As expected, the Aces have made their third Finals appearance in four years. After finishing the regular season with the best record in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), they made short work of the Sky and the Wings to claim the Western Conference championship. While they earned the distinction in as few games as possible, however, they had to go through the wringer to emerge victorious the other day; the match was a grind for the most part, with stingy defense mucking up accuracy and efficiency for all the protagonists.
Indeed, uglyball reigned from the get-go, in large measure because the Wings knew they had to make up for resiliency what they lacked in talent. And for a while there, it looked like they would be able to eke out a hard-fought triumph. Unfortunately, they all but froze in the crunch. Up by eight with a tick under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, they went on to miss 10 shots that included a prayer for a tie as time expired. Their collective tightness under pressure was all their opponents needed to frame the outcome and clinch the series.
Which, in a nutshell, was why the Aces were more relieved than anything in the aftermath. They certainly didn’t want to face the Wings anew in hostile territory today. By taking care of business, they get for themselves at least an additional couple of days of rest against their prospective rivals in the title series. The Liberty and the Sun still need to do battle in Game Four — and potentially Game Five — of the East Finals before earning the right to face them for the hardware.
If nothing else, the Aces proved that they can get down and dirty as well in order for them to meet their ultimate objective. Even as their success has largely been predicated on their offense, they’re no slouches on the other end of the court. Not for nothing are they led by two-time Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson. It’s no coincidence that the Wings’ Satou Sabally, newly minted Most Improved Player, had an atrocious series, shooting a deflating 12-of-46 from the field all told.
Moving forward, the Aces cannot but feel confident of their chances to repeat as WNBA champions. They couldn’t care less who they will be up against in the Finals, although they do acknowledge that the Liberty will be much bigger threats, having won against them thrice in five encounters. Still, they have been there and done that, and, with Wilson at the helm and such notables as Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, Kelsey Plum, and Alysha Clark providing support, they understand that their destiny is theirs to carve.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
