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Tiebreaker Times

More aggressive Alaska backcourt shows in Game 2


Prior to Game 2 of the Alaska-Globalport Philippine Cup semi-finals series Wednesday, the Aces had been reminded to stick to the system and play more aggressively.

The Aces know how deep they exactly are and it is a matter of letting other teams notice. In Game 2, the depth regained visibility and affected the Batang Pier as Alaska went on to take the match, 100-76, and tie the series at one win apiece.

“Noong Game 1, kanya-kanya kami eh. Parang na-challenge rin kami sa one-on-one nila. Pero noong practice, sabi ni coach, play Alaska basketball tayo. Team basketball, kung sino ma-open. Aggressive lang talaga, at maganda ang pasahan namin,” RJ Jazul shared.

The biggest difference for Alaska was a conscious effort to attack the rim and move the ball well. Alaska’s guards had a more aggressive mindset, and it led to better scoring opportunities for the team, as seen in the Aces’ Game 2 shot selection, where more shots were taken around the rim.

https://twitter.com/levijoshua/status/684748518691504128

Jazul alone had 17 points, making all of his 9 foul shots while playing close to 27 minutes.

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“We move the ball, at the same time they work on their defense so mapapagod din sila, so makaka-set up kami ng depensa. Minsan kasi kapag quick shots, takbuhan ng takbuhan, so ngayon mas nagdi-dribble kami at may post kami ngayon,” Jazul added.

Chris Banchero also provided an additional spark, topscoring for the Aces with 18 points on 8-for-13 field goals, while JVee Casio chipped in 13 points. All three backcourt players logged longer minutes than in Game 1.

The trio only had 27 points combined in the opener on 7-for-26 shooting, but on Wednesday, the same three fired 48 points on 16-for-28 from the field.

Such aggressiveness allowed Alaska to get to the rim more often, and in turn, allowed them to set up defensively while lessening Globalport’s chances to run since the latter’s defense would have to collapse first.

“The more the ball is going in, the better we are going to be. We did not score well in Game 1 and Globalport deserves a lot of credit for that. Defense leads to offense, good offense helps your defense. It’s all connected,” head coach Alex Compton said.

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Banchero added, “you never want to go down 0-2. We just kept pressuring them and we did not settle for the outside shot. As long as you make them play defense and make them tired, they will not have the (same) legs on the offensive end”.

With the backcourt crew now a threat, Globalport will also have to defend the perimeter well, and it makes the Aces an even more dangerous unit.

Alaska had more free throws than Globalport, 28-19, and also had 22 assists compared to 9 for the Batang Pier.

“We have to continue being aggressive on both sides. It’s tough but we have to continue to put pressure on them,” Banchero added.

Compton lauded his troops for playing with more hunger and making sound decisions on the floor. “We are not handling robots, we are handling humans who are going to have to make fight or flight decisions. How quickly you have to make a decision, you try to train them but they make the decisions.”

“All these things are going on including what outside factors tell them. But bottomline, they have to make plays and they made good decisions. I had nothing to do with it because they are good.”

With the Aces having tied the series, the pressure is now on the Batang Pier to recover. The Aces have responded in a huge way, and the same aggressiveness should make them tougher to beat.

All images from PBA Images

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