Both Alaska’s Alex Compton and San Miguel Beer’s Leo Austria will make their PBA finals coaching debut in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup. It has been a long journey for the two who first crossed paths in the league almost a decade ago.
Back in 2006, Austria, who was Welcoat’s head coach, selected Compton as the team’s second import. The American player who played in the MBA and PBL before also served as one of Autria’s assistants.
The two did not find any form of success together but now that they’re on opposite benches, they find themselves competing for the PBA crown jewel.
“Coach Leo did not always have the strongest teams before but now he’s got one and he’s in the finals,” Compton said during the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup finals press conference. “I’m happy for him but I’m genuinely concerned because I know just how good he is.”
Compton, only in his second conference as Alaska’s head coach, had nothing but praise for Austria.
“I thought coach Leo should have been coach of the year when we went 3-15 and I really mean that,” Compton admitted. “We were an expansion team and we only brought up Jay-R Reyes and Jay Sagad and we drafted Jireh (Ibanes) so we didn’t have guys who could put the ball through the basket.”
“But we beat San Miguel and I think we also beat Talk ‘N Text. It was coaching genius,” Compton continued.
“He did an incredible job. One of the things I learned from him was his ability to maximize players. Outside of that, he’s a sincerely nice guy and the players pick that up. They want to be led by someone who’s genuine.”
Source:https://ph.sports.yahoo.com/news/mixed-emotions-for-alaska-s-compton-as-he-takes-on-a-former-mentor-060102665-nba.html
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