Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—There’s just something about the finals that Alex Compton hasn’t figured out.
Compton’s Alaska teams are usually in the top tier of the league and are considered to be one of the more dangerous teams.
Despite this relative success, Compton failed to win a single title and the Aces’ loss to Magnolia in the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup finals brought his title series record to 0-5.
That mark is no cause for celebration, not even that proverbial moral victory.
“Right now I feel sick to my stomach,” said Compton after Alaska’s 102-86 Game 6 loss to the Hotshots Wednesday at Ynares Center in Antipolo. “If you don’t win the championship in the PBA, you lost. So it’s all of us, we lost in the Finals.”
“I think what’s particularly painful about the Finals loss is that you’re there. It’s that you’re there. It’s always frustrating. If you ask me, would you rather go to the Finals and lose or go through the 14-game losing streak and not make the playoffs? I’d rather be in the Finals.”
Compton’s first three finals appearances were all against San Miguel with one series ending in four games and the other two in seven.
Of the three, it can be argued that the seven-game series loss in the 2015 Philippine Cup had to hurt the most since this was when the Beermen came back from a 0-3 pit to stun the Aces in what is now known as the “Beeracle.”
Compton added that even though basketball games are still the same, in essence, whatever the stage, the Finals is still a different beast.
“When you’re there, when you get your shot blocked, when you’re there, everything just feels more painful in a sense,” said Compton. “We’re in the Finals, so it’s painful to lose because you’re there and it’s like you have the opportunity and you want to grab it.”