DIPOLOG City - Rookie Calvin Abueva posted another double-double on Saturday, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in leading Alaska Milk to a 101-95 win over Globalport in a PBA Philippine Cup road game.
A huge crowd turned up for the first PBA game at the Dipolog City Sports Complex and Abueva didn't disappoint, providing most of the highlights in a game where the Aces maintained a safe gap from Batang Pier for the most part.
His biggest play of the night came in the third quarter when he picked the pocket of former MVP Willie Miller and scooted home for a dunk at the other end, giving the Aces their first sizeable lead, 56-44.
Abueva's fifth double-double of his young career - second only in the season-opening conference to the league-best 10 Petron's Arwind Santos - enabled the Aces to post a second straight win for a 7-6 (win-loss) record overall.
Globalport's eighth straight loss, on the other hand, ended the league newcomer's hopes of reaching the quarterfinals. The Batang Pier are at the bottom of the standings with a 1-11 card.
Veteran Tony dela Cruz also came up big for the Aces in the endgame, getting open for a point-blank basket and blocking a shot by Vic Manuel at the other end to put the finishing touches to the victory.
His block led to an Abueva basket on a fastbreak that opened a 91-81 lead for Alaska, time down to one minute and eight seconds.
Miller led Globalport with 22 points, but most of his points came in the endgame when a steady stream of JVee Casio baskets kept the Batang Pier from getting close enough to threaten the Aces.
The scores:
ALASKA 101 - Abueva 21, Casio 18, Baguio 11, Dela Cruz 11, Baracael 11, Espinas 10, Jazul 7, Eman 4, Reyes 2, Hontiveros 2, Thoss 2, Belasco 2, Laure 0.
GLOBALPORT 95 - Miller 22, Guevarra 17, Manuel 16, David 7, Salvador 6, Mandani 6, Deutchman 5, Yee 4, Vanlandingham 4, Antonio 3, Lingganay 2, Vergara 2, Al-Hussaini 1, Crisano 0.
Quarterscores: 28-25, 46-40, 73-61, 101-95
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