LUIGI Trillo admits fatigue is slowly catching up on Alaska after the Aces played their fourth game in the first 10 days of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Aces fell to 1-3 record on Saturday after losing to Rain or Shine, 92-78, behind Jeff Chan’s 24-point explosion in the second half.
“There’s a bit of fatigue. We’ve played four games in less than 12 days, then you add the next one on Monday against Air21, that becomes 12 days,” said Trillo after the game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Alaska couldn’t keep pace with Rain or Shine’s running attack as the defending champion trailed by as many as 19 points in the third period.
Trillo said the Aces competed hard in the second half, but the missed free throws from the foul line and the 19 turnovers they committed killed their hopes of ending with a win.
“I think we did a better job in the second half getting back. The guys struggled and we missed a ton of free throws,” noted the Alaska coach, whose team’s lone victory in the conference came at the expense of Globalport, 93-77.
The Aces will have another big game coming up on Monday against the Express, who are fresh from a 103-85 rout of Barako Bull.
But Trillo said the Aces will just have to move forward, forget about the loss while learning some lessons along the way so they could stop the bleeding with a win against Air21.
“With that being said, you can’t be too down on yourself. You just need to focus on the next one against Air21,” he added.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph