Down 0-3 in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals series against Rain or Shine and needing a win to extend the series, the Alaska Aces knew the only way to stay in the hunt for a championship crown is to simply play like… well, the Alaska Aces.
And after three games of breakdowns, mental lapses, and identity-searching–which even included a stretch leading to head coach Alex Compton saying it was the worst stretch he has called in Alaska basketball–the real Aces have finally showed up just in time to keep themselves on track.
“We showed up. I really like to commend our players. We challenged them, we talked a lot, and contrary to popular belief, we did not make major adjustments,” Compton said after his team’s Game Four victory. “We just did what we needed to do.”
The win as as decisive as it could get for the Aces. They broke loose in the first half of Game Four, taking a 54-39 lead entering the halftime break.
The Aces were active on defense, pressuring the ball handlers, playing the passing lanes, and crashing the glass like there’s no tomorrow – traits that were missing for considerable stretches in the first three outings. The lead grew to as much as 23, and the Aces never looked back even amidst a fourth quarter comeback try from the Elasto Painters.
Six players finished in double-digit scoring for Alaska, which was led by Rob Dozier’s 23 points and eight boards. The Aces had eight more assists, ten more rebounds, and shot 54 percent overall. The team led for 43:23.
Compton even said had the Aces only played like themselves earlier in the series, they might have snatched a win or two from their opponents.
“The guys were great about it, had their backs against the wall, I wish we had played this way earlier (in the series). Might have another win or two. Rain or Shine is hard to stop,” Compton said.
Nevertheless, it was a welcome sight for the Aces to not see their conference end in a sweep. Falling in Game Four would have replicated the Aces’ 0-4 loss at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup, and that was one thing Compton did not want to happen again.
“I do believe learning from history,” Compton said of the Governors’ Cup finals last season. “At least we did not let history repeat itself.”
Despite continuing to play without JVee Casio, Vic Manuel, and Eric Menk, and having to enter Game Four without Ping Exciminiano who was injured prior to Friday, the Aces fought with urgency and focus for the entire ball game and it was certainly what they needed.
“It really feels like us. I don’t think the real us showed up (in the first three games). At least I know the guys I coached showed up,” Compton said.
Looking ahead, Compton said he needs his team to play more of the same.
“Do what we do right. That one stretch in Game Three where we were terrible, we just had so many defensive breakdowns. I really felt one of those games would have a different result if we played the way we did (tonight). If we did not have possessions to waste,” Compton said.
“We just said do it right. The guys were much better, much more engaged. They looked like the real guys out there. At least we are playing Alaska basketball. That’s the way it should be.”
Left searching for answers after each end of the series’ first three games, the Aces finally found some light, and the solution wasn’t even that complicated.
They just needed to be themselves, and they will need to stay that way, as the series’ narrative just switched from “it will eventually be over” to “it’s definitely not over yet.”
