Hot Baguio start fuels Aces run vs Tigers

MANILA, Philippines - Cyrus Baguio dazzled and sizzled in the opening quarter to provide the momentum for Alaska’s 108-98 decision over the Coke Tigers in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Baguio went 9-of-9 from the field in the first period and the rest of the Aces sustained the initiative on their way to notching their sixth victory in 10 games.

“I myself was surprised with my performance. The first shot gave me the confidence to keep on shooting,” said Baguio of his big game that saw him finish with a personal season high of 28 points.

The new Alaska player, acquired in exchange for two-time MVP winner Willie Miller, went 13-of-15 from the field overall, making his first 10 attempts before missing a shot with 6:40 left in the third quarter.

Prior to his 9-of-9 shooting, the all-time best perfect shooting in a quarter in the league was 8-of-8 by Coca-Cola import Jason Dixon in the same conference two years ago.

Alaska coach Tim Cone was happy with Baguio’s performance but not with the overall game put up by his team.

“I really thought we could have done better. I wanted our team to win with defense,” said Cone.

“We have to break our old habit. We have to make the stops not try to outscore the opponents. We can’t outscore teams like San Miguel and Talk n Text. That should be the mindset if we want to get deep into the playoffs,” Cone added.

The Aces engaged the Tigers in an offensive battle, shooting 55.8 percent from the field.

Diamon Simpson put in 18 points and 17 rebounds while Joe Devance and LA Tenorio added 13 points apiece as the Aces sent the Tigers reeling to their sixth straight defeat.

Coca-Cola dropped to 4-7 after being swept by Alaska in their elimination-round games in this season-ending tourney.