Teamwork keeps Alaska unbeaten in Philippine Cup

The last time Alaska had a 6-0 start in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Tim Cone and his wards eventually went on to win the title – and completed a rare grand slam. But the PBA’s longest-tenured mentor, who was the only remnant of that three-time champion squad along with veteran Jeff Cariaso and assistant coaches Joel Banal and Jojo Lastimosa, doesn’t want to compare this new batch of Aces from that elite squad.

He believes Alaska’s present cast is special in its own right. “The 1996 squad was an unforgettable team, but this present team we had is special in its own right," said Cone moments after steering the Aces to a smashing 87-73 triumph over the Burger King Whopper to remain the only unbeaten team in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup in Friday night’s game at the Astrodome. “If I may borrow a quote from Phil Jackson, ‘I think it explains well why a team itself leads the team’. I have to say that my team is doing it on its own. They’re talking to each other, they’re policing one another, like if there’s somebody who comes in late in practice. And they’re preparing themselves mentally and physically for every game. I bet every coach wants to see a team in that situation," he added. Cariaso, the oldest player in the Alaska unit, remembered the time he played a special role on that successful 1996 squad that started the Aces’ dynasty and is glad to be a part of the Uytengsu-owned franchise that has been playing A-grade basketball this season. “We knew the 1996 team was a special team," said Cariaso. “But what’s pretty amazing about our present squad was that our players right now knew how to stay grounded. When you’re grounded, you don’t have to worry about what happened in the past but learn to move forward." So disciplined was the Aces that they dominated the game from start to finish. Twice, the Aces had big scoring runs. They were able to take their first sizeable advantage at 41-26 behind a 10-4 run anchored on rookie Mike Burtscher. The Aces never let up and reasserted their dominance in the second half with Reynel Hugnatan touching off an 11-4 exchange in the fourth to give the Aces a commanding 83-58 lead with 7:54 left in the game clock. So Alaska kept its remarkable streak and showed its serious intention of winning the All-Filipino title, a championship that has eluded Cone for nine years now. Has Cone seen the best in his squad? “There’s this old and boring cliché, which says, one game at a time," said Cone. “But it’s true. As long as we keep on improving on every little things, we can get better and better." – GMANews.TV