Ajani Williams and Chris Carrawell made decent debut for Alaska and the Aces simply outclassed the struggling Beermen for a 77-69 victory.
Alaska opened its campaign in the mid-season tournament practically in the same fashion as Talk N Text and Red Bull last Sunday and Coca-Cola Tuesday.
The Phone Pals walloped the Shell Turbo Chargers, 89-72, theThunder thundered past the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 81-69, and the Tigers mauled the Express, 110-82.
The losing finalists in the season-opening Governors Cup, the Aces raced to a 27-10 lead at the outset of the second period and never looked back, providing hints of another solid stint — if not an eventual rebirth as coach Tim Cone promised — in the tournament.
Williams went 11-of-14 from the field and finished with 22 points and eight rebonds to lead the Alaska assault.
"Williams came out impressively. We’re pleased with our imports but you must expect the other teams would get to know how to stop them later on," said Cone.
"I think we’ve got a good mix. We’ve got good imports and new additions to our team," said Cone, referring also to Carrawell and new recruit EJ Feihl and Rob Duat.
Alaska started the game practicall with a brand new team with Williams, Carrawell, Feihl, Duat and John Arigo.
Holding the Beermen scoreless in a five-minute stretch bridging the first two quarters, the Aces enjoyed a 17-point lead at the outset of the second period before settling for a 42-29 spread at the turn.
The Beermen fought the Aces on even terms in the first eight minutes of the game although starting with only one import — Jermaine Tate — on the floor.
Damon Flint came off the bench to replace Dwight Lago late in the first quarter but still paced the Beermen in the first half with 11 points on 1-of-4 shooting from the three-point area and 4-of-7 from the two-point zone.
But Ajani Williams and Chris Carawell more than held their own against Flint, combining for 27 points in the first 20 minutes of play. The Aces shot well from the field, making 19-of 31 attempts for 61 percent as against the Beermen’s 36-percent shooting.