OUTWORKED, OUTHUSTLED
For a team that is known for its hard work, it’s not every day that you see Alaska outworked in a game.
But that was the case on Saturday, as Rain or Shine blew the Aces until a late fightback trimmed the end-game spread to just seven, 102-95, equalizing the series at 1-1 in their best-of-7 semifinal affair in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup.
“They outworked us,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton. “We turned the ball over, they outworked us. It’s that simple. I wish I could say technically, they ran their plays, but that’s not the case. They just played harder.”
The Aces committed a conference-high 25 turnovers, which basically negated their 53-45 rebounding edge against the E-Painters.
Not helping them any was their slow start once again, falling behind by 19 at the half, 55-36.
Though they were able to recover in the second half, it was too much for the Aces as Rain or Shine held on to win the game.
“The second half, we won it. The first half, you give them a 19-point lead, mahirap yun,” Compton said. “We have to try to stop a very good team, a very disciplined team, a well-coached team. We gave them 17 in Game 1 and we gave them 19 in Game 2, yun ang problema.”
“These guys know how to play with or without coach Yeng,” the American tactician added, noting that the absence of Guiao in the first half didn’t affect Rain or Shine’s production. “He has coached them well and they know what to do. How many times have it happened that they won without him? I think that’s a great reflection of his leadership.”
“I wasn’t thinking if there was an advantage for us. I’m thinking how my guys are going to play.” (RL)
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