped up big time here, combining for 41 points as the Aces survived yet another knockout encounter on Monday to enter the quarterfinals. Thoss recorded 21 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in a great show of force down low, while Hontiveros hit 2 triples on his way to 20 points, 4 boards, and 1 assist. Both guys will have to continue playing well, though, as Alaska will have to contend with top-seeded Ginebra in the next round.
The Worst: Save for Cliff Hodge, who worked like hell (and got a bunch of bruises to show for it), Meralco’s frontline was pretty much kaput. Rabeh Al-Hussaini laid a big fat egg again, Don Allado and Danny Ildefonso scored a total of 4 points, and Reynel Hugnatan underwhelmed with 6 points and 7 rebounds. Meralco got sent packing, and the Bolts will have a lot of soul-searching to do before the next conference begins.
Three-Hit Combo: That’s not usually a term one hears or reads in the context of basketball, but it’s what happened here when Gabby Espinas, elbowed, tripped, and clocked Cliff Hodge in the second quarter. He got a flagrant foul one, which I personally believe was too light. A three-hit combo? C’mon. - Rappler.com
