Aces cruise to easy victory over Meralco Bolts to advance to PBA Philippine Cup semis

Combining for just 11 points in Game 1, energetic rookie Calvin Abueva and heady point guard JVee Casio connived for 35 markers to lead the Alaska Aces to a semifinal-clinching 88-70 win over the Meralco Bolts in Game 2 of their best-of-three quarterfinal series of the 38th PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

By sweeping the Bolts, 2-0, the Aces booked a semis ticket for the first time since the 2009-10 Fiesta Cup, where they went all the way to win the title.

A daunting task awaits the Aces in the semis, where they will play the defending champions Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters.

Scoring just six points in their 90-84 Game 1 victory, Abueva was all over the court in this win, tallying 18 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots.

The diminutive Casio also played big for the Aces as, after managing just five points in Game 1, he erupted for 17 points and led the team’s early breakaway.

Cyrus Baguio was in his usual explosive self, tying Abueva’s output for a good follow-up for his 26-point performance in Game 1.

Mirroring their performance in Game 1, where started the game with a 14-0 blast, the Aces jumped to a 14-5 start in Game 2 to seize control of the match. They established a 15-point lead in the third, 52-37, before erecting several 17-point leads later on.

The best Meralco could do was to move within 61-72 early in the fourth.