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For a while, the bitter memory of its stunning loss to Rain or Shine was staring Alaska in the closing minutes of its KFC- Cup game PBA Philippine Cup game against lowly Barako Bull Sunday at the Ynares Arena in Pasig.

But no way L.A. Tenorio and Sonny Thoss would allow that to happen again.

The two scored four straight points inside the final two minutes, enough to quell a fierce Energy Boosters’ rally in a 99-88 Alaska win that kept the Aces on top of the season-opening tournament.

Thoss’ close range basket and Tenorio’s two free throws finally cut short Barako Bull’s fiery 20-3 windup that allowed the Energy Boosters to close to within 88-93 just as the game entered its final two minute mark.

Before that big run, Barako Bull trailed, 90-68, with 10 minutes left in the game following a Willie Miller basket.

Tenorio finished with 16 points on another big night for the former Ateneo Blue Eagle stalwart, just a point shy of top scorer Reynel Hugnatan, who had 17 markers and 10 rebounds.

Thoss added 14 while Miller also had a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists.

Best start since '98

The Aces are now 9-1 overall and in solo first place.

This marks the best start of the franchise in the last 11 years since opening the 1998 Commissioner’s Cup with an 8-1 card.

The scores

Alaska 99 - Hugnatan 17, Tenorio 16, Thoss 14, Miller 11, DeVance 9, Dela Cruz 9, Borboran 8, Fonacier 8, Ferriols 5, Cariaso 2, Burtscher 0.

Barako Bull 88 - Aljamal 21, Alonzo 12, Dimaunahan 12, Crisano 12, Menor 9, Belano 7, Hubalde 6, Memberere 5, Fernandez 4, Najorda 0, Sta. Maria 0, Lao 0

Quarterscores: 29-26; 51-47; 79-64; 99-88

Alaska’s only loss came at the expense of Rain or Shine, 81-86.

Barako Bull, a 99-83 loser to Alaska in the first round, fell to 2-8.

Yousif Aljamal led the Energy Drinkers’ losing cause with 21 points, the last of which made it a 99-83 contest.

Chad Alonzo came through with 12 markers, and so did Aries Dimaunahan.

But Dimaunahan also did the Energy Drinkers in, missing two crucial free throws and a corner three-pointer that could have sustained Barako Bull’s big endgame comeback.

A team may unveil a new weapon once in a while. But when the stakes are high enough, a coach will still opt for the old tested ones.

Such is the case for Talk N Text, which mainly has Macmac Cardona's consistency to thank for achieving its immediate goal in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Talk ‘N Text’s Macmac Cardona fights for the looseball in a recent game. GMANews.TV

The man who was adjudged the KFC/Accel-PBA Press Corps' Player of the Week (POW) for the period Nov. 23 to 29 has made a very big imprint in the Tropang Texters' two wins in the week that was, enabling them to remain a very legitimate threat to the frontrunners.

Cardona, named as Co-POW with Alaska's Reynel Hugnatan for the period Oct. 19-25, averaged 25.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals in TNT's wins over Barangay Ginebra and Burger King to reiterate the fact he is one of the league's most lethal weapons.

As usual, the 28-year-old guard who is currently the tournament's scoring leader with a 21.0 points average, maintains he is simply trying his best to help his team retain its title.

“Happy po ako dahil kahit paano 6-3 (win-loss) ang team," said Cardona. “Focus ko lang talaga manalo kami every game, mag-improve at ma-involve ko pa ang mga teammates ko."

Texters coach Chot Reyes is also happy for his player, even though he knows the citation could also be a heavy burden.

“Winning POW honors is always a double-edged sword. It makes him a bigger target for opposing defenses, but also motivates him to up his game even more," said Reyes.

Cardona has already shown he can withstand such pressure.

In a cruising 87-72 win over Ginebra last Wednesday, he was content to let Jared Dillinger do the most damage by scoring 11 points to the former's career-highs of 18 points and 18 rebounds.

But when the Texters found themselves trailing by 30 points early against Burger King last Friday, Cardona gamely rose to the occasion with a conference-high 40 points on top of 11 rebounds and four assists to propel them to a 118-105 win.

"As long as you don't quit, something good will happen. And that's exactly what happened to us tonight," Reyes said after the game.

He might as well have been talking about Cardona.