Alaska Aces head coach Alex Compton had nothing but high respect for the Meralco Bolts after their opponents tied the series with a 92-87 win in Game Two of their 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals duel Wednesday night.
The Aces led by as much as 14 points and maintained a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but the Bolts came back and slayed the Aces to knot the series at 1-1.
“They played great. They had a bunch of guys that really jumped out for me. Jared (Dillinger) and Chris (Newsome), they made plays in the second half. Our transition defense was poor and our rotations were late,” Compton said.
“We have tremendous respect for Meralco. I don’t know if the casual fan or follower is aware how good they have been playing this conference but they earned being tied for first. They did a great job down the stretch.”
The Aces did not move the ball well in dishing out only 18 assists. The Bolts also shot better from long range at 36 percent.
Jared Dillinger knocked down five triples in Game Two (Photo courtesy of PBA Images)
“We kind of got dribble-happy and did not move the ball. We are not a dribble-oriented team,” Compton added.
Prior to Game 2, Compton expected a difficult game knowing Bolts head coach Norman Black is one of the best mentors when it comes to adjustments.
Now, Compton expects an even more difficult series the rest of the way.
“I talked to the guys and I told them, they were kind of like us, they won’t stop coming and that is kind of how it is. They executed down the stretch. They made the shots down the stretch,” Compton shared.
“It’s a series. It’s now a best-of-three. They stepped up in a big game, they showed great character, and they made big shots and we didn’t.”
Compton also expects to get contributions from everyone on the roster and for the Aces to show up as the fresher, more well-rested group.
“That’s something we do since I was a coach. We play everybody, we play a lot of guys some minutes, I think there has been a general trend. Star’s been doing that. Coach Jong (Uichico) has been doing that. These guys are playing guys a little bit more,” he said.
“So hopefully we are fresher. Gone are the days you can play guys 45 minutes for three straight conferences. That will too hard on one’s body.”
