Video Related To: PBA: Caguioa, Tenorio combine for 42 as Ginebra drubs Rain or Shine

Alaska asserts Mastery over Ginebra; snares series opener 09 Jul 2010 Diamon Simpson powered his way to a 20-20 game and Barangay Ginebra self-destructed at the finish as the Alaska Milk Aces topped the Kings, 76-72, in the opener of their PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-five quarterfinals showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Friday night. Simpson came through with 20 points and 22 rebounds and the whole Alaska team relished seeing Mark Caguioa throw bricks at endgame as the Aces made it five in a row versus the Kings in the playoff matches dating back to the Philippine Cup. The Aces set up an all-Filipino finals showdown with the Purefoods Giants (now known as Derby Ace Llamados) earlier this year in sweeping the Kings in their best-of-seven semifinals showdown. Caguioa struggled with a 3-of-12 field-goal shooting and hastened their downfall in missing all four attempts in the last two minutes of play. "We expected a grind-out type of game and that's what happened. It was really a battle. It happened that the breaks came to us at the finish," said Alaska coach Tim Cone. "They tried to beat us with their three-guard rotation and we battled with three bigs. I don't think this would change a lot (in the next games)," Cone added. The Aces pounded the ball hard inside with Joe Devance delivering 15 points and eight rebounds and Sonny Thoss adding five points and seven rebounds. The Ginebra backcourt did carry much of the fight for the team but lost steam in the crunch. The Kings <b>...</b>