Dondon Hontiveros takes us inside Alaska’s 3-0 start

Dondon Hontiveros analyzed Alaska’s 3-0 win-loss record in the PBA Philippine Cup like a true pro. No clichés. No hyperbole. No false modesty. He simply shared what he has seen – breaks of the game, opponents with incomplete rosters, maximizing opportunities all matter. Even victories, or the situations which lead to victories, become clearer with context. 3-0 is a great start for anyone. But Hontiveros, playing in his 14th year in the league, explains why the Aces are a 3-0 team even if they’re not exactly a 3-0 team.

MH: Paano mo ma-e-explain yung successful 3-0 start ng Alaska?

DH: Ang masasabi ko maganda laro namin noong last game (vs. Meralco). Ang nangyari sa amin, parang kami yung Rain or Shine, yung tinambakan kami ng Rain or Shine ng 51 points before. So kami yung naging Rain or Shine and yung Meralco parang naging Alaska. Parang ganoon ang nangyari. Noong first game (vs. Purefoods), feeling namin may advantage kami. Kami maaga nakapag-start ng practice. Tapos yung Purefoods wala si (Marc) Pingris, and yung ibang guards nila galing sa sobrang haba na pahinga. So naging advantage para sa amin yun. Noong second game (vs. Talk ‘N Text), kami yung sinwerte. Nagka-turnover lang si Ranidel tapos breaks of the game napunta sa amin. So hindi ko masabi na successful start kami. Nagkataon lang na maganda yung schedule ng games namin. Yung sa game lang namin against Meralco, kahit kami nagulat kasi lahat nakaka-shoot.

MH: Kahit na malaking bagay ang schedule and breaks of the game, siguro naman kaya din kayo naging 3-0, may mga maganda din kayong ginagawa as a team. Ano yung mga magandang bagay na ginagawa niyo as a team so far?

DH: Actually, defensively before the Meralco game, pang-12 ata kami. So hindi maganda pinapakita namin defensively. Tapos yung ginagawa namin na pressure defense, foul-prone pa kami. Nagkataon lang talaga maganda schedule namin. Like against Talk ‘N Text, sinwerte lang kami. Like in our game against Meralco, maganda lang kami tingnan kasi malaki yung lamang pero yun lang din yung klase ng game na sobrang swerte kami at sila naman sobrang malas. Kasi if we faced Purefoods and Talk ‘N Text sa mga latter part of the tournament, sigurado full-blast na sila by then with sila Pingris and Jimmy Alapag. So napaganda lang talaga schedule namin.

MH: How is Coach Alex maturing as Alaska’s head coach?

DH: Nakakatuwa kasi dati ilang guys lang ang nakakalaro. Pero ngayon yung style niya parang kay Coach Yeng Guiao. Although kay Coach Yeng, iba-iba ang first five. Kay Coach Alex, fixed ang first five. Pero sa amin ngayon, yung mga nasa third group kahit close game nakakalaro na. So binibigyan niya talaga ng opportunity yung mga players. Ako nabibigyan din ako ng opportunity. Natutuwa din ako na nakakalaro rin ako ng mahaba-mahaba.

MH: Well I’ve seen your numbers in this conference. 9 points against Purefoods. 14 points against Talk ‘N Text. 16 points against Meralco.

DH: Maganda lang talaga yung schedule. (Laughs.)

MH: Kahit na swerte yung schedule, kailangan niyo pa rin talunin yung mga kalaban niyo diba? You still need to win the game.

DH: Actually napapansin ko din naman sa mga players namin like Calvin for example. Siyempre before may mga priorities din si Calvin and may mga inaayos din siya. Pero ngayon nakikita namin sobrang dedicated siya talaga ngayon sa weights namin and sa practice. Dahil na rin kay Coach Alex yun kasi siya ang nag-ga-guide. Magaling na leader talaga si Coach Alex.

MH: Matagal na natin kilala si Alex and he really leads by example. Pero ikaw Dondon, how do you exercise your own leadership and paano mo natutulungan  yung coaching staff?

DH: Before with Coach Luigi (Trillo), palagi akong nilalapitan ni Coach Luigi and would ask me for suggestions. Kay Coach Alex, kung magsasalita pa ako, yun din naman yung mga sinasabi ni Coach Alex eh. I guess dahil ang tagal din kasi na naglaro ni Coach Alex. Hindi naman sa kino-compare ko silang dalawa as coaches kasi iba din naman yung experience ni Coach Luigi under Coach Tim (Cone) eh. Si Coach Alex naman with his playing experience and experience sa Powerade coaching staff and even experience under Coach Luigi. So ngayon hindi na ako as vocal when it comes to giving suggestions like before. So ang tinutulungan ko talaga ngayon are the younger players. Sinasabi ko sa kanila na ito mga ma-e-experience nila, ito yung mga madadaanan nila. Like si Rome (Dela Rosa), hindi siya nakalaro noong second game namin. So sabi ko sa kanya, darating talaga yung mga time na ganyan. Mag-sa-sacrifice ka muna talaga.

MH: Alaska fans are happy with the kind of bench support na nakukuha niyo from the second and third unit guys. Ito ba by design talaga or aksidente lang?

DH: Kami din nagugulat eh. Nasanay din kasi kami na sila Cyrus (Baguio) and sila Sonny (Thoss) would play 30 to 35 minutes tapos sila Sam (Eman) sandali lang maglalaro. Pero ngayon nakita namin na nakaka-contribute na lahat. It comes from competing also with the first group everyday. So pag-nabigyan ng chance, ready lahat. Parang nakikita ko talaga sa amin yung parang Rain or Shine na sa sistema nila, lahat nakakapasok at nakaka-contribute talaga. I think kahit kay Coach Tim nakikita na din natin yan like gagamitin niya si (Justin) Melton sa laro and he would even finish games tapos si James (Yap) nasa bench. Nakakatuwa lang para sa amin kasi nakaka-contribute talaga second group namin.

MH: Ilan beses mo na inulit na natutuwa ka. Natutuwa ka sa bench players niyo. Natutuwa ka kay Calvin. Natutuwa ka na mukhang maganda pagkakaintindihan niyo ni Coach Alex. Marami bang dahilan ngayon para matuwa ka sa tinatakbo ng Alaska?

DH: Ah. Matutuwa na lang talaga ako ‘pag nag-champion na kami. (Laughs.) Of course matutuwa ka kasi nananalo kayo pero ang emphasis talaga namin is to continue to grow. If matalo dapat may matutunan from the lapses and look for things that we need to work on. From the outside looking in, maganda lang talaga tingnan kasi 3-0. So from the outside, sasabihin ng tao, ‘Ay ang galing ng Alaska. Ang lakas ng Alaska.’ Pero kami nakikita namin, marami pa kaming room to improve. Yan yung game namin sa Wednesday (vs. San Miguel, also 3-0), malaking test para sa amin. Kasi yung mga unang kalaban namin, wala talagang dominant na big guy. So sa Wednesday makikita ko kung matutuwa pa rin ako after the game. And after the game, doon lang natin malalaman kung nakakatuwa ba talaga yung team namin.