After 2-day rest, Aces finals prep gets going

Alex Compton was resting at home on Saturday afternoon but couldn’t take his mind off what his Alaska Aces need to do in their PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven championship series against Magnolia.

“We need to be much, much, much, much better than we were against Meralco,” Compton told the Inquirer over the phone. “If you think we were good [in the series against the Bolts], we need to be a lot better to beat Magnolia.”

Compton said that from a fan’s standpoint, it’s going to be another magnificent series—just like the two Final Four series where Magnolia upended Barangay Ginebra and the Aces bundled out Meralco, both in four games.

The Finals battle that starts Dec. 5 at Mall of Asia Arena is a mouth-watering one, with both sides anchored on talented reinforcements Romeo Travis of Magnolia and Alaska’s Mike Harris who will slug it out for the Best Import trophy.

Compton and the Aces spent the weekend with their families before starting Finals work.

“They (Aces) need the rest,” he said of the two-day break. “Some of them are pretty banged up. They could use the break.”

Compton will be coaching in his fifth title series and hopes that this one brings a different ending for him and the Aces, who last won a title under Luigi Trillo in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup.

“I was in four [Finals] in my first five conferences [as a head coach],” Compton said, bringing a wealth of experience into the series against Chito Victolero, who will be in his second championship playoffs after losing to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup this season.

Compton is also hoping his injured duo Chris Banchero (left ankle) and JV Casio (hamstring) recover in time for Game 1.