by Jonas Terrado
Mike Harris is close to making coach Alex Compton’s persistence pay off as the Alaska Aces try to end years of frustration in their PBA Governors’ Cup Finals showdown with Magnolia.
Compton had tried to get Harris for about eight years going back to his days as an assistant coach of the now-defunct Powerade franchise, until the former NBA player agreed to join the Aces in the season-ending conference.
Harris has shown why Compton was at awe the moment he first saw his game videos in the NBA D-League, averaging 29.8 points and 21.7 rebounds despite at age 35 to power Alaska to its first finals appearance since 2016.
“I didn’t know it was eight years,” said Harris, who bared that his multiple stints in Puerto Rico kept him from accepting the PBA offer.
“I have been loyal to Puerto Rico and my coach there is the only coach I’ve played,” he added. “And so, out of loyalty, everytime I was coming I believe that if I give you my word I’m gonna do it. So, I never wanted to give my word to coach Alex and not be able to honor it.”
Compton admitted that getting Harris was a far-fetched reality, but kept trying his luck.
“I took a shot at the moon basically try to reach out. Found a way to get his phone number, sent a text, no reply. But, same thing next year. But same thing next year,” Compton said.
“And I didn’t start talking to Mike until last year. And we got to talk, it just wasn’t working out and then he had some friends tell him that he would love playing in the Philippines. Soon, he and I started talking and we kinda hit it off,” added Compton.
The situation in Puerto Rico also made it easier for Harris to bring his talents to Manila.
“Me and my wife would pray all of the situations,” said Harris. “We talked and discussed it and we prayed about it, and then my coach went to another team in Puerto Rico. And that was an amazing sign that we needed.
“He went to another team and the team that I had played for had my rights. And the fact that they had my rights and the contract wasn’t being negotiated correctly, that’s the sign that we needed to go until we prayed about it like ‘God, if this is where I’m supposed to go, then show us.’
“So, he ends up going to a new team and they had my rights so I can’t go to that team so I would have to sit out for a year so they won’t have my rights. So, it was a perfect time.”
Known for winning championships overseas, Harris will try to steer the Aces to victory in the best-of-seven finals against the Hotshots, who are led by former Alaska reinforcement Romeo Travis.
The Harris-Travis showdown is one of the subplots of the title series which opens on Dec. 5 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
