Dreaming with a broken heart

Photo credit to PBA.Inquirer.net

When you're dreaming with a broken heart/ The waking up is the hardest part/ 
You roll outta bed and down on your knees/ And for a moment, you can hardly breathe/

- J. Mayer, 2009

Is it safe to come out yet? Is the sun not going to burn a hole in my heart?

What is left of it, anyway.

We have been very honest about the Alaska Aces being our 2nd favorite PBA team (next only to the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, mostly for their similarities from style of play to overall team values), and it pains us to see them on the losing end of what will go down as THE most historic PBA Philippine Cup Finals (or any PBA Finals at that) versus the eventual champions San Miguel Beermen. How can you not feel sorry for Coach Alex Compton and his wards; after going up 3-0 against a 2x PBA MVP-less Junemar Fajardo bunch, they squander Game 4 then 5, 6 and finally, 7, all in heartbreaking fashion.

What is next for the Aces? How can you rebuild from this?

Mind you, this is the near same core that the Aces had when they lost at this very same time to the very same team in seven games. This is also the same core that lost just last conference, through a forgetful 4-0 sweep. And now, this is the same core that just lost and made history, being the first ever professional basketball team AFAIK in the whole WORLD, in the history of the sport, to blow a 3-0 series lead.

We can talk about what went wrong and how it went wrong, but the best thing really is to just move on from this and pick up the pieces. Like moving on from a broken heart. Which is not always easy. Do you sit and reminisce about the past, sobbing and crying, or do you simply reminisce, and move forward? You have to move forward.

That is the cruelty/ beauty of life.

One loss will not define the Alaska Aces, not with their 14 championships and probably more to come. It is a definite setback, but this should not dishearten the franchise altogether.

Let us not even entertain talks of game-fixing or mafias involved. Let us leave that to the conspiracy theorists. Whichever way you put it, the referees were not the ones shackling JVee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros from shooting. The referees were not the ones who made Sonny Thoss look like he is pushing 50 years of age. The referees were not the ones who would sit fighting men Chris Banchero, Calvin Abueva and even Vic Manuel to try and milk whatever from the hapless bodies of Casio, Thoss, Eric Menk and Tony de la Cruz.

In reality, when moving on from a broken heart, it is always easy to blame others. To look at others' faults instead of our own. But then, after a while, we learn that the best way to move on is to take a good look in the mirror and start from there.

Reset. Rebuild. Reclaim.

Maybe next conference, the Aces can consider more minutes for Abueva, Banchero and Manuel and move on from the Casio and Thoss era. We are not suggesting that they throw those players out completely, but an increased (read: starting, finishing) role would definitely help. Instead of giving Dela Cruz and Hontiveros spot minutes, why not dust off young guns Rome dela Rosa and Kevin Racal and have them play with this core unit right now instead of later?

Instead of Eric Menk, give Samigue Eman some burn. Noy Baclao had a lot of minutes in this series, and even against a Gabby Espinas or Yancy de Ocampo, we still cannot understand how he was able to stay on the floor for that long.

Next conference is another championship to claim. And the one after that, and the one after that, and...

#WeNotMe