Alaska was sent crashing back to earth as TNT snapped its three-game winning run with a 109-100 win on Friday.
And Calvin Abueva didn’t discount that the streak may have gotten to their heads.
“Maybe we became overconfident. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t compete. Until the end, we showed that we’re still aggressive,” he said.
Lackadaisical in the first half, the Aces found themselves down by 16, 54-38, at halftime.
Though they still were able to claw their way back in the game and trim the deficit to just seven, 77-70 after a superb 32-point third quarter, the KaTropa were just too much as Troy Rosario and Larry Fonacier drained backbreaking threes to start the fourth and take the win.
“Their outside shooting became effective. When Larry and Troy’s shots went down, their confidence rose,” he said.
Abueva said that this must serve as a wake up call for Alaska as it seeks to bounce back when the new year comes.
“It’s not that we looked down on them. They’re a strong team and a champion team too. It’s a big lesson for us because we’re 3-3. We have to work harder in our next games.
Alaska will next face Star on January 11 next year.