Alas says team defense key to slowing down Romeo, GlobalPort
Alaska failed miserably in trying to slow down GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo (7) in Game 1 of their 2016 Philippine Cup semifinals. Romeo erupted for a career-high 41 points in a 107-93 win on Monday night. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Alaska deputy Louie Alas believes GlobalPort did nothing exceptional in the opener of their Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup semifinal matchup.
But Alas admitted the Aces could find themselves in trouble in the best-of-seven series if they continue to fail in figuring out how to slow down the high-octane Batang Pier.
Alas also dismissed comments by jaded observers that the Aces appeared rusty in Monday night’s 107-93 loss.
“Hindi totoo yun. They (Batang Pier) just outworked us in every aspect of the game. Period,” Alas admitted.
As a matter of fact, Alaska knows exactly how GlobalPort would run its plays, but the Aces were inexplicably flat in Game 1 and trailed by as much as 18 points early.
GlobalPort is making its first semifinal appearance in the league but its inexperience didn’t show in the way it handled the series opener. With Terrence Romeo putting on a shooting clinic, the Batang Pier dominated the Aces, whose repeated rallies in the second half went for naught.
Romeo finished with a career-high 41 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field, including 6-of-11 from downtown.
“Hindi naman namin gusto yung nangyari. Talaga lang motivated sila masyado pagkatapos ng panalo nila sa Ginebra. Even our bigs were outwitted by their big men,” Alas observed.
Alas stressed that GlobalPort is no pushover largely because it owns the league’s most explosive backcourt duo in Romeo and Stanley Pringle. And the way he looks at it, a well-executed team defense – remains key in stopping the Batang Pier.
“Hindi mo sila ma-stop ng single coverage pero pwede mo sila ma-contain,” said Alas, awed by Romeo’s scoring ability. “Magaling talaga yung bata.”
Still, Alas believes that at the end of the day, things would still work in Alaska’s favor.
“Yun ang pinaniniwalaan naming. We still have six games para ma-redeem namin yung mga sarili namin. We just have to play our game,” Alas noted. (Dave Coros)
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