Compton still ‘proud’ of his Aces
ALEX Compton vividly remembers how great a free throw shooter he was when he was still playing.
It hurt then that the Aces’ sudden loss of touch from the foul line contributed a lot to Alaska’s downfall in Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beer on Wednesday night.
“I couldn’t play defense to save my life,” said Compton, while the euphoric Beermen and their fans were celebrating the franchise’s first all-Filipino crown since 2001.
“I am a career 90 percent free throw shooter (as a player) and I couldn’t save my team.”
In between long pauses, a dejected Compton, his head bowed, couldn’t perfectly describe how he felt about his team’s defeat.
“It’s a weird mixture of tremendous pride in the way our guys fought back,” he said. “It’s also tremendous disappointment that we weren’t able to close it out.
“But don’t get me wrong. The disappointment is because of the result, not the effort.”
The Aces came very close to ending their own all-Filipino drought that dates back to 2000, fighting back from 23 points down to seize a six-point lead past the midway point of the fourth quarter, only to go scoreless inside the final 1:35 and absorb a 78-80 defeat.
It was the first time in four games in the series that Alaska failed to cling on to a lead after climbing out of a deep hole. Sadly enough, it came in Game 7.
Alaska made only 10 of 25 free throws, with four of the misses coming in the fourth period, including one awarded to Dondon Hontiveros when the Beermen called a timeout they didn’t have in the dying seconds.
Still, the team that was tipped to finish between fifth and eighth in the pre-season took the much-hyped Beermen to the full route—literally—and Compton, short of saying, wouldn’t have minded losing.
“There’s not a group of guys I’d rather coach,” said Compton, in just his second conference as a PBA head coach. “I’m still proud of these guys. If you get this close (to winning), you feel successful.”
And Alaska displayed its class by coming out of its gloomy locker room minutes after the game to accept the runner-up trophy, with Calvin Abueva lifting it like the Aces were the kings of the hill.
It was a runner-up performance for the ages, and the Aces truly have nothing to be ashamed of.
