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Luigi Trillo steps down as Alaska head coach, Alex Compton set to take over

Alaska Aces coach Luigi Trillo.

Luigi Trillo is stepping down from his spot as the head coach of the Alaska Aces barely a year after leading them to the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup title.

Alaska Aces owner Wilfred  Uytengsu announced that Trillo has stepped down as head coach days after they lost to GlobalPort Batang Pier. The winner of the 2013 Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year honor awarded by the PBA Press Corps will be replaced by current Alaska assistant coach Alex Compton.

“We are appreciative of Luigi’s efforts during his tenure as head coach and piloting the Aces to our 14th PBA title. But it has been a challenging ride the past three conferences,” admitted Uytengsu. “The Trillo name will always be fondly associated with the Aces owing to the fact that Joaqui Trillo served as Team Manager for 25 years as well as the Aces representative to the Board of Governors together with his son Luigi who were the only father/son team manager-head coach tandem to lead a franchise to a PBA title.”

“I would like to thank the Alaska organization for the last 16 years of employment. I am leaving the team in a good place,” said Trillo. “I’ll always have fond memories especially, the championship we won last year as a team. I’m going to take some time off to spend with my family.”

After winning the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup title in a sweep versus Ginebra, the Aces flamed out in the quarterfinals on the ensuing 2013 Governors’ Cup. They had a great run at the tail end of the 2014 Philippine Cup where they upset the highly regarded Ginebra squad in the first game of the quarterfinals but they fell short in the second game.

In the recently concluded Commissioner’s Cup, Alaska’s title reign was also ended in the quarterfinals.

“It has been an honor working with and learning from coach Luigi Trillo, and I consider him a good friend,” said Compton. “While I will miss working with him, I am both excited and challenged by the opportunity to try and replicate the success the Alaska franchise has had over the past 28 years. I look forward to working with Mr. Uytengsu, Mr. Bachmann, and all the coaches and players as we continue our pursuit of excellence.”

Compton will be making his PBA head coaching debut on Monday against Norman Black and the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters.