‘Tough love’ paves way to title

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska coach Luigi Trillo bagged a PBA title in only his third conference at the Aces helm and yesterday credited team owner Fred Uytengsu for the “tough love” that prepared him to take on the challenge of getting the franchise back on track after losing Tim Cone two years ago.

It was Cone who wrote the glory pages of Alaska’s storybook PBA history, leading the Aces to 13 championships in 22 years. But since his departure to San Mig Coffee (previously B-Meg), the Aces floundered until Trillo came along to take over the head coaching job from Joel Banal initially on an interim basis in the Governors Cup last season.

The road wasn’t lined with roses for Trillo at the start. As interim head coach, he piloted Alaska to a 2-7 record in the last third conference. But Uytengsu gave Trillo a vote of confidence by removing his interim status to open this season. Trillo, 37, responded by steering Alaska to the Philippine Cup semifinals, bowing to eventual champion Talk ‘N’ Text in a 4-2 series that reestablished the Aces’ mettle. Offseason moves orchestrated by Trillo put bounce back in Alaska’s stride as the Aces enlisted rookies Calvin Abueva and Raffy Reyes, Jvee Casio, Dondon Hontiveros, Nic Belasco and later, Aldrech Ramos. Key holdovers included Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio, Gabby Espinas, R. J. Jazul and Tony de la Cruz.

Then came Trillo’s ascendancy in the Commissioner’s Cup. Alaska zoomed to No. 1 in the eliminations with an 11-3 record, struck out Air 21 in the first round of the playoffs, dethroned defending champion San Mig Coffee in the semifinals and swept Ginebra San Miguel in the best-of-five finals for the trophy.

To be sure, it wasn’t easy turning back Ginebra although the Kings entered the finals as the No. 7 seed. The Barangay came out in full force throughout the finals, outnumbering Alaska’s fans but the Aces faithful wouldn’t be denied their moment of triumph. Game 1 brought in an attendance of 19,478 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Game 2’s crowd was 17,856 at the MOA Arena and the clincher drew 23,436 to establish a new mark at the Big Dome, surpassing the 23,108 standard set in a semifinal doubleheader last May 8.

Defense was Trillo’s trump card as the Aces held Ginebra to less than 40 percent field goal shooting in every game of the finals. Ginebra scored only 70 in Game 1 and 80 in Game 3. When Ginebra isn’t scoring heavily, the probability of losing is high. It was 0-7 when scoring 80 points or less in the conference. Control of the boards was crucial as it led to dictating tempo in the title series. Alaska outrebounded Ginebra, 65-50, in Game 2 and 64-50 in Game 3. Critical was Alaska’s defense on Ginebra import Vernon Macklin who was outdueled by Rob Dozier in their face-off. Dozier delivered 56 points and 62 rebounds while Macklin, hampered by a badly bruised right quad, struggled with 36 points and 41 boards.

Because Macklin is strictly a low-post operator, Trillo devised a defensive alignment to take away his vaunted jumphook. Thoss was designated as Macklin’s primary defender with Dozier moving in double whenever he had the ball at the low block. Alaska packed the paint with a virtual 2-3 zone, Dozier floating in the middle ready to double Macklin and Abueva providing weak side support. The ploy worked like a charm as it muzzled Macklin’s offense and limited his chances for offensive put-backs. It also congested the lane to discourage Ginebra’s penetrators whose opportunities to drive-and-kick were held to a minimum. That made it easier for Alaska’s perimeter defenders to close out on Ginebra’s shooters.

“Our offense didn’t center on Rob,” said Trillo. “That’s why we got a balanced attack. Dondon came on fire in the fourth period of Game 2. Our zone allowed us to save our legs and more importantly, we were able to protect their transition.” In the series opener and Game 2, six Alaska players scored in twin digits. The bench played a major role in propelling the Aces to the top.

Before Game 3, Trillo anticipated a huge Ginebra surge which came as expected. Ginebra led, 48-44, at the half and 72-71 at the end of the third quarter. “We know that they have a lot of pride and didn’t want to get swept,” he said. “Everybody saw how physical borderline dirty it became. We just needed to play through that and focus on the task at hand. I felt confident that we had a firm game-plan. I don’t think they were tired in Game 1, more frustrated than anything else. L. A. (Tenorio) played 41 minutes in Game 2.”

Trillo said it came down to playing through the physicality in the fourth quarter of Game 3. “We understood it would be physical,” he said. “We needed to play through that. We tried to focus on details, how to box out Macklin, defending transition, stuff like that. We had to adjust at the half and felt we were trying to outscore them. They were baiting to play at their tempo, we needed to play ours.”

With Ginebra fired up, Alaska tightened up defensively for the fourth quarter storm. From a 76-all tie with 9:18 to go, the Aces ignited a 20-3 burst, including a 12-0 bomb. Ginebra scored only two free throws in the last 6:14. Thoss and Dozier combined for 20 points in the payoff period. The Aces outscored Ginebra, 33-8, in the last 12 minutes to win, 104-80. “In the fourth, we switched the ball screens with (Rudy) Hatfield, (Billy) Mamaril or Kerby (Raymundo),” said Trillo. “That way, we were able to stay home on L. A. Fatigue set in with Macklin and L. A. and we needed to clean up the defensive breakdowns from the other three. We also stopped doubling on Macklin and put the onus on him in the fourth to score.”

As the smoke of battle cleared at the final buzzer of Game 3 last Sunday, Trillo went up to Uytengsu and they embraced. “I told Fred thank you for believing in me and the tough love he’s given me through his mentoring,” said Trillo.