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Alaska has been known for making big comebacks, but Calvin Abueva believes this batch of Aces are still far from where they used to be.
Abueva stressed Alaska has yet to prove anything in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.
“We still can’t say that we’ve brought the Alaska of before. If we’re able to get through our remaining games, if we make it to the quarters and the semis, that’s the only time we can say that we’re back on our old form,” he said after Alaska’s 89-96 defeat to NLEX on Sunday.
Regular fixtures in the playoffs back in 2015, the Aces were feared by their opponents showing their capability to crawl their way from big deficits, a characteristic which earned them four trips to the Finals.
Though those days are long gone, Abueva did admit that his side showed glimpses of that old fight after battling back from 30 points down against the Road Warriors.
“I don’t know what happened in the first to third quarters. There were bad calls on our side which prevented us from making a run, but in the fourth quarter, we just played our game and tried our best to cut the lead down,” he said.
Alaska made a huge rally in the payoff period, pulling to within two, 91-89, in the waning seconds before a costly turnover helped NLEX escape.
Still, at 6-3, Abueva remains upbeat as Alaska shifts its focus on its final two assignments against San Miguel and Rain or Shine.
“Whatever we’re doing, whatever we worked for, we have to double our efforts and keep our focus on our goals,” he said.