Belasco, Cortez sizzle as Aces pounce on Pals

Nic Belasco scattered 20 of his 26 points in the first half while Mike Cortez fired 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back treys down the stretch as Alaska Milk held off Talk n Text, 86-79, in the Gran Matador Brandy PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome last night.

Tony dela Cruz also piled up significant numbers with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and the same number of steals for the Aces who outhustled and outmaneuvered the Phone Pals at endgame to chalk up their second straight win and their third in five games in all.

The Pals suffered their third loss in four starts as they sagged and collapsed at homestretch, going scoreless in the last 4:12 of play.

"It was a tough one. It was the first close game we played in this tourney," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

"They (the Pals) always disrupted whatever we wanted to do but I think the guys (the Aces) executed and rebounded very well down the stretch," Cone added.

Cone lauded the efforts of Belasco and Cortez. "Nic brought new dimension in our game with his good outside shots. Cortez, on the other hand, proved that he can hit the big shots," he said.

Cortez, who fashioned out a solid all-round game with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds, hit back-to-back triples, enabling Alaska to surge ahead to stay at 83-79 with 2:46 left to play.

The Phone Pals fought the Aces through six deadlocks and eight lead changes but yielded the game as they went 0-of-9 from the field in the last 4:12 of play.

The Pals shattered a 77-all deadlock as Asi Taulava scored their last basket in the night.

Then came Cortez’s back-breaking three-pointers.

It was a sorry loss for Talk n Text, which came out strong earlier despite missing the services of starting wingman Vic Pablo due to a calf muscle injury.

Mark Cardona ably filled in the spot of Pablo as he made a career-high 15 points. John Ferriols and Poch Juinio also made their presence felt, by combining for 23 points coming off the bench.

But the whole team simply sputtered at endgame.

To Cone, the Pals are still playing their dues with the new system and philosophy put in place by new coach Derrick Pumaren.

"It’s always like that when a team is doing new things. The worst happens before you get better. One just have to be patient," said Cone.