Compton insists pressure’s on San Miguel

MANILA, Philippines - It’s come down to one showdown for all the marbles. San Miguel Beer and Alaska will face off in the battle to end the war in Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. The series is tied at three wins apiece and the clincher will deliver the first-ever PBA title for Aces coach Alex Compton or Beermen coach Leo Austria.

Compton said the pressure’s on San Miguel, not Alaska. “It’s not an easy matchup for us,” he said. “Before the conference, I don’t think any of the sportswriters thought we’d end up in the top four. We were tipped to finish anywhere between fifth and eighth. We don’t have the superstars they have. We just go out there and play hard. San Miguel has at least five guys who are solid candidates for the national team. That’s how strong and deep they are. But I’m happy with Alaska, I love this team. There’s no way we can go one-on-one against San Miguel and expect to win. They have a lot more talent than us, man for man. If we play their game, we end up losing for sure. So we just have to find different ways to win.”

In Game 6, Alaska’s back was against the wall. San Miguel sat on a 3-2 series lead and a win would’ve clinched the series. Compton said the Aces were like David going up against Goliath. For the third straight game, Compton adjusted his starting lineup. He has now rotated eight players as starters compared to seven for San Miguel. But Austria hasn’t tweaked his starting five in the last three encounters unlike Compton.

“I pick up a lot of lessons from coach Yeng (Guiao) who’s known for rotating his starters from game to game,” said Compton. “At Alaska, we look at defensive matchups and offensive patterns. We tinker with our starting lineups but what’s important for us is not so much what we get from our starters but what we get from our second and third units. We didn’t get much from our starters in Game 6 and we fell behind by 14 early. But we don’t try to win the game in the first six minutes. Our second group comes in to give us a lift before the end of the first period.”

Compton said when Calvin Abueva picked up his third personal foul in the first quarter of Game 6, no panic set in. “I absolutely love Calvin and we’re so glad he’s with us,” he said. “I think I’m kind of responsible for Calvin not winning the Best Player of the Conference award because I don’t give him as many minutes as JuneMar (Fajardo). I think if I did, Calvin would’ve come out with better stats. In our system, we don’t rely on any one guy. With Calvin sitting down, other guys stepped up. I’ve always been asked how I motivate our players. I’m not pressing the buttons. The key, as John Maxwell put it, is to hire motivated people. It’s all about human resources. It’s what they are. It’s not me.”

Compton said because of Fajardo’s dominance, Alaska is forced to pack it in and clog the lane so the San Miguel center has little space within which to operate near the basket. “JuneMar’s the most dominant force in the league,” he said. “Nobody can defend him one-on-one so we just pack it in. That’s why in Game 6, San Miguel took a lot of open three-pointers. We were just lucky they didn’t connect consistently.”

The stats showed that San Miguel took 37 three-point attempts compared to 35 from two-point distance and the Aces scored more points in the paint, 58-22. Fajardo was hounded by Alaska’s defense and scored only nine points, his first single digit output the entire conference. San Miguel settled for outside shots instead of attacking the basket and as a result, had no and-one play compared to eight for the Aces. Alaska also had five more free throw attempts because the Aces were more aggressive in going strong to the rim.

“I thought we were a little fresher in Game 6 in the energy sense,” said Compton. “We got to the ball a lot quicker but maybe that’s because we were in a do-or-die situation. We were focused on getting the rebounds and being aggressive.”

Compton said he has the highest regard for Austria. They worked together at Welcoat when Austria was head coach and Compton was a playing import then an assistant in his staff. “I thought coach Leo deserved to be Coach of the Year when Welcoat was an expansion team in 2006-07,” he said. “The team had a 3-15 record in the Philippine Cup but the wins were over Coca-Cola, Talk ‘N’ Text and San Miguel. Coach Leo always gave our team a chance to win. He slowed it down, kept the scores close and brought out the best in his players. You can’t imagine how smart he is. But he’s not just a brilliant coach, he’s a good guy, sincere and humble. You don’t find too many guys who are humble in this sport at a high level. It’s easy to find a humble guy when he’s not successful. But you look at coach Leo and what he’s done. He’s the type of leader who sets the example and you follow. It’s a combination of brains and character. Look what he’s done for San Miguel. It’s been a while since San Miguel has gone to the Finals and in only his first conference with San Miguel, they’re back in the Finals.”

Compton said to win Game 7, Alaska needs five smart stones and a sling to play David. “We need faith in who we are, trust that we’ll do well together,” he said. “We’re not changing what we’ve been doing. It’s too late to make any major adjustments. We know firepower is not on our side so we’ve got to make it a low-scoring game and hope to pull it off with defense.”