Alaska rallied behind Willie Miller, who shrugged off a flagrant foul by Welcoat’s Don Dulay in the fourth quarter as the Aces fashioned out a 104-81 rout to keep its streak going in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
Dulay stuck a foot on Miller as the Alaska ace player pulled off a jump shot at the onset of the fourth, sending him down to the floor.
“Some would say a foul like that is a part of the game but I don’t. To me hurting a fellow player is not part of a game,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.
Alaska team owner Wilfred Steven Uytengsu yelled at the referees, asking them to throw the Welcoat second-string pointguard out of the game.
Curiously, it was Miller who took the foul in stride as he even approached Dulay and gave him a tap on the back.
In the next play, Miller played with the crowd, picking a piece in the bucket of fries at the sideline after he tried to save the ball from getting out of bounds.
Miller hit the free throw off Dulay’s foul then Larry Fonacier rifled in a triple as the Aces broke the game wide open at 81-61 en route to their sixth straight victory and eighth straight over the Dragons in their head-to-head duel.
Repeating their 92-90 win over the Dragons last April 16, the Aces caught up with the Air21 Express at third place on their identical 9-6 win-loss cards.
The Dragons slid to 4-11 — one win and three losses behind the ninth-running Ginebra Kings with three games left in their elimination-round assignments.
Miller finished with 19 points, six rebounds and the same number of assists while import Randy Holcomb wound up with 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four blocks.
LA Tenorio added 15 points and Jeffrey Cariaso chipped in 12.
Marquis Gainous led the losing team with 31 points and 16 rebounds.
“We prepared hard for this game because we’re concerned they would go out strong. We came out with energy and concentration. Getting some cushion, we step on the gas after the halftime break,” said Cone.
On their sizzling streak, Cone gave some credit to his bench.
“Our reserves are giving us much help pushing our first team and second team in practice,” said Cone.
Meanwhile, Magnolia has also decided to send its original import Jameel Watkins home. The Beverage Masters will be parading a new import as they play the Sta. Lucia Realtors tomorrow at the Astrodome.