MANILA – The Bolts found a way to contain “The Beast” but not the “Virus.” The result: A 90-84 win by the Alaska Aces against the Meralco Bolts Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the 2012-2013 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Cyrus “The Virus” Baguio poured 26 points and added eight rebounds and four steals to power the Aces to a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three series against the Bolts. Alaska won despite a sub-par game by super rookie Calvin “The Beast” Abueva who was stymied by the leech-like defense specifically put on him by the Bolts. Abueva, the No. 2 overall draft pick, fouled out with 9:46 left in the game, and finished with just six points, four rebounds and one assist. Abueva is a strong contender for the Best Player of the Conference award. Alaska erected a 22-point lead, 69-47, in the third period. But Meralco came back strong in the final quarter as Solomon Mercado and Mark Cardona drained back-to-back three-pointers. Mercado finished with 22 points while Cardona had 14. Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo heaped praises on Baguio, the Aces' explosive shooting guard who also stands out for his defensive skills. “Cyrus was awesome tonight … He's very mature in what he's doing.” On Abueva's below-average game, Trillo said the Bolts were obviously trying to unsettle him. “They were intentionally bumping Calvin, but it seems like he's getting called for the double fouls … I spoke to Calvin before the game and I told him they will really do that because this is the playoffs,” Trillo said. Before the game, Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio had confided that the main focus of their defense was to limit Abueva's output. “The tendencies of Abueva have been scrutinized. His activity on both ends of the floor is amazing. His motor is relentless. Our success will depend on how we can slow him down,” Gregorio said. Gabby Espinas also contributed substantially in Alaska's win, contributing 19 points. Tony dela Cruz and Sonny Thoss added 13 and 10 points respectively. Game 2 of the series is set on Friday. In the opener of Wednesday's double-header, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters blanketed the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings with suffocating defense en route to an emphatic 82-65 win in Game 1 of their own best-of-three quarterfinals series. With the hot shooting hands of Paul Lee, Beau Belga, Larry Rodriguez, and Chris Tiu, the Painters turned a close game into a rout in the third quarter which they began with an 18-0 run for a 59-31 lead. The Kings failed to recover from that shock as their famed never-say-die spirit could not take off. The Painters will try to eliminate the Kings and advance into the semifinals when they square off for Game 2 also Friday.
