Carnival claim Aces 4th blue-chip victim

MANILA, Philippines - Kia came out in full throttle behind torrid shooting all night to add Alaska to its growing list of  upset victims, 103-89, and barge into the Top Eight of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Seven-foot-3 import Peter John Ramos snared a 10-year league best 33 rebounds and the Carnival torched the Aces with an 42-percent three-point clip and a 50-percent overall field shooting in a remarkable game that netted them their most lopsided win since beating Blackwater (80-66) by the same margin in the season opener last October.

Ramos made 36 points while gunners Karl Dehesa and JR Cawaling combined for 27 markers and point guard LA Revilla added 10 points as Kia notched their fourth win in the mid-season tourney following earlier victories against other highly touted rivals in San Miguel Beer, Purefoods Star and Talk n Text.

“The guys just realized we still need to work hard after the loss to Blackwater,” said Kia coach Chito Victolero. “I challenged the guys to play hard. They came out flat the last time following back-to-back wins.”

Rebounding from their 104-115 loss to the Blackwater Elite Saturday, the Carnival (4-5) bumped off the NLEX Road Warriors (3-4) at eighth heading to the All-Star break. The two teams meet in a crucial tussle on March 18, also at the Big Dome.

The Aces, the Commissioner’s Cup winners two years ago, reeled to their third straight loss and fifth in seven games overall despite the return of ace center Sonny Thoss.

Not helping their cause was the absence of Cebuano hotshot Dondon Hontiveros and the early exit of Jvee Casio due to a busted nose suffered on a wayward elbow by Revilla midway through the first quarter.

The Carnival slowly pulled away in the second half, closing the third quarter at 77-67 and leading by as many as 18 at 102-84 as they kept the Aces winless with their import replacement Damion James.

After going 2-2 with DJ Covington, Alaska dropped its first three games with James versus Rain or Shine Barako Bull and Kia.

James sparked an Alaska rally with six straight points at the onset of the fourth quarter to close the gap at 77-81, but the Carnival unleashed a 17-4 run to put the game away entering the last two minutes of the contest.

Starting slow, Ramos started to hit his strides in the second period, scoring 32 points in the last three quarters.

Along the way, the Puerto Rican behemoth came through with the most number of rebounds by any player since Antonio Smith also collared 33 with Purefoods in the 2005 Fiesta Conference.

Ramos made 33 points on a 13-of-25 field shooting and 10-of-12 charities.

The whole Kia team converted 36-of-72 field goals (50 percent) as against Alaska’s 31-of-86 clip (36 percent).

From a four-point lead, 53-49, at the half, Ramos, Revilla, Dehesa and Cawaling joined forces and opened a 12-point spread for the team at 75-63 towards the end of the third.

In one highlight play, Revilla blew past defender Chris Exciminiano on a behind-the-back dribble then scored on an acrobatic layup off the Alaska import.

The scores:

KIA 103 – Ramos 36, Dehesa 14, Cawaling 13, Revilla 10, Cervantes 6, Avenido 6, Buensuceso 5, Thiele 4, Alvarez 3, Poligrates 2, Pascual 2, Yee 2, Webb 0.

ALASKA 89 – James 25, Thoss 16, Baguio 14, Abueva 11, Banchero 7, Manuel 6, Jazul 4, Dela Cruz 4, Eman 2, Dela Rosa 0, Exciminiano 0, Espinas 0, Casio 0, Menk 0.

Quarterscores: 28-27, 53-49, 77-67, 103-89