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[av_heading heading=’BUZZER BEATER Monkey off Aces’ back’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=’30’ subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, September 8, 2017
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ALASKA Aces head coach Alex Compton heaved a sigh of relief. His team finally snapped a five-month long losing spell with a 90-79 win over San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup out-of-town game on Sept. 2.
That was Aces’ first PBA victory since its 105-102 escape from Rain or Shine Elasto Painters way back in the elimination round of the 2017 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup on April 2.
“It’s a relief, and we still have a chance in this conference,” Compton said. “What I really liked in the locker room afterwards was everybody was happy, but it wasn’t like a championship celebration. It shouldn’t have been and it wasn’t.”
“We still have a mathematical chance,” he added. “We have to keep working. It felt like we had so many breaks against us in those 14 games. Maybe we’re due for a few, so we’ll see.”
Compton refused to dwell on the win since it was against a Beermen squad that had an ineffective import – Terik Bridgeman – but he hopes it will inspire his squad to continue their winning ways.
“To finally get one against a great team was nice, but really, we’re still looking at the season,” Compton said. “I think the team’s reaction was exactly kind of how I felt: thank God, we finally won, all right, awesome. Let’s enjoy it, but let’s get to the next game.”
“Just getting that monkey off our back will help, but we still got to make plays. The psychological factor of having the lid off hopefully helps,” the American mentor added.
With a 1-6 win-loss record, Alaska still has four games on its schedule – against GlobalPort Batang Pier tonight, Kia Picanto on Sept. 10, Meralco Bolts on Sept. 15, and Painters on Sept. 20.
ANOTHER LOCAL MATCH
Ceres Negros will count on the support of Bacolodnons when it plays host to FC Istiklol Dushanbe in the second leg of the 2017 AFC Cup inter-zone semifinals on Sept. 12 at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Bacolod City.
The Negros Occidental-based club will distribute free tickets for the match on Sept. 8 and 9, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Ceres Negros North Headquarters, across The District-North Point.
A maximum of two tickets will be given to every person who will troop to the site. The distribution will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
Ceres is in a must-win situation after suffering to FC Istiklol 0-4 in the first leg of the inter-zone semifinals on Aug. 22 in Dushanbe.
For it to reach the knockout finals against India or Thailand on April 25, Ceres must score 5-0 against Tajikistan.
“In football, everything is possible, so you never know,” said Ceres mentor Risto Vidakovic. “When you expect a win, you draw. When you expect a draw, you lose.”/PN
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