ALASKA coach Alex Compton insisted the Aces didn’t get ahead of themselves when they built a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter in Game of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel Beer on Sunday.
The Aces were poised to pull off a sweep of the Beermen when they established an 11-point lead with less than four minutes to go in the payoff period, but saw SMB pull off a stunning reversal and complete it in overtime to stay alive with a 110-104 win.
Compton said they simply lost focus down the stretch in their eagerness to finish off the Beermen.
“I don’t think I saw a celebration, but I don’t think our focus stayed during that time,” the American coach said. “We gave away too many easy layups then we missed some (of our shots), too.”
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Compton also admitted the Aces, who led by as many as 14 points, were overeager to immediately close out the series.
“I didn’t sense any lazy from our guys, but I felt some of our guys were gigil, they were so fired up,” Compton said. “But that shouldn’t take away of how well San Miguel played and how well they executed their game plan.”
The Aces can try again on Wednesday in Game Five at the Big Dome.
“It’s not easy to sweep anybody,” Compton said. “I just want to try to get out of this championship series with a title.”