It will be understandable if Alaska Aces head coach Alex Compton came out of the team’s locker room at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum dejected, as his team’s misery continued after absorbing their 12th straight defeat on Friday night.
But the 43-year-old showed otherwise.
“Well you know what, results don’t always indicate growth,” said the American coach, moments after their stinging 106-107 defeat to Roger Pogoy and the TNT Katropa, which dropped their 2017 Governor’s Cup card to 0-4.
The former MBA star could have lamented every lapse his wards had committed, from losing a 14-point lead to allowing Pogoy and the Katropa to storm back and win the match. But the outspoken tactician did not do so.
Instead, he praised all the positives he saw, starting from the way his reinforcement LaDontae Henton delivered, as he finished with a game-high 42 markers alongside 22 rebounds in 39 minutes of playing time.
“If you watched most of that game, LaDontae Henton started playing more the way that we talked about, that he needed to play before we came out here. And I cant ask anything more,” lauded the Makati City-born coach.
“I thought he did an excellent job defensively, he rebounded the basketball, he did not limit himself to just being a three-point shooter.”
Moreover, Compton was also elated that Calvin Abueva has finally returned after a week of absence, and he made an immediate impact that helped the Aces play their brand of basketball. The Gilas veteran had 19 markers and 11 caroms.
“You also saw how important Calvin is to us, and I thought Calvin was great tonight. I really thought he was great,” said the coach.
The storied franchise may be in a dark stretch right now, but Compton never gets tired of believing in his Aces, that someday, something special will happen.
“I’ll tell you right now though: I think something special is about to happen to our team,” he said. “I don’t know how the rest of this conference will turn out, but I believe in my heart, something special is about to happen.
“We’re gonna be Alaska again. That will be fun.”
