Alaska a class act

It’s not often that a best-of-7 title series ends in a sweep – either in the NBA or the PBA.

In 63 NBA finals so far, there have been only eight 4-0 routs, the most recent San Antonio’s thrashing of Cleveland in 2005. Other teams that broomed their opponents were Boston over Minneapolis in 1959, Milwaukee over Baltimore in 1971, Golden State over Washington in 1975, Philadelphia over the Los Angeles Lakers in 1983, Detroit over the Lakers in 1989, Houston over Orlando in 1995 and the Lakers over New Jersey in 2002. The wipeout rate in the NBA is only 12.7 percent.

In 61 PBA finals with the best-of-seven format, only two were decided in sweeps - until last Wednesday’s closure of the Philippine Cup championship playoffs. The teams that were unscathed in the title series were Northern Consolidated over Manila Beer in 1985, Swift over Seven-Up in 1992 and Purefoods over Alaska this past conference.

For a proud franchise like Alaska, losing a title series without winning a single game was a huge blow. Every game in the finals was close including the clincher which the Tender Juicy Hot Dogs sealed with about five minutes left. Aces coach Tim Cone has taken Alaska to 21 finals since 1989 and knows what it means to win or lose. He’s bagged 12 titles so far, only three less than Baby Dalupan’s career record of 15.

If there’s a team that can take a loss with head unbowed, it’s Alaska. The Aces take their lead from owner Fred Uytengsu, a Southeast Asian Games swimming medalist who values sportsmanship more than anything else on the playing field.

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In Game 2 of the hotly contested series, referee Maui Mauricio was wrong in calling a foul on Joe DeVance to send Kerby Raymundo to the line for the chance to break an 85-all tie with less than two seconds left. If at all, the contact was in local parlance, “manipis.” It was incidental contact and should’ve been let go. By the way both teams played their guts out in regulation, they deserved an overtime. But Mauricio killed what would have been a more fitting closure in extension by deciding the outcome with an ill-advised whistle.

Mauricio would never have gotten away with that kind of call in the NBA. He would’ve been lynched not just by the aggrieved team but also the favored team because no team likes to win that way. It’s not about winning at all costs. It’s about playing and winning fair.

Yet, none of the Alaska officials raised a howl. Right after the game, team manager Joaqui Trillo expressed displeasure by saying Purefoods would surely not have liked to win through a referee’s whistle. That couldn’t even be classified as a tirade. The next day, Trillo apologized to the PBA for speaking out of line - an unnecessary apology that spoke volumes of Alaska’s principles.  

As it turned out, Raymundo converted his first free throw and deliberately missed the second to wash away the time left for a possible Alaska retaliation. Uytengsu called the one-point setback a “bitter pill to swallow, especially since it (the phantom foul) was so obvious.” He said, “that game should have gone to overtime and perhaps, the series would be different.”

When the balloons fell from the Araneta rafters last Wednesday, Uytengsu acknowledged defeat. “Purefoods deserved the series,” he said. “They played harder and wanted it more. I’m just disappointed we didn’t bring our A game to the championship. Our players got outplayed and we were outcoached.”

It was the second straight bridesmaid finish for Alaska in the Philippine Cup. Last season, the Aces lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to Talk ‘N’ Text.

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Purefoods’ defense was the key to victory. Using matchups that capitalized on the Giants’ size advantage, coach Ryan Gregorio broke down Alaska’s chief strength - the ability to execute in the halfcourt - and never gave the Aces a chance to play with rhythm consistently. The Giants were focused on disrupting Alaska’s flow, pressuring the ballhandlers into turnovers, making it difficult to get the ball into the post where the triangle formation originates, stepping into open spots to prevent spacing for medium-range jumpers or pick-and-rolls and varying defensive tactics. On offense, they aggressively attacked the rim and made extra passes to create good looks. Getting Alaska’s bigs into foul trouble was a bonus. In Game 4, Alaska was held to 39.7 percent shooting from the field, the result of Purefoods’ unforgiving defense, and the Giants controlled the boards, 51-41. The Aces succumbed to the pressure by flubbing 15 free throws and down the stretch, they became tentative on offense as if nobody wanted to take the blame for the impending loss. DeVance struggled and went 0-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-10 from the stripe in 33 minutes. Worse, he grabbed only two rebounds. Reynel Hugnatan also showed his inability to cope with pressure, picking up five turnovers in a starting role. Hugnatan had seven errors in Game 2 and three in Game 3.

Alaska’s top gunners Willie Miller and L. A. Tenorio combined for only 9-of-28 from the floor, a 32.1 percent clip. They were the only Aces in twin digits so you can imagine how poorly the rest shot.

Purefoods’ second unit provided a major lift with the bench contributing 25 points to Alaska’s 16. Rico Maierhofer was particularly productive as he delivered 12 points, six rebounds and two assists in 18 solid minutes. Alaska’s top bench scorer was Jeffrey Cariaso who shot only five points in eight quiet minutes. Throughout the series, Gregorio showed confidence in his shock troopers who paid him back with interest - among them, Niño Canaleta, P.J. Simon, Paul Artadi, Don Allado and Jondan Salvador.

But in the clutch, Gregorio turned to his starters who were unstoppable - MVP James Yap, Roger Yap, Raymundo, Marc Pingris and Rafi Reavis.

Alaska fought a good fight and gave its all in trying to extend the series but the Giants wouldn’t be denied. Gregorio had all the bases covered from matchups to substitution patterns to changing defenses to unpredictable combinations. It’s been eight conferences since Purefoods won a title so Gregorio had a long wait before picking up his third crown. Alaska’s last title came six conferences ago.

Top-seeded Alaska could’ve celebrated too early after sweeping Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals and looked like the Aces lost steam or their killer’s instinct against Purefoods. The Giants, in contrast, had nothing to lose and everything to gain as the No. 3 seed, playing without pressure and generating energy from every conceivable five Gregorio sent to the court.

To play the kind of merciless defense that Purefoods displayed, the Giants had to have depth - fresh legs moving in and out to leave the Aces gasping for breath. Pacing became a vital element in Gregorio’s shuffling and it reaped dividends as in every game of the series, the Giants were tougher, sturdier and stronger in the homestretch.

Still, Alaska has nothing to be ashamed of. It’s a team that knows how to lose with dignity.