CEBU, Philippines - The M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu Niños recorded what is by far their biggest and most impressive victory against a PBA squad, a 20-point annihilation of the Alaska Aces in their one-sided exhibition match last night at the Cebu Coliseum.
Longtime Alaska assistant coach Luigi Trillo said in a post-game interview that they came here plainly to play and have fun, but an Aces’ fan who refused to be identified commented they should have at least put up a decent fight being one of the PBA top guns that carry a shining badge of championship tradition.
Counting their Alaska demolition, M. Lhuillier of team owner Michel J. Lhuillier and decorated coach Raul “Yayoy” D. Alcoseba have had already slayed five PBA squads in recent memory including the Sta. Lucia Realtors, Red Bull Barako, Talk N’ Txt Phone Pals, and the PBA selection manned by Cebuano hotshot Dondon Hontiveros and John Ferriols.
While the Niños were on fire on all range in the final half, the Aces, in sharp contrast, yielded a somewhat lackluster showing - they misfired their medium-range jumpers, committed a spate of passing errors, and were not agrressive on the defensive end.
The Niños made the most out of the opportunity, limiting the Aces to just seven points in the first nine minutes of the final period as they went on to build an insurmountable 25-point advantage, 75-50, with 53 seconds left to play behind the blistering offensive of Bruce Dacia, Ariel Mepaña, and Franklin Nailon.
The Aces were actually down by just seven, 45-52, early in the fourth quarter, but the Niños staged a crippling 17-5 rally capped by Nailon’s 5-0 blitz to break the game wide open, 69-48. Over, the spirited Niños outclassed the Aces in the final 10 minutes of the contest, 23-12.
After the Niños broke the ice of the match with five straight points, the Aces never had a taste of the lead nor even just tie the score. The Niños mounted their first double-digit edge, 29-19, and the best the wards of coach Tim Cone could muster was to close in at 27-29 with 1:24 left before halftime.
The Aces again pulled within 41-43 but the Niños quickly restored a nine-point headway at the end of the third canto, 52-43.
Mepaña netted 18 points in his finest performance for M. Lhuillier in a game of such magnitude. Dacia unloaded 14 markers, while Nailon, Woodrow Enriquez, and Richard Ian Saladata scored nine each.
The Aces, who played without star player Willie Miller, John Ferriols, Joe DeVance and Brandon Cablay due to various reasons, was led by Reynel Hugnatan with 12 points followed by LA Tenorios with 10.
The scores
M. Lhuillier (75) - Mepaña 18, Dacia 14, Enriquez 9, Saladaga 9, Nailon 9, Santos 7, Padilla 6, Ababon 3
Alaska (55) - Hugnatan 12, Tenorio 10, Fonacier 9, Burtcher 9, Borboran 8, Thoss 5, Cariaso 5, De la Cruz 2, De la Peña 2
Quarterscores:16-12, 34-29, 52-43, 75-55. – THE FREEMAN