Streaking Aces aim for 6th in row
Games today (Araneta Coliseum)
Alaska Milk hopes to keep the momentum of its five-game romp as it goes up against Welcoat today in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Enjoying a high level of confidence, the streaking Aces feel they could aim for one of the top two spots for an outright semifinals entry in the season-ending tourney.
Now at No. 4 after languishing in the lower half of the chart in the early going, Alaska is tipped to make it six in a row and catch Air21 (8-6) at third as the Aces take on the Dragons at 4:50 p.m.
“We’re at 2-6 weeks before but look where we are now. Suddenly, we have a chance to finish even at No. 1. There’s a chance and we’ll go for it,” said coach Tim Cone.
The Aces, however, are wary of the Dragons, who are in a must-win situation being down in the cellar with a 4-10 card with only four games left in the double round elims.
The Dragons actually are coming off a big win Saturday when they snapped a five-game slump with a 102-97 upset of the Purefoods Giants in a road game in Tubod, Lanao del Norte.
The Giants, meanwhile, seek to bounce back from that setback as they slug it out with the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the main game at
“We are far from being consistent. We can compete and win against the league’s No. 1 team (Coca-Cola) and falter against the No. 10 team. Hopefully, the loss at the hands of Welcoat will make us realize that there is no weak team in the league,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
“With five games left, we are determined to finish strong and with the right breaks, end up in the top five. We’re still in control but the time to move on is now,” Gregorio said. “Ginebra is on a roll and we come up with our A-game in order to beat them.”
The Kings bucked the absence of injured main man Mark Caguioa with Chris Alexander, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid coming through with conference-high numbers as they ripped the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 112-104, last Wednesday.
Caguioa is expected to return to action as the ninth-running Kings try to keep the Dragons at bay on a possible second straight victory.
The last placer after the double-round elims will take an early exit in the tourney.
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