Compton gears up for PBL wars

The unanimous decision of the PBL Board to allow him to play for LBC-Batangas has inspired Philippine-born American Alex Compton to work double time to get back in shape in time for the 2002 PBL Challenge Cup kicking off Nov. 4 at the Pasig Sports Complex.

After the MBA folded up, Compton went to the States for the much needed break, visiting his family and friends.

So when the LBC-Batangas management, led by team owner Santi Araneta, relayed the news that the team will be playing in the PBL, he couldn’t wait to pack his bag and return to the place he considered "home."

"I’m so excited to play again for Filipino basketball fans. And I just couldn’t help but express my heartfelt gratitude to the PBL for the big, warm welcome," said Compton, admitting he still has to shed off some pounds and get his reflexes back in time.

"I’ve been out of basketball for some time so I really got to get in shape. I know the coming PBL conference is gonna be tough — there are a lot of athletic guys and a bunch of talented rookies and veterans so I really have to work hard to keep up with them," he added.

Though MBA’s Metrostars gave him the break to barge into the RP basketball scene, only a few knew that it was the PBL connection that inspired him to play here.

A 6-foot-2 varsity player of Cornell College in the Ivy League, Compton heard much about the PBL through his assistant coach Tyron Pitts who played as import of Triple V in the 1993 PBL Reinforced Conference.

"I heard so much how competitive the action is in the PBL and it gave me the idea ‘Hey, why can’t I play there? I was born in the Philippines.’ That thought just kept playing in my mind." he related.

But the biggest factor that pushed him to go for it was his teammate John McCurd who played as Tanduay’s reinforcement in the 1997 ABC Champion’s Cup in Malaysia.

"From there, I asked my agent Jim Clibianoff if he could book me a stint in the Philippines, and he learned about a new league called MBA. That’s how I got to play with the Metrostars then," he said.

It’s no wonder though why he’s a little fluent with the Filipino dialect. His family’s transient life moving from one Asian city to another equipped him with the facility to easily adapt to the culture and learn the language.