COMPTON NOT SATISFIED, BUT HAPPY TO SEE ACES’ CHARACTER
Alaska coach Alex Compton didn’t hide his disappointment on the conference that was for the Aces.
“It was a tough one for us. There were lots of ups and downs,” he said. “It was really tough coming off of the Finals. If you looked at us and San Miguel, both teams struggled this conference. Even though we lost this game, I was proud of the heart that our guys showed to the final buzzer. We were down by seven, but we were still trying to make shots to go for the miracle. That’s heart.”
But despite the quarterfinal exit, Compton was happy with how his team is faring through two conferences this season.
“I think any time you lose it hurts, so I think the thing I always want to see is character in the pursuit of excellence,” he said. “I was just happy that our guys just didn’t give up. It’s weird to express any happiness after a loss. We’re not satisfied, it’s not good enough. It won’t be good enough until we win a championship, but character in the pursuit of excellence is what we aim for all the time. I thought the guys showed that today.”
Looking forward to the Governors’ Cup, Compton said that the management is already in discussion on to whom they will field as import in the season-ending conference.
“We always have a list of names but we don’t have one name yet. We’re looking at a bunch of guys. Some guys just honestly cost too much,” he said, even kidding that NBAMVP contender Russell Westbrook is on their radar.
“We’re looking for a buyout. But I don’t think (team owner) Fred (Uytengsu) could do that.”
But in all seriousness, the Alaska camp is still pondering if they would employ an Asian reinforcement to go with their prospective import, who could only go up as high as 6-foot-5.
“We’ll visit that over this break. We’ll take about that with the management and coaches and see what direction we’ll head in.” (RL)
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