40.
That was the number which boggled coach Alex Compton the most, as Alaska gave up that much free throws to San Miguel Beer in their 88-93 Game 5 defeat.
“That’s gonna be tough winning games if you give up that much,” he said.
San Miguel converted 29 of those freebies from the 32 fouls committed by the Aces, who fell 2-3 in their 2015 PBA Philippine Cup championship series.
What bothered Compton more is that majority of those fouls committed were “silly fouls,” which he felt were not really necessary.
“I think we did a lot better than Game 4. We did a better job on the glass today,” he said, as Alaska outrebounded San Miguel, 54-40.
“But we gave them 40 free throws and their field goal percentage is through the roof, so that’s really it.”
But for starters, they could tilt the odds in their favor with a win on Sunday and force a Game 7.
Out of the 11 teams which forced a Game 7, three were Alaska squads and two of those were against San Miguel.
“There’s still life. We’re hoping every game,” Compton said. “If we can keep on attacking the basket, go to the line more, play with that kind of intensity, we’ll give ourselves a chance each game.” (RL)
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