The once-streaking Alaska Aces seem to have become the face of futility as of late in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup.
Early in the import-laden conference, the Aces had been off to a blazing 4-0 start that had seen them atop the team standings, along with the Meralco Bolts. But all of a sudden, that streak of theirs has become a thing of the past.
Alaska lost their fifth straight outing on Wednesday night; that it was the already-ousted NLEX Road Warriors — a team that has not won since January 7, 2017 — who dragged them down made it an even tougher pill to swallow.
The storied franchise’s current skid is a puzzling one, and very unbecoming of a team that has always been known to win. And for import Cory Jefferson, their breakdown as a unit is the culprit of this slump.
“We’re just having some breakdowns. A lot of breakdowns,” admitted the 6-foot-9 American moments after their 100-92 loss at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“[We’re] not maintaining leads when we have leads, and we give it up.”
Jefferson’s claim was right, and it was strongly evident in Wednesday’s game. The Aces even led by as much as 20, 35-15, late in the opening frame, only to squander their advantage and allow the Road Warriors to come back and compete.
Alaska led once more, 87-86, in the final frame, but — as what Jefferson had rued — they failed to sustain that advantage. That also proved to be their last taste of the lead, as NLEX stood firm and showed composure until the final buzzer.
“Definitely tough to be on this losing skid right now. It’s tough for any team, no matter what league you’re at,” said the 26-year-old big man, who carried his team with 36 points and 20 rebounds.
“So we just gotta get it together.”
In this skid of theirs, Jefferson remains consistent night in and night out, as he now averages 31.1 points and 13.8 caroms. It has mostly been him who takes the scoring cudgels just to help his team win, but it goes otherwise.
But the former Brooklyn Net downplays his steadiness, iterating that it will always be about the team, especially now as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive in their final two games against the San Miguel Beermen and Star Hotshots.
“It’s a team thing, so it doesn’t matter if it’s coming from me, from everybody else. I gotta do more, we gotta do some more,” the Tacoma, Washington native pointed out.
“[We have to] go and check out the film, check what we gotta do as a team, and just gotta keep working on it.”
