MANILA — Known for their defensive intensity, the Talk N Text Tropang Texters were supposed to be the Number 1 team in the league when it comes to choking their rivals. But Friday night, the Texters found themselves getting a dose of their own medicine as the Alaska Aces used a crippling defensive stratagem to score a scintillating 92-69 victory in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. It was Alaska's fifth straight victory as the only undefeated team in the tournament kept a firm grip of the top spot in the standings. It was the Aces' best start in a tournament since 1998. Talk N Text suffered its second straight loss as it fell to a 2-3 win-loss card, tying idle Meralco and GlobalPort at fifth to seventh place in the rankings. The Aces all but crippled the stunned Texters in the third quarter when their air-tight defense held Talk N Text to just five points in a horrific 2-of-21 shooting (9.5 percent) from the field. The Texters finished the game shooting just 22-of-76 from the field for a miserable 28.9 percent. While choking the Texters on defense, the Aces unloaded 28 points in that quarter to break open the game. Import Robert Dozier once again asserted his dominance on both ends of the court, finishing with 23 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Cyrus Baguio complemented Dozier's all-around brilliance by knocking in 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, with seven of his points coming in the pivotal third quarter when the Aces went berserk to finish the quarter with a 59-40 lead. Calvin Abueva, Jayvee Casio, and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 10 points apiece while rookie Aldrech Ramos added nine markers. The Aces have beaten the Texters in four of their last seven matches this season. Alaska thus became the only team in the league that has a winning record against Talk N Text, the two-time Philippine Cup champions. Import Keith Benson was the lone bright spot for the Texters as he finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, two steals, and one block. Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo said they were able to dominate Talk N Text because they were able to stop TNT's explosive trio — Jason Castro, Jimmy Alapag, and Larry Fonacier who combined for just 17 points on a combined 4-of-19 shooting from the field. “Alapag and Castro, those two give the team life, but we played a little bit of good defense, then they're missing open shots as well. We did a good job playing on both ends of the floor,” Trillo said. In the first game of the Friday double-header, the Petron Blaze Boosters defeated the Air21 Express, 60-53, in a game that earned a place in the PBA record books for being the seventh all-time lowest output in a game. Import Renaldo Balkman and Arwind Santos sank the crucial baskets in the game's final minutes to bail Petron out of trouble. The two combined for 13 of the Boosters' last 19 points. Balkman finished with 25 points while Santos had 11. Petron scored its fourth win in five games as it climbed to solo second in the rankings. Air21 suffered its fourth straight loss after winning its first game in the conference to tie idle Barangay Ginebra at the bottom of the standings. With its 60-point production, Petron recorded the lowest winning score by any team since Sta. Lucia scored 54 points in a victory over Purefoods on May 22, 2005. It was also Petron's lowest winning margin in franchise history. Import Michael Dunigan led Air21 with 15 points.
