Fired-up Mixers out to halt Aces run

MANILA, Philippines - Unbeaten frontrunner Alaska Milk and resurgent titleholder San Mig Coffee put their respective winning streaks on the line as they mix it up today in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces shoot for a sixth straight win while the Mixers chase a third consecutive victory as they face off at 7:30 p.m. proceeding the 5:15 p.m. tiff between struggling teams the Meralco Bolts and the Air21 Express.

Alaska is three full games ahead of San Mig Coffee but Aces coach Luigi Trillo anticipates a fierce battle against the Mixers who have improved a lot on the return of champion import Denzel Bowles.

“Denzel Bowles really changes that team and so does Joe Devance. The thing, though, is that San Mig Coffee has good one-on-one players but they somehow always find a way to play together and share the load. It’s never about one person in that team,” said Trillo.

“We have to find ways to take away matchup problems. In every position from (Mark) Barroca to (James) Yap, (PJ) Simon and even (Marc) Pingris, they can isolate. And they also tear teams apart sharing the basketball very well,” Trillo said. “They don’t force things. Everything is within their rhythm.”

The Mixers have been like that since Bowles took over from Matt Rodgers. San Mig Coffee has won its last two games after three straight defeats.

With both teams performing well, San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone believes it’s going to be about which team executes better.

“It’s going to be tough. Alaska is playing at a very high level with great confidence, and we’re still trying to get our feet under us after a poor start,” said Cone.

Alaska has yet to lose a game since losing its Philippine Cup Final Four series versus Talk n Text, beating Rain or Shine, Meralco, Barako Bull, Barangay Ginebra and Talk n Text in a hot start in the Commissioner’s Cup.

The Aces were particularly impressive in their last two games against the Kings and the Tropang Texters, beating them by a huge average margin of 19 points.

Meanwhile, Meralco hopes to reach the .500 mark, going for a second straight win and third in six games in all as it tangles with Air21 (1-4).

“After a 10-day respite, we hit the court again and we are prepared to battle Air21 with defense as our main arsenal,” said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.

“The break allowed us to fine-tune our offense, strengthen our defense and solidify our team spirit (in a team-building session in Nasugbu, Batangas),” Gregorio added. “We are upbeat to play again after the ‘Sunday special’ hat trick against Globalport. We want to continue to climb up the ladder.”

The Express are at 1-4, having dropped all their last four games.