Aces oust Road Warriors, join Last 8

MANILA, Philippines — Alaska Milk needed help from another team to get a chance at the last quarterfinals berth. And the Aces made sure not to waste the opportunity.

Sonny Thoss and his teammates played with the poise and composure of an experienced ball club as they blasted the NLEX Road Warriors, 88-80, in their knockout setto for the last slot in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup Final Eight at the MOA Arena last night.

Thoss practically sent Poy Erram to school, leading the way as the Aces pounded a surprisingly lethargic NLEX side to complete the quarters cast, joining early qualifiers Phoenix Pulse, Rain or Shine, Barangay Ginebra, TNT KaTropa, San Miguel Beer, Magnolia and NorthPort.

Carl Bryan Cruz, Simon Enciso and Jvee Casio also delivered the goods for the Aces who set up an interesting quarters matchup with the top-seeded Fuel Masters.

The Aces will be up against the Phoenix team with a host of former Alaska personalities including head coach Louie Alas and assistant coach Topex Robinson.

However, the Aces will only have one day to prepare as they try to foil the Fuel Masters’ first of two cracks at the semifinals tomorrow.

Thoss scattered 21 points and made key plays to ward off an NLEX chase entering the last three minutes of the game.

As the second seeds, the E-Painters also enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage versus the NorthPort Batang Pier.

Post-elims play fires off today with four teams with a combined haul of 57 championships kicking off a pair of best-of-three quarterfinals series.

The scores:

Alaska 88 – Thoss 21, Enciso 16, Cruz 16, Casio 13, Banchero 4, Baclao 4, Ayaay 4, Racal 3, Exciminiano 3, Teng 2, Potts 2, Pascual 0.

NLEX 80 – Ighalo 16, Galanza 14, Quinahan 13, Erram 10, Paniamogan 8, Magat 7, Rios 5, Baguio 3, Paredes 2, Tiongson 2, Taulava 0, Soyud 0, Tallo 0, Lao 0.

Quarterscores: 23-17, 44-25, 73-50, 88-80