PBA – Alaska ace Powerade; RoS survive Llamados scare

MANILA (PBA Commissioner’s Cup)- Alaska Aces emerged runaway 106-82 victors, but Rain or Shine survived a late scare as the overcame B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados 95-94 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup action on Tuesday.

Reigning NBA D-League dunk champion LD Williams exploded into a 21-point game in his maiden appearance in the PBA after Cyrus Baguio had put Alaska firmly in the saddle with a 14-point outburst to put his side 38-16 ahead at the end of the first quarter, never looking back.

Baguio ended up with a team-high 24 points in a nine of 11 shooting show. LA Tenorio had 15 points and six assists and Joe Devance, Alaska’s most impressive player in the recently concluded All Philippine Cup had 11 rebounds and nine assists.

"We looked pretty sharp tonight," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

"We set a nice tone, a nice tempo in the first six or eight minutes of the ball game. And then LD had two dunks that displaced the other team and energized us."

Russel Carter led the scoring for the Powerade, with a game-high 34 points, despite managing only a 10/29 shooting.

Gary David was the only other player who scored in double figures for Powerade with 17.

Adams delivers for Rain or Shine

Former New Jersey Nets player Hassan Adams was the leader of the Rain or Shine pack with 30 points, including a perfect 10/10 in free-throws, also accounting for seven rebounds, four assists and as many steals.

The Llamados had a chance to force overtime or snatch the win but KG Canaleta missed a three-point attempt and reinforcement Robert Brown botched an attempt of his own as time expired.

"We're just happy we survived our first game," said Rain or Shine coach Joseller "Yeng" Guiao, who took over as coach only last month.

"But we still have to learn quick how to finish games."

"The positive side is that we know our import can play and I think he's the best so far in the league," Guiao added.

Ryan Arana had a 18-point game for RoS, 11 of them coming in the fourth quarter including three from beyond the arc.

Larry Rodriguez came off the bench and scored seven points in the second quarter in a total contribution of 11 points for the game.

Brown led Llamados’ scoring with 29 points.

FIBA Asia/FIBA