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Alex Compton

Alexander M. Compton (born March 16, 1974) is a Filipino-born American retired basketball player and coach. He also served as the head coach of the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Alex Compton
Compton in 2016
Personal information
Born (1974-03-16) March 16, 1974 (age 50)
Makati, Philippines
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High schoolMadison West (Madison, Wisconsin)
College
Playing career1998–2008
Number44
Coaching career2006–2019
Career history
As player:
1998–2000Manila Metrostars
2001Batangas Blades
2002LBC-Batangas Blades
2003Sunkist-UST Tigers
2004–2005Montaña Pawnshop Jewels
2006–2008Welcoat Dragons
As coach:
2006–2009Welcoat Dragons/Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (assistant)
2009–2012Coca-Cola Tigers / Powerade Tigers (assistant)
2012–2014Alaska Aces (assistant)
2014–2019Alaska Aces
Career highlights and awards
As player:
  • 2× MBA champion (1999, 2001)
  • MBA Most Valuable Player (1999)
  • All-MBA (1999, 2001)
  • PBL champion (2004-05 Open Championship's)
  • PBL Finals MVP (2004-05 Open Championship's)
  • PBL Mythical Second Team (2003-04 Platinum, 2006 Unity)
  • PBL Sportsmanship Award (2002-03 Challenge)

As assistant coach:

Medals
Men's Basketball
Assistant coach for  Philippines
FIBA Asia Championship
Silver medal – second place 2015 Changsha Team
William Jones Cup
Silver medal – second place 2015 Taipei National Team

Early life and college career

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Born in Makati in the Philippines, Compton and his family spent a year in northeastern Thailand when he was ten years old.[1] His parents, both Southeast Asian Studies scholars, were researchers there.[2]

Compton moved to Madison from Ithaca, New York in 1988, when his parents began working at the University of Wisconsin.[3] He was a starting guard on the 1992 Madison West High School basketball squad. There he helped lead the school's only state championship team since 1945. After high school, he played for St. Joseph's University and Cornell University.[4]

Although Compton dreamed of playing in a foreign league, he had no clue how to get into one until his junior year at Cornell.[5] When a coach heard that he was born in the Philippines, he told Compton that he could play on a team in the Philippine Basketball Association. He found an agent, who arranged for him to join a team in July 1997, after graduation.[6]

Playing career

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Compton played four seasons in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association with the Manila Metrostars and the Batangas Blades.[7] He won the 1999 MBA Most Valuable Player award when the Metrostars won the national title, and won another championship with the Blades in 2001.

By the time the MBA folded in 2002, Compton was a fixture in Philippine basketball and fully assimilated into the culture.[8] However, he still could not play in the PBA due to the league's eligibility rules, which do not allow naturalized Filipino citizens to play. Instead, he appeared on television as a basketball analyst, but was finally allowed to play for a short period of time for the Welcoat Dragons in the PBA.[3]

Compton also got an exception from the Philippine Basketball League.[6] He played for the Sunkist-UST Tigers and the Montaña Pawnshop Jewels from 2003 to 2005.[9][10] He led the Jewels to its only PBL crown in the 2005 PBL Open Championship.

Coaching career

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Being an assistant

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In the 2006–07 PBA Philippine Cup, Compton was hired as one of the assistant coaches of the Dragons before being allowed by the PBA to play as the team's second import for the 2007 and 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference, his only PBA appearance as a player.[8] He was elevated to the assistant head coaching position with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters from 2006 to 2009.

He then moved over to Powerade Tigers as assistant to Bo Perasol until its last conference in 2012.[11]

After the Powerade franchise was sold to GlobalPort, he became an assistant to Luigi Trillo of Alaska. He helped the squad win the 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup, their 14th title and the first in the post-Tim Cone era.[12] During this time, he also received offers to become the head coach for the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the GlobalPort Batang Pier.[13][14]

Alaska

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Compton as Aces' head coach

Two games into the 2014 PBA Governors' Cup, Compton was appointed the head coach of Alaska Aces,[15] replacing Luigi Trillo.[16] In his first head coaching stint, he led the Aces to the semi-finals, losing to Rain or Shine in full five games.[7]

In the following season, Compton steered the Aces to the 2014–15 Philippine Cup finals where he went up against Coach Leo Austria, who had been his head coach when they were still with Welcoat.[17] Alaska went on to lose to the San Miguel Beermen in seven hard-fought games.[18] He then got to coach the South All-Stars during the 2015 All-Star Weekend.[19] He also guided the Aces to the 2015 Governors' Cup finals only to be swept by the Beermen in four games.[20] In a rematch of the previous season's Philippine Cup finals, the Beermen once again beat the Alaska Aces in 7 games, completing the Beermen's historic comeback from down 0–3 to win the series.[21] Alaska returned to the finals once again in the 2015 Commissioner's Cup, where they lost 4–2 to Rain or Shine.[22]

In 2018, Compton led Alaska to another finals appearance, where they lost to the Magnolia Hotshots.[23] He resigned as coach in 2019 and was replaced by another Alaska franchise legend Jeffrey Cariaso.[23]

National team

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In 2015, Compton was invited by Philippines men's national basketball team head coach Tab Baldwin to be one of his coaching staff as assistant coach.[24] He helped the national team to win two silver medals from 2015 William Jones Cup and 2015 FIBA Asia Championship respectively.[25]

Compton officially returned to the program in 2020.[26] In October of that year, he left the program, returning to the US to be with family.[27]

Career statistics

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College

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

[28]

Season Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
1992–93 St. Joseph's 19 0 2.7 .421 .364 .833 .3 .2 .1 .0 1.3
1993–94 19 0 4.4 .438 .250 1.000 .3 .5 .2 .0 1.4
1995–96 Cornell 26 19 24.8 .374 .363 .867 2.6 2.7 1.0 .1 11.2
1996–97 26 25 35.7 .464 .425 .852 2.5 3.5 1.1 .0 11.9
Overall 90 44 19.0 .417 .388 .869 1.6 1.9 .7 .0 7.2

Head coaching record

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Professional

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Team Season Conference G W L PCT Finish PG PW PL P-PCT Result
Alaska 2013–14 Governors' Cup 7 4 3 .571 3rd 6 3 3 .500 Lost in the semifinals
Alaska 2014–15 Philippine Cup 11 8 3 .727 3rd 15 10 5 .667 Lost in the finals
Commissioner's Cup 11 5 6 .455 6th 2 0 2 .000 Lost in the quarterfinals
Governors' Cup 11 8 3 .727 1st 8 4 4 .500 Lost in the finals
Alaska 2015–16 Philippine Cup 11 9 2 .818 3rd 12 7 5 .583 Lost in the finals
Commissioner's Cup 11 7 4 .636 3rd 14 7 7 .500 Lost in the finals
Governors' Cup 11 6 5 .545 6th 1 0 1 .000 Lost in the quarterfinals with twice-to-win disadvantage
Alaska 2016–17 Philippine Cup 11 7 4 .636 2nd 2 0 2 .000 Lost in the quarterfinals with twice-to-beat advantage
Commissioner's Cup 11 4 7 .364 9th — — — — Missed playoffs
Governors' Cup 11 3 8 .273 9th — — — — Missed playoffs
Alaska 2017–18 Philippine Cup 11 7 4 .636 3rd 2 0 2 .000 Lost in the quarterfinals
Commissioner's Cup 11 8 3 .727 2nd 5 2 3 .400 Lost in the semifinals
Governors' Cup 11 8 3 .727 3rd 11 6 5 .545 Lost in the finals
Alaska 2019 Philippine Cup 11 4 7 .364 8th 1 0 1 .000 Lost in the quarterfinals with twice-to-win disadvantage
Commissioner's Cup 11 4 7 .364 8th 2 1 1 .500 Lost in the quarterfinals with twice-to-win disadvantage
Career Total 161 92 69 .571 Playoff Total 81 40 41 .494 0 PBA championship

Commentary

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Compton started being a color commentator in PBA on NBN/IBC.[29] He was notably did it in 2005 for UAAP Basketball coverages of ABS-CBN Sports with Sev Sarmenta. After that, he also served as a color commentator for PBA coverages in 2009 for Solar TV and returned to commentary in 2016 PBA Governors' Cup Finals on TV5. In 2019, he was a commentator for PBA Rush.[30]

Personal life

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Compton is currently married to a Filipina, model Michelle Astudillo.[16][5] They have two sons and a daughter.[31]

Compton was fluent of speaking Tagalog.[32] He also appeared on Coffee Mate commercials in early 2000s, where he has some Tagalog lines.[33][34]

References

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  1. ^ Bowlen, Thelma. ". : HerWord : Spotlight : ". Archived from the original on July 15, 2006. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Leongson, Randolph B. (June 12, 2019). "Black, Cone, Compton, Brownlee: Americans by blood, Filipinos at heart". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Bartholomew, Rafe (March 8, 2007). "Hoops across the ocean". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  4. ^ Henson, Joaquin M. (November 6, 2002). "Why not exempt Alex Compton?". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Alex Compton: On Filipinos, Fil-Ams, and his love affair with the Philippines | InterAksyon.com | Sports5". Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Compton gears up for PBL wars". Philstar.com. October 29, 2002. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Coach Compton says Alaska will focus preparation on defense – Alaska Aces Official Website". www.alaskaaces.com.ph. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014.
  8. ^ a b Bartholomew, Rafe (2010). Pacific rims : beermen ballin' in flip-flops and the Philippines' unlikely love affair with basketball. New York: New American Library. pp. 210–211. ISBN 978-0-451-22999-1. OCLC 462903288.
  9. ^ "Compton the man for Sunkist". Philstar.com. December 19, 2003. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  10. ^ Velasco, Bill (June 13, 2006). "Montana's jewel doesn't fade, he just goes away". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  11. ^ Henson, Joaquin M. (March 2, 2012). "Something special in Powerade". The Philippine STAR.
  12. ^ Pamintuan, Carlo (May 20, 2013). "PBA: The Alaska Aces won it the right way".
  13. ^ Cordero, Abac (November 7, 2012). "Compton eyed as next Ateneo coach". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "Source: Racela brothers, Compton in the frame as Globalport mulls coaching change". Spin.ph. November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  15. ^ "PBA News: Alex Compton is new Alaska coach after shock exit of Luigi Trillo". May 25, 2014. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  16. ^ a b "Unlike Todd Purves, Alaska's Alex Compton can be officially designated coach in PBA. Here's why". Spin.ph. May 25, 2014.
  17. ^ "SMB coach Leo Austria and former assistant Compton stand on verge of maiden PBA title". Spin.ph. January 6, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  18. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (January 21, 2015). "Alaska coach Alex Compton on clutch Arwind Santos three-pointer: 'To make that shot, that's guts'". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  19. ^ "South coach Compton ribs Taulava: 'I think this is first time an All-Star starter is older than his coach'". Spin.ph. March 6, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  20. ^ Ramos, Gerry (July 17, 2015). "Game Two meltdown the beginning of the end for Alaska Aces, say coaches". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  21. ^ Cordero, Abac (February 3, 2016). "Alaska goes down fighting". Philstar.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Ramos, Gerry (May 20, 2016). "Alaska keeps faith in Alex Compton, signs coach to three-year contract extension". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Leongson, Randolph B. (August 22, 2019). "Alex Compton resigns, Jeff Cariaso takes over as Alaska Aces coach". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  24. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (July 31, 2015). "Gilas call-up a timely distraction for Alex Compton as pain from Alaska letdown lingers". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  25. ^ Giongco, Mark (October 29, 2019). "Alex Compton happy to help Gilas, proud to see Vic Manuel at national pool". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  26. ^ Naredo, Camille B. (February 17, 2020). "FIBA: Compton reunites with former NBTC stars in Gilas". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  27. ^ Ramos, Gerry (October 7, 2020). "SBP respects Compton move as Gilas deal not on full-time basis". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  28. ^ "Alex Compton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  29. ^ So, Jannelle. "PBA in the time of SARS". Philstar.com. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  30. ^ Bacnis, Justine (October 22, 2019). "Alex Compton enjoying life away from the sidelines". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  31. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (July 1, 2015). "Compton's first born daughter proved to be instant lucky charm as Aces complete mighty comeback win". Spin.ph. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  32. ^ "Abueva takes English lessons, Banchero gets Tagalog classes under Alaska program". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  33. ^ Coffee Mate (feb 2004), retrieved March 2, 2024
  34. ^ Nestlé Coffee Mate 30s - Philippines, 2002, retrieved March 2, 2024
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Preceded by MBA Most Valuable Player
1999 		Succeeded by
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