Mutual respect

Alaska coach Alex Compton said recently he was on the positive end of a one-sided relationship with San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria when they worked together at Welcoat in the PBA. Austria was the Painters’ head tactician while Compton was a playing import and assistant in the coaching staff during the early years of the Rain Or Shine franchise.

“I learned a lot from coach Leo but I’ll admit it was a one-way street,” said Compton. “I didn’t give much input. I actually didn’t know what I was doing at the time. What I saw was how brilliant coach Leo is. It was Welcoat’s first year in the PBA as an expansion team and I remember Jay-R Reyes was one of our rookies.”

For his part, Austria said he was impressed with Compton’s work ethic. “He was a superstar but worked like a second-stringer, meaning he didn’t act like a superstar,” said Austria. They went their separate ways after the Welcoat affiliation. Austria went on to coach San Miguel Beer to the ABL title two years ago then moved to the PBA as assistant to Gee Abanilla for two conferences until Todd Purves came in to take an active role in calling the shots for the Beermen.

After Austria left San Miguel early last year, he was signed by Ateneo to help out in the front office. Austria was later recalled to the Beermen by San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang to start the new PBA season. “Ateneo understood my situation,” said Austria. “That’s why I’ll always be grateful to (Ateneo alumnus and sports patron) Mr. Arben Santos who gave his blessings for me to go back to San Miguel because of the opportunity.”

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Austria’s son Bacon used to play for the Ateneo seniors so there is a link to the Loyola school even as he saw action for Lyceum and coached Adamson from 2005 to 2013. Now that his son is playing for Blackwater, Austria said it’s a strange feeling.

“When San Miguel played Blackwater, we drove to the Araneta in the same car,” said Austria. “Of course, Bacon stays at home. I’m happy for him that he’s playing in the PBA. He’s a very smart player.” In that game, Blackwater coach Leo Isaac surprised Austria by starting his son. Bacon delivered five points, six rebounds, two  assists, one steal and one blocked shot in 21:25 minutes but San Miguel won, 91-62. It was Bacon’s best showing in his PBA career so far.

Austria and wife Ana Maria Sulit are blessed with three children. Bacon, 25, is the eldest. Only daughter Andrea, 24, is a La Salle graduate and a teacher. The youngest Gerard, 20, is on his third year taking up Comtech Management at Ateneo.

Austria, 56, and Compton, 40, had kind words for each other after the PBA Philippine Cup Finals ended last week. Compton paid tribute to Austria’s “brains and character” while Austria said San Miguel was lucky to survive Alaska in the best-of-seven series that went the distance.  

From the onset, Compton said San Miguel was favored in the Finals but Austria dismissed it, saying the talk was irrelevant. Compton said nobody expected Alaska to make it to the Finals, maybe not even himself, because setting a goal for the championship was not on the drawing boards in the first place. His objective was just to push the team forward, improving day by day, game to game. For Austria, the aim was to win the title because San Miguel wasn’t just loaded with talent, it was also overdue for a championship. San Miguel hadn’t won a title in the last nine conferences or since the 2010-11 Governors Cup under coach Ato Agustin.

Although San Miguel eventually won the Philippine Cup crown via a 4-3 count, it was Alaska that overachieved in extending the series to the limit. The Aces came back from a pair of 22-point deficits to win Game 1, 88-82, and from 21 down in the third period to take Game 3, 78-70. After San Miguel opened a 3-2 series lead, the Aces gutted out an 87-76 win in Game 6 from a 14-point hole.

In Game 7, Alaska nearly did the improbable for the fourth time in the Finals. San Miguel sat on a 23-point cushion at 48-25 in the second period. Meralco assistant coach Ronnie Magsanoc, working on the TV broadcast panel, said no way a team can survive that kind of a deficit in a Game 7 because of the pressure and tension. Magsanoc and 22,511 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum couldn’t believe their eyes as the Aces stormed back to erect a six-point lead at 74-68 with less than four minutes to go.

Alaska had a ton of chances to clinch. Sonny Thoss missed on a drive against JuneMar Fajardo. Calvin Abueva missed on a floater and a put-back attempt. Dondon Hontiveros missed a free throw with 6.8 ticks left – one of 15 the Aces flubbed. Jvee Casio missed a triple at the buzzer. San Miguel’s defense hung tough down the stretch with Fajardo, Arwind Santos and Ronald Tubid standing their ground. On the flip side, Alaska’s defense crumbled as San Miguel ended it on a decisive 12-4 surge to win, 80-78.

The finale was Alaska’s kind of game, low-scoring and defense-oriented. San Miguel was held to 14 points in the third period and 18 in the fourth. In the second half, Alaska outscored the Beermen, 51-32. The Aces scored 32 points in the third quarter, matching San Miguel’s output in the second half, and eclipsing what Alaska tallied in the first half.

Austria shortened his rotation in Game 7. Santos played 46:41 minutes and Fajardo, 44:55 so they played nearly without relief. All throughout the series, Compton had a more equitable distribution of minutes. Before Game 7, three San Miguel players averaged at least 30 minutes compared to none for the Aces. In the Finals, Compton rotated nine starters and San Miguel, seven.

Compton said he’s never out to win a game in the first six minutes. Austria, however, disagreed. He looked for a big start to open a comfortable cushion to lean on in the homestretch. Santos set the tone early with three triples as San Miguel zoomed to a 21-12 advantage in the first period.

Alaska’s merciless press tired out San Miguel’s ballhandlers so that in the fourth period, Austria had to call in Jeric Fortuna who hadn’t played at all up to that point. Fortuna went 0-of-2 from the field and had a turnover in 2:26 but the reward was a fresher Alex Cabagnot when he reported back in. What spelled the difference in the end was San Miguel’s composure under pressure – Santos, Chris Lutz, Tubid, Cabagnot and Fajardo anchored the last stand to put the game on ice.

Austria said both San Miguel and Alaska deserved to win the championship but unfortunately, there can be only one. The mutual respect was evident when Austria and Compton embraced at the final buzzer to end Game 7 and the series. It was a fitting climax to a hard-fought Finals, a chapter that will long be remembered by fans in the PBA storybook. The battle was fierce, physical and absolutely confrontational. Austria was relieved that San Miguel survived Game 7 despite failing to dictate the tempo. He called it a miracle win.

Compton stamped his class as a no-nonsense coach and sooner than later, he’ll nail his first PBA title. He somewhat overshadowed Austria in their coaching duel but nobody can deny recognition for the San Miguel coach as the best tactician of the conference.