MANILA, Philippines - Alaska coach Alex Compton said yesterday the Aces’ hot 6-0 start in the PBA Philippine Cup is no indication that the Fred Uytengsu franchise is a lock for the championship and conceded that the team is still a work in progress under his watch.
Compton, 40, took over the Alaska reins two games into the Governors Cup last season and is only in his first full conference with the Aces. He was previously assistant coach at Welcoat and Alaska, serving under Leo Austria, Caloy Garcia and Luigi Trillo.
“I still have a lot to learn,” said Compton who played as an import for Welcoat before his transition to coaching. “I’m lucky I’ve got four assistant coaches with more head coaching experience than me. Louie (Alas) is our associate head coach. Topex (Robinson), Monch (Gavieres) and Franco (Atienza) are our assistant coaches. We work as a team, we share inputs, we enjoy doing things together.”
Compton said a 6-0 record doesn’t guarantee a title. “You don’t win a championship with a 6-0 record,” he said. “It’s not a strong start that counts, it’s a strong finish. Coach Tim (Cone) started 1-5 in the Philippine Cup last year and San Mig Coffee still won the championship. Right now, we could just as easily be at 4-2 but I wouldn’t be upset because I’m seeing the improvement in every game, we’re getting better, we’re putting in the effort. We’ve still got tough teams ahead.”
There are five games left in Alaska’s schedule. The Aces battle Barako Bull tomorrow, Globalport on Saturday, NLEX on Nov. 28, Barangay Ginebra on Dec. 2 and Rain Or Shine on Dec. 5.
“At the moment, we’re trying to get familiar with our system,” said Compton. “We’re winning because of our defense but we know, down the road, we’ve got to be more efficient in offense which we’re working on. We shot just 33 percent from the field against Blackwater in our last game so that’s an indication where our offense is. We’ve been relying on our defense and luckily, we’ve been able to win.”
Calvin Abueva has been a “beast” for Alaska all conference long with two 20-20 games so far. He had 26 points and 22 boards in the Aces’ 100-98 win over Talk ‘N’ Text and 23 points and 20 rebounds in the 85-75 decision over Kia. Last Friday, Abueva collected 13 points, 18 rebounds and five assists as Alaska downed Blackwater, 69-56.
“I don’t think there’s anyone 6-2 who can get to the boards like Calvin does,” marvelled Compton. “His dynamic athleticism is just phenomenal. What I appreciate most about Calvin is his effort to learn. He has a strong commitment to grow with the team. As a whole, that’s what makes our team a special group of good guys. We’ve got 16 leaders on our team, every player is a leader. It doesn’t matter whether you score two points or 25. Everybody is committed to get better, we’re all in this together. It helps Calvin and the other guys that we’ve got veterans like Tony (de la Cruz) and Dondon (Hontiveros) whose character and basketball IQ are unbelievable. Then, we were lucky to get Eric (Menk).”
Menk, 40, was an offseason addition to the squad and last Friday, gained Best Player honors with 14 points and 13 rebounds against Blackwater in only his second appearance this conference. “I’ve known Eric since 1998,” said Compton. “I’ve always appreciated his mind for the game, his high basketball IQ. He’s not your high-flying big guy like Benjie (Paras) but he works hard. When Gabby (Espinas) went down with a broken ankle, we brought in Eric. Gabby is one of the best post scorers in the league and he’ll be away until December or maybe the entire conference. Eric is a perfect fit for our team. He’s like Asi (Taulava) in that they’re very meticulous and methodical in taking care of their body. We don’t want to rush Gabby back early. We saw what happened to Kobe (Bryant) when he got back too soon from injury.”
Alaska’s full-court pressure defense has been a key to the Aces’ winning formula and that takes a high level of conditioning to sustain. “Our conditioning coaches Gus Vargas and Mike Braga are doing an excellent job of getting our guys in shape,” said Compton. “We play three conferences in a season and we know how important being healthy is. We rotate our players so guys don’t have to play 12 minutes a quarter. I pace the players from the bench. It’s a long season.”
Compton said Uytengsu’s support has been invaluable. “When we played Kia at 4 in the afternoon last week, Mr. Uytengsu was at the Cuneta (Astrodome) watching,” he said. “That’s a busy executive taking time to show his support for the team in the middle of a work day. I think our team owes its success to the values that Mr. Uytengsu has stressed as the foundations of our franchise from the very start – integrity, discipline, teamwork. With our team owner emphasizing those values, our job gets easier.”