Alex Comption steps down as headcoach of Alaska. (Photo courtesy of PBA)
MANILA -- Alex Compton will no longer be the head coach of Alaska after the team announced on Thursday that he resigned from the post.
"We are very sorry to see Alex leave the team," team owner Fred Uytengsu said in a statement.
Compton, who replaced Luigi Trillo as mentor, has been with the Aces for five seasons seeing the careers of Calvin Abueva and Vic Manuel blossomed under him.
"He had a tremendous impact on the team and was very concerned with the players' well-being on and off the court," added Uytengsu.
With Compton at the helm, Alaska made the finals five times, but they lost all those series.
The most painful of those losses came in the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals, when the club squandered a 3-0 series lead--and an 11-point lead with 3:31 left in the fourth quarter of Game 4--and lost to San Miguel, becoming the first basketball team ever to lose a best-of-seven playoff series despite the commanding edge.
Jeffrey Cariaso, a member of the 1996 Alaska squad that won the rare grand slam, will step in as the new head coach.
"[It is] truly a blessing to elevate into this level of leadership," said Cariaso, who already had a head coaching gig before as Ginebra's chief tactician during the 2014 season.
"He has the full trust of [the] management and we trust the team will likewise work hard to support him," added Uytengsu. (PNA)
