Ellis’ return makes usual huge impact for Aces in win over slumping Purefoods

Rosell Ellis made an impact in his first game back, leading the Alaska Aces to a 94-84 victory against the Purefoods TJ Giants Sunday night and earned for coach Tim Cone his 602nd victory in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Tony dela Cruz limped out with 3:23 remaining in the fourth quarter after pouring in 20 points, including 12 in the telling third quarter. His 3-pointer with 6:24 left in the third broke a 54-all deadlock and put the Aces ahead for good.



It was a breakthrough win for the Aces after a 0-3 start in the 2009 Motolite-PBA Fiesta Conference and enabled Cone to surpass the legendary Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan as the league’s winningest coach.

The Alaska coach appeared humbled by his latest accomplishment.

“It’s not really how many games you win, it’s your winning percentage and I’m sure Baby’s winning percentage is much higher than mine,” Cone said during the post-game interview.

“I’m just been around for a long time. It’s no secret that he’s my hero and the guy I always look and try to emulate,” added Cone, who has a 0.567 win percentage compared to Dalupan’s all-time best 0.633.

"To me it’s just really longevity. Baby was just a great coach, the best coach by far. I don’t think anybody deserves to be mentioned with Baby. He’s a class all by himself,” stressed Cone, in his 20th season for the longest tenure among any coach in league history.

Ellis, who took over from pinch-hitter Galen Young, led all scorers with 26 points. He also had 16 rebounds and five assists as the Aces snapped their worst start in four years.

Fresh from a stint in Australia, Ellis, who was named Best Import and helped the Aces win this tournament two years ago, appeared in tip-top shape and ready to rumble with the opposition.

L.A Tenorio scored 15 points and had five assists and Willie Miller added 12 for Alaska which raced to a 44-31 advantage with 2:09 left in the second quarter.

To the surprise of the Aces, that lead evaporated in a wink of an eye as Nino Canaleta and James Yap conspired in a 10-0 run that trimmed Alaska’s lead to just 44-41 at halftime.

It was another heartbreaker for the Giants who came into game still reeling from a 103-122 blowout against San Miguel Beer last Friday. They fell to 2-2 (win-loss) record in a tie with Talk ‘N Text and Burger King.

Kerby Raymundo scored 19 points, James Yap had 18 and P.J. Simon added 16 for the Giants, who got another sub par effort from import Brian Hamilton. Hamilton managed just 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting.

The Giants made a run in the third and appeared to have momentum when Hamilton hit a bucket that tied the count at 54.

But dela Cruz answered with a 3-pointer and a jumper and after James Yap scored off the glass, the Alaska forward split his free throw to give the Aces a 60-56 lead that was never threatened the rest of the way. (DBC)

The scores:

Alaska 94 - Ellis 26, Dela Cruz 20, Tenorio 15, Miller 12, Hugnatan 9, De Vance 4, Thoss 4, Fonacier 2, Ferriols 2.

Purefoods 84 - Raymundo 19, Yap J. 18, Simon 16, Hamilton 10, Villanueva 10, Canaleta 5, Allado 4, Yap R. 2, Vergara 0, Alvarez 0.

Quarterscores: 26-23, 44-41, 70-64, 94-84.

Source: pba.ph