PBA: Burdened by expectations? Defending champs Alaska Aces are mired in a slump

For the Alaska Aces, everything changed the day they celebrated their 2013 Commissioner’s Cup Championship. As the confetti and balloons fell from the rafters, they transformed from plucky contenders to surprise winners. At that moment, as fans and players relived the glory of dynasties past, they looked forward to the success that was to come.

Except things haven’t gone according to plan. With two straight unceremonious exits in the quarterfinals, the shine from the championship that Alaska won has all but been washed away. What remains are questions, disappointment and anxiety about the future. Instead of moving forward, the Aces have been leapfrogged by bigger, deeper and arguably more cohesive teams. Despite flashes like their gauntlet matches to make it to the Finals in the 2014 Philippine Cup, Alaska has made more noise outside the basketball court than inside it.

Who’s to blame? What’s the reason? The answer lies in the label tagged with the Aces now: Defending Champions. This early, this soon.

Perhaps the expectations for the Aces are becoming too numerous, and too difficult to reach. This is what happens when a rebuilding team wins the whole thing overnight. They are placed on a pedestal, and are expected to sustain their winning ways.

The reality is we’re seeing that the Aces are struggling to deal with being a target of every team they play against. No longer can they sneak up on opponents and steal games. Squads now know that the Aces start strong, play steady basketball for three quarters, then try to turn it on the fourth. It’s a bullseye the size of June Mar Fajardo on their back. The punches Alaska throws have been telegraphed.


It’s too much of a copout to say this is a team that still needs more time to gel and play well together, because this core has been together for more than a year. The Aces are a nightmare to play against when they’re locked in and working as a unit, sharing the ball on offense and securing he paint on defense. But thus far, Alaska has struggled, since winning the championship, to look like the intimidating Red Army they were long ago.

The expectations are greater not just for the team but the players as well. Before they were crowned champions, fans and experts were willing to give a pass when point guards blew by Jvee Casio. When Sonny Thoss disappeared on offense or Cyrus Baguio took hurried shots, it wasn’t a big deal. When Calvin Abueva was whistled for four fouls in the first quarter, everyone just laughed it off. It was just symptoms of a team growing, of players learning to win together.

Now, those same mistakes aren’t as forgivable anymore. Now, those mistakes lead to lost opportunities to win more rings. And the more often it happens, the louder the whispers get.

Of the 10 teams currently in the PBA right now, Alaska has been the most frugal when it comes to trades and signing free agents who can come in and contribute. Their belief is that they have a core that won them a championship, so it doesn’t need tinkering. Having Best Import Rob Dozier come back to defend the crown solidifies their belief that this group can win.

But while Alaska chooses to stand pat, the PBA continues to evolve, grow and get better. Teams are taking risks, and are willing to change if needed. Before everyone forgets, the Aces actually won the Commish Cup last year after trading LA Tenorio for Jvee Casio and taking a risk drafting Abueva. When the Aces do un-Alaska things, they’ve hit home runs. But lately they’ve fallen back into the same, familiar patterns of the Aces from the early to mid 2000s: always competitive but not enough.

No matter what happens moving forward, no one can take away the championship the Aces won. They earned it. The belief in their core was validated, and the players on their roster can look in the mirror with the knowledge that they accomplished something truly memorable. In fact, more than half of the league would probably love to be in their shoes right now as champions. It comes with the territory of being crowned as the best. But because the Alaska Aces enter this conference as defending champions, it’s on them to prove that last year’s magical run was not just a one hit wonder.

Everything changed the day that the Aces won the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup Championship. The moments leading up their conquest can stand side by side with those that make up Alaska’s lore. But slowly, the memories are becoming hazy, in the light of their cloudy future.

The Red Army keeps marching along, except no one knows where they are headed. - AMD, GMA News