Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Alaska guard Cyrus Baguio tried to make sense out of what happened in Game 3 of the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals.
Baguio couldn’t really answer how Rain or Shine kept making its shots on its way to a 112-108 win and why Alaska didn’t show any sense of desperation the way a team down 0-2 in a Finals series should.
Baguio, however, was sure of one thing: it all boiled down to effort.
“Masama yung start namin, hindi ko rin alam kung bakit. Parang ang taas ng kumpiyansa nila (Rain or Shine) kahit sinong player nakaka-shoot,” said Baguio after the Aces dropped their seventh straight game in the Finals dating back to their Philippine Cup title series with the San Miguel Beermen last conference.
“Di ko alam kung anong nangyayari sa depensa namin. Masyadong flat. Kanina, nung tinambakan lang kami saka lang kami nagising, saka lang kami bumawi,” he added. “Hindi pang-Finals yung nilaro namin kanina. Kahit sinong team siguro sa PBA kaya kaming durugin. Nakaka-frustrate sa totoo lang.”
The game ended with Alaska losing by only four points, but it wasn’t until the final five minutes when the Aces, who trailed by as much as 27 points late in the third quarter, showed up.
The 35-year-old Baguio has his doubts, but being part of the team last conference when it lost a three-games-to-none lead to the Beermen in the Finals, he’s also reminded that it’s never really over until it’s over.
“Hindi ko alam kung kaya naming i-sweep. May chance pa pero siguro ayusin muna namin yung sarili namin. Ayusin muna namin kung saan kami nagkamali and kung saan kami nabubutas lagi. Kasi yung offense namin okay naman, depensa talaga yung kailangan may mangyari kasi parang automatic. Kahit anong gawin nila nakaka-score sila, kahit non-shooter nakaka-shoot,” he said.
“Nakakadismaya sa part namin. Tiwala pa rin. Malay mo. Maayos namin next game, hindi natin alam. Bawi na lang, wala namang ibang way.”