The Alaska Aces’ two losses thus far in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup have come from top-tier teams: two-time reigning champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the Magnolia Hotshots.
The Aces lost to the Romeo Travis-anchored Hotshots on Sunday night, 73-83, which ended their mini two-game winning streak as Magnolia collected their fifth straight victory.
For Aces head coach Alex Compton, the Hotshots and the Gin Kings are the barometer this conference – if a team wants to win a crown, they have to do well against them.
“You know, ultimately, the thing is, if you want to win a championship you have to go through teams that are playing as well as Magnolia. We’ve lost to Ginebra and Magnolia now,” he said.
“I thought never we really played well,” he added.
“We’ve got to be better if we want to beat a team like that.”
The Aces had actually given themselves a great chance of winning over the Hotshots. From a 20-point halftime gap, Alaska rallied and knocked with two, 73-75, with 2:17 left in the game.
But Magnolia’s composure was too much. Paul Lee made a bucket with 47.8 seconds left to strike the dagger, and the Hotshots scored six more points to secure the triumph.
So for Compton, he hopes that their loss to the Hotshots will serve as a wake-up call to his wards, who are now 5-2.
“Our goal every conference is a championship and sometimes you need a wake-up call against a really good team that’s playing really well. I think that was this, this game for us,” he said.
“Hopefully we learn from it and get better.”
