Besides being down 0-2 in the best-of-seven 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals, Alaska head coach Alex Compton has another thing to worry about – the calls.
Down 0-1 heading into Friday night’s encounter, the Aces were able to match the grit and grind style of the Magnolia Hotshots, even leading for a good 38 minutes in the contest. In the final quarter, however, they could not get anything going.
Moreover, they could not get any breaks.
“We turned the ball over twenty-six times. That was huge.
“Credit to Magnolia – they’re the best defensive team all conference,” shared the fourth-year Alaska mentor.
Twenty-two of the Aces’ 26 turnovers came from steals. But in Compton’s eyes, majority of those should have been called as fouls.
“I have not yet once publicly [commented] about the officiating, but those guys foul a lot,” lamented Compton after Alaska’s 71-77 Game Two loss.
According to him, Jio Jalalon and Mark Barroca – who accounted for five steals combined – were hardly called for fouls.
“I’m all for good defense. Those two are great defenders. But they karate chop or trip a ball handler, that’s a foul! For some reason they don’t call it.”
In the end, Alaska were limited to two freebies in the final frame after attempting nine in the first three quarters of the game. On the other hand, Magnolia had 10 attempts in that same span.
Despite their current low morale, Compton knows that his team will not let this opportunity slip away. And come Sunday, they will rise up to the challenge.
“I’ll tell you what though, we’re gonna keep going, we’re gonna battle,” shared Compton, who is looking to end Alaska’s five-year championship drought. “They better be ready to work tomorrow because we’re going to keep going.
“I don’t think it’s over yet.”
