IT could have been the perfect birthday gift for Alaska guard Chris Banchero had the Aces won over defending champion San Miguel in Game Four of the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
But after the Aces lost to the Beermen, 110-104, at the Philsports Arena on the same day he turned 27, the sophomore playmaker tried to mask his disappointment with a smile, settling instead with a simple celebration.
“I’m just going to have dinner with my family. (It’s) not as good as I wanted it to be,” said the birthday boy.
Alaska had the chance to sweep San Miguel when Cyrus Baguio sent the game into overtime but the Aces were outplayed in the extra period.
“It’s tough we lost, we were right there. It’s unfortunate but we just got to bounce back on Wednesday (Game Five),” said the Filipino-Italian cager.
Banchero, however, tried to put the loss behind him and instead looks forward to getting a delayed birthday present in Game Five at the Araneta Coliseum.
“We have another game on Wednesday so I cannot dwell too much on that,” he said.