ALASKA shoots for a second straight victory that will give it a piece of the tournament lead as it resumes its campaign in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
Following a resounding debut, the Aces (1-0) are looking for a follow-up victory when they clash with Blackwater at 4:15 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum today.
Succeeding this is an intriguing face off between Star (1-1) and GlobalPort (0-1) in the second game at 7 p.m.
Should last season’s runner-up emerge victorious again, it will tie Rain or Shine and NLEX, which are both on 2-0 starts, at the top of the heap.
Alaska coach Alex Compton wants his Aces to preserve their hot start.
‘’We were able to have a good opening game against Talk ‘N Text and we want to play with the same energy against Blackwater,” said Compton. ‘’We’d like to sustain our good start.”
Alaska surprisingly handled loaded Talk ‘N Text with ease in its debut, dishing out a 114-98 drubbing last Friday.
The dynamic front-court duo of Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel led the Aces’s charge against the Tropang Texters and they will be relied on by Compton once again to help their squad.
On the other hand, the Elite showed some glimpse of improvement in its debut against the Road Warriors last Friday before eventually falling short, 90-86.
Star is also looking for a second straight victory.
The Jason Webb-mentored squad bounced back from its opening-day loss with a scintillating 86-78 victory against former coach Tim Cone and his Barangay Ginebra in a game it dominated from start to finish last Sunday.
Webb hopes that this is just the start for his team and that his wards can carry the momentum over when they take on this dangerous Batang Pier.
‘’We just want to keep playing with that intensity. The one we had against Ginebra,’’ said Webb. ‘’Our goal is to keep getting better with more games in the conference and this is another challenge for us against GlobalPort.’’
Heading to this season with a retooled and upgraded line-up, GlobalPort has high hopes but it fell to defending champion San Miguel in its opening game last Saturday in Davao City, getting dominated 97-86.
Batang Pier star Terrence Romeo, who had a fantastic stint with the National team in the off-season, had a forgettable opener, scoring just five points.
The spitfire is expected to bounce back and have a more decent game to help the Batang Pier earn a possible first win.
Games Friday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum):
4:15 p.m. – Alaska vs. Blackwater
7 p.m. – Star vs. GlobalPort
