Chris Banchero hopes his right ankle won't prevent him from playing heavy minutes on Tuesday when Alaska tries to level its best-of-five PBA
Governors' Cup semifinal series against Meralco at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Banchero played almost 31 minutes and posted 16 points, four rebounds and four assists but the Aces fell 97-92 to the Meralco Bolts in Sunday's series opener at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
He was a game time decision after twisting his ankle in Alaska's quarterfinal victory against San Miguel Beer last Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
"It's up to (Alaska) coach (Alex Compton) but I hope to play big minutes," said Banchero. "It's a huge game, it really is. We can't go down 2-0 against a team like Meralco, that's going to be a problem.
"We need to even out the series and I can promise you, we're going to come out with a lot more fire than we did in that first half."
Sponsored content:
Alaska allowed Meralco to go on a first half tear that saw reigning two-time Governors' Cup Best Import Allen Durham score 19 of his 32 points in that span.
The Aces attempted to make it closer but a 16-point second quarter deficit proved to be difficult for them to overcome.
"The ankle isn't an issue, it's not the reason why we played like that," said Banchero. "We got to play much better as a team. We can't come out flat, especially against a team like Meralco who's been playing well." (JT)
