Curious move: Alaska burns three timeouts to open Game Seven vs. SMB

With the Philippine Cup on the line in Game Seven of the finals, the Alaska Aces sprung a very curious move to start Wednesday's matchup against the San Miguel Beermen.

Even before action began, Alaska coach Alex Compton burned three straight timeouts, leaving the players to try to warm up on the sidelines to begin the game.

The Aces then made a five-man substitution before the game finally started.

Television announcers and fans were left dumbfounded by the strategy, which meant that Alaska would have no mandatory timeouts for the first three quarters of the game. One TV timeout is charged to each team every quarter.

A television report quoting Alaska assistant Louie Alas said the Aces did it deliberately as part of their game plan.

The Aces are in a do-or-die situation against the Beermen after losing three straight games to squander a 3-0 series lead.

San Miguel ended the first quarter with a 22-16 lead. —JST, GMA News