Compton: Better defensive effort sparked Aces to game 2 win

Terrence Romeo vs Alaska defense. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

It’s easy to think that the highly-physical nature of Game 2 went into Alaska’s favor and that the first quarter scuffle that lead to 13 technical fouls somehow helped the Aces’ cause.

But Alaska head coach Alex Compton saw it differently.

For Compton, who was given a technical foul for entering the court during the near bench-clearing brawl, the altercation was never a factor in the Aces’ 100-76 win over the Batang Pier in Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinals duel on Wednesday night.

“I feel the story of the game was not any incident that happened in a quarter of the basketball court,” said Compton, whose players, like Calvin Abueva thrive in heated situations. “I feel like the story of the game was we had better defensive energy that’s why we won.”

At first, though, it appeared the Aces were fueled by the incident as they went on a 19-5 run following the fracas to take a 35-23 lead midway through the second quarter before the Batang Pier recovered.

“I think they’re tough. I don’t think they (GlobalPort) were rattled by it. I don’t think coach Pido (Jarencio) is soft or a stranger to any of that stuff,” Compton said.

“I’m sure those guys are fine. I think it was really about basketball. And it just so happened that after they dominated us, in this game we came out and had a great job defensively. That’s really my firm belief.”

Alaska’s defense held GlobalPort down to just 32 points in the second half and Batang Pier’s explosive guard Terrence Romeo to only 20 points, two nights after unleashing a career-high 41 points in a Game 1 victory. Romeo only had two points in the final two quarters after scoring 18 in the first half.

“We brought a defensive effort that will give us a chance in just about any game,” said Compton.