Alaska Aces shock Meralco Bolts in PBA Commissioner's Cup

Alaska dealt Meralco a third straight setback, 98-90, pushing the Bolts further down the cellar of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Astrodome.   “(Assistant) Coach Jojo Lastimosa told the boys before the game that a good sign that a team is coming together is when it can bounce back from a loss,” said head coach Joel Banal. So he challenged the team.”   The Aces never looked back since scoring 23 of the game’s first 29 points on their way to booking their third win in five outings for solo fourth place.   Import Adam Parada led the Aces with 25 points and 14 rebounds, L.A. Tenorio had another all-around game of 19 markers, six assists, and five rebounds, while Cyrus Baguio added 18 for the Aces, who are coming off a 110-98 loss to defending champion Talk `N Text the last time.   The Aces went into the match with so much resolve and focus that they hit 68.4 percent from the field in the opening quarter on 13-of-19 shooting.   That put the team in front, 27-14, after the first 12 minutes, and then hiked it to its biggest at 25 by scoring 12 unanswered points to kick off the second period for a 39-14 lead.   Meralco did not recover from that barrage.   “We were given open shots and we took them,” added Banal. “We made a promise to ourselves not to go below .500 with four games to go. Hopefully, we can win at least two of the last four.”   The Bolts now have the worst record in the tournament with a 1-4 (win-loss) slate, and in danger of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight conference.   Playing sluggishly in the first half, the Bolts shot just 6-of-16 from the field on a 37.5 percent clip.   Veterans Gabby Espinas and Reynel Hugnatan were scoreless.  Mercado and import Earl Barron showed the way for the Bolts with 26 points apiece. — ELR, GMA News   The scores:  Alaska (98) — Parada 25, Tenorio 19, Baguio 18, Salamat 10, Thoss 8, Baracael 7, Custodio 7, Eman 2, Gelig 2, Reyes 0.   Meralco  (90) — Mercado 26, Barron 26, Cardona 19, Ross 6, Taulava 6, Borboran 4, Timberlake 3, Ballesteros 0, Yee 0, Espinas 0, Artadi 0, Hugnatan 0.  Quarterscores: 27-14, 49-31, 71-57, 98-90