For Alex Compton, Alaska did a decent job executing its plays despite losing Game 5.
The biggest problem was the excessive free throws given to San Miguel.
“They had 40 free throws, that’s too much,” Compton said during the post game interview. According to Compton, giving the Beermen 40 free throws was the easiest way to reward a powerhouse with an opportunity to score.
“As powerhouse as San Miguel is, to be given 40 free throws will definitely give you a hard time winning a game,” added Compton.
Despite another lethargic outing from JVee Casio, who was held scoreless for the second straight game, the Aces were able to fare decently on offense. “We scored 88 points and that’s the most we’ve scored compared to the last two games we’ve won. Offensively, we did a fair job. But we didn’t do well defensively. We allowed San Miguel to shoot 48% from the field and we didn’t force turnovers the way we used to,” added Compton.
San Miguel only had 12 turnovers, five less than Alaska as the Beermen appeared to have found the solution to breaking the full-court pressure defense of their rivals. “The more na nakikita namin yung pressure defense, the more na nagiging familiar yung mga players. I think natututo na sila,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
