THE Alaska Aces took control right from the start.
Their outside shooting and transition attacks put the TNT Katropa Texters at bay for most of the game.
Antonio Campbell showed the way with 23 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and four steals for the Aces as they smothered the Texters, 110-100, last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
This handed the Aces their third win in four games, while handing erstwhile league-leading KaTropas their first setback in four outings.
This put them in a four-way tie for the lead with the Meralco Bolts and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Two triples from Jvee Casio and Campbell in the opening minutes of the game allowed the Aces to move away right away with an 8-0 run.
They took charge with 12-2 edge with 9:17 left in the first period before Kevin Racal’s trey unleashed a 10-0 run.
Vic Manuel’s two charities with 3:12 remaining then gave the Aces a 16-point edge, 55-39.
A pair of treys from Kevin Racal and Casio in the final 9:33 of the fourth then widened the Aces’ edge to 22, 69-47.
They took a 25-point advantage in the fourth off Rosario in the last10:04, 92-67.
Jason Castro shot 18 points for the Texters while Terrence Romeo, who will play for the national 3×3 team, drilled in 17 points and had eight rebounds.
Manuel was again unstoppable from the floor as he finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds to win Player of the Game honors.
The Aces (3 wins, 1 loss) thus tied KaTropa (3-1), the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (3-1) and the Meralco Bolts (3-1) at the top of the standings.
The other teams include the Globalport Batang Pier (2-2), Columbian Dyip (3-2) and the Phoenix Fuelmasters (2-2).
Bringing up the rear are Barangay Ginebra (1-2), the NLEX Road Warriors (1-3), the Magnolia Hotshots (1-1), the San Miguel Beermen (0-1), and the Blackwater Elite (0-5).