MUSCLEMAN
Manuel comes through anew as Alaska trips GlobalPort; Rain or Shine thwarts Magnolia for solo lead
Vic Manuel eluded big man Mo Tautuaa, went baseline and executed a reverse jam in the face of brawny center Kelly Nabong.
Manuel’s heroics again powered Alaska and sent the Aces streaking past the GlobalPort Batang Pier for their fifth straight win, 109-103, Saturday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
That thunderous dunk halfway through the third period sparked a huge turnaround for the Aces, who battled back from 15 points down and survived the absence of rugged forward Calvin Abueva.
Manuel led his team with 22 points, the same way he had done it the past five outings that put the Aces briefly in a share of the lead at 5-1 with the TNT KaTropa and Rain or Shine.
But the Elasto Painters later bolted out of that tie, holding off Magnolia, 99-96, in overtime.
Rain or Shine thus reclaimed solo lead with its sixth win in seven outings.
Without Abueva, who didn’t suit up af- ter deciding to attend to a pressing family issue at the last minute, guards Chris Banchero and JVee Casio also amply filled the gaps.
Banchero put stability on the Aces backcourt while Casio drilled a couple of decisive threes that dropped the Batang Pier to a fourth loss after seven games in a tie with Columbian Dyip (3-4).
“It was a good win, putting us in first place,” said Banchero, who had 19 points on six of 12 shooting and seven assists. “We just need to be consistent in our succeeding games.”
One more victory for the Aces will assure them of a spot in the quarterfinals while the last four teams in the 12-squad field will miss the playoffs.
Antonio Campbell was a steady presence for the Aces, struggling against Nabong’s leech-like defense at first but holding his ground in a rough matchup with Malcolm White, who had a hot start but
lost steam in the end.