WELCOME RESPITE FOR SKYRUS
With Alaska a win away from the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Aces’ guard Cyrus Baguio welcomes the week-long break after a grueling five games against Rain or Shine.
“Kailangan magpahinga para maka-recover,” he said. “Pag nananalo, di mo ramdam yung pagod eh. Ang bigat ng pakiramdam pag talo eh.”
It was a hard climb for Baguio and the Aces to take this 3-2 series lead. Early in the first half of their Game 5 encounter, Alaska trailed by as much as 19.
But for the Iligan City-native, the way Alaska battled back from these deficits just shows the squad’s resiliency.
“Pag down ka, mas tumatapang yung players pagdating sa ganyan. Lalo mo pang didiinan. Ang importante, di ka bibigay, laro lang,” said Baguio. “May chance pa lahat kahit na lumamang sila ng 19 points. Swerte lang sila nung first half. Ang importante, naging consistent yung depensa namin, hanggang sa nahabol namin at gumanda yung laro nung second half.”
Aside from the team’s toughness, what coach Alex Compton and the coaching staff have been emphasizing is keeping their composure and not getting caught up with the hard fouls and mind games on the court.
“Pag playoffs, di mo maiiwasan yung physical game. Parang nakataya na yung buhay mo sa bawat laro,” Baguio said. “Ready naman kami. Sabi nga ni coach, pag natamaan kami, laro lang kami kasi may referees naman. Ang mali lang ni Calvin, bumawi sya agad. Pero yung pisikalan, normal lang yan sa playoffs.”
And with these lessons learned from 2014, Cyrus is hoping that the new year will also usher in better days for Alaska.
“Ngayon, nauna na kami, kaya sana ma-close na namin sa next game kasi delikado talaga itong Rain or Shine. Sana makuha namin.” (RL)
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