Kiwis for Alaska
The Alaska Aces are truly among the most popular teams in the Philippine Basketball Association. They count as fans not only basketball fanatics in the country but also fans from across the sea.
Case in point is Mark Smith, a pastor from New Zealand, who led an enthusiastic group of Kiwis who watched the Alaska Aces battle the Air21 Express in the 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference game at the Araneta Coliseum last May 2.
We came from New Zealand to spread the Gospel, said Smith. I was a missionary here in the Philippines for twelve years in Bulacan. From my stay here I knew that everybody loved basketball. That is why I also developed a liking for the sport.
While majority of Filipino fans went for Barangay Ginebra or the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs, Smith always liked the Alaska Aces because of the way they played and the way the players interacted with teammates and responded to their fans.
Of course no visit to an Alaska game would be complete without a photo ops with the most popular mascot in the league, E. Cow who gamely mugs for Alaska fans who came all the way from New Zealand.
The game against the Air21 Express proved to be special for the Aces who played all-Filipino for the duration of the game. Alaska import Randy Holcomb was absent because he served out his one-game suspension.
Holcomb had bloodied the nose of Rich Alvarez with a forearm to the face in the previous game of the Aces. He was assessed a flagrant foul one which was upgraded to flagrant foul two hence, the one-game suspension.
There were plenty of heroes for the Aces when they played against Air21. The most impressive was of course Reynel Hugnatan who abused every Air21 big man assigned to him with his deceptive post moves scoring at will from inside the paint. Hugnatan finished with a team-high 17 points. Larry Fonacier had 14 markers.
Hugnatan was particularly effective in the third period when he scored 11 third-quarter points to lead the Alaska comeback which cut the lead to only five points, 63-68, at the end of the pivotal third quarter.
Because of bad breaks in the endgame the Aces eventually lost that game, 79-86. But even though they played without an import the Aces did give the Air21 Express a run for its money.
Other players stepped up for the Aces. In the end it was not nearly enough.
When Smith learned that he was going back to the Philippines for a mission exposure trip for three weeks he immediately tried to contact the Philippine Embassy as well as CK Kanapi of the Alaska Aces.
I sent an email to CK in Alaska, said Smith. I said that my trip would not be complete without a PBA experience, especially cheering for the best team in the PBA the Alaska Aces. So, here we are.
This is a great country, said Smith. We love the Philippines. We love the Filipino people. And we love the Church here in the Philippines. It has been great to be a part of this. But for now we have to cheer on the Alaska Aces.
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