Team History

2005-06 season

Prior to the start of the 2005-06 PBA season, the Aces saw the build up of the team’s lineup, acquiring national team members Tony Dela Cruz and Rich Alvarez from the disbanding Shell Turbo Chargers. The Aces also acquired the services of former Mobiline and Coca-Cola import Artemus “Tee” McClary for the Fiesta Conference.

The Aces placed second behind Team Pilipinas, with Dela Cruz playing for the said team. The team was then considered as one of the top contenders to win the upcoming season.

The Aces however went on a slide after a good start. After Alaska blew a 28-point lead thus losing to the Purefoods Chunkee Giants, the team went on a downhill since. With McClary’s decline starting to show, he was eventually replaced by Odell Bradley who showed some impressive scoring outputs. However, Alaska still finished seventh in the classification phase with an unimpressive 7-9 record.

The Aces swept Sta. Lucia in a best-of-three matchup in the wildcard phase before being swept in a best-of-five affair by eventual champion Red Bull Barako.

Weeks before the start of the Philippine Cup, Alaska traded Brandon Cablay to San Miguel in exchange for veteran Nic Belasco. On May 8, 2006, the Aces traded Don Allado to Talk N’ Text for guard Willie Miller and forward John Ferriols. Alaska finished with a 9-7 record in the classifications, thus earning an outright berth in the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals, the Aces defeated the Coca-Cola Tigers, with former Alaska star Johnny Abarrientos in the squad, 3-1. The opening game of the series saw Alaska winning on a last second three-pointer by Nic Belasco.

In the semi-finals against top-seed Purefoods Chunkee Giants, the Aces led 3-1 and was a win away from a finals berth but suffered a collapse, allowing Purefoods to win all of the remaining games. Alaska ended the tournament with a third place trophy by a 102-95 win over San Miguel, their 12th third-place finish in team history.

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