Compton, Aces look forward to topping loaded Beermen soon

MANILA, Philippines — Alex Compton said that San Miguel Beer is just too good.

But that doesn’t mean the Alaska Aces have given up.

“They win ‘cause they're really good,” Compton said of the Beermen shortly after absorbing the boot in the semifinals on Sunday night’s PBA action at the Big Dome.

The Aces tactician pointed out the defending conference champions’ vast arsenal as their greatest strength.

“June Mar (Fajardo’s) great, [Renaldo Balkman is a] legit NBA (veteran), Kelly Nabong's one of the best players this conference and they acquired him.

“Christian Standhardinger is a 6-8 Euroleague big man, they got him. Alex (Cabagnot), Marcio (Lassiter), Arwind (Santos) and Chris Ross are All-Stars — deservedly so. They're a great team, and they got Matt Rosser on the team who's a [No. 4] pick … that's how good they are,” the tactician explained.

The Aces have not gotten over the hump that is the Beermen after they gave up 3-0 lead in the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals. But Compton feels like they’ve been doing a better job competing against San Miguel than most teams in the PBA.

“I don't know what the count is but I wanna say is like in the last nine or 10 conferences, they won six. And I think you can say that about the whole league. So, everybody seems to wanna say 'Oh, Alaska can't seem to beat San Miguel,’ when in actuality, we beat them more than any team in the league in terms of games in the past four years,” Compton offered.

“That doesn't mean we're as good as them — obviously they won a championship — but I'd say that converse is true. I'd say that we've given them more than they wanted — and some interesting playing conditions at times,” he continued.

“I’d say that we've given them more than they wanted — and some interesting playing conditions at times. We’ll just keep fighting,” Compton offered.

“One day we'll get that breakthrough,” he said before parting ways with the press.