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THE Alaska Aces, missing the services of their two centers Sonny Thoss and Noy Baclao, turned adversity into opportunity when they played small ball.
The Aces relied on their small lineup to press and harass at the defensive end as well as run at every opportunity and snipe from the outside at the offensive end. The strategy paid dividends as the Aces climbed out of the stellar into a tie at third place in the standings of the 2016-2017 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
This was made possible only because of the stellar play of Vic Manuel who showed he was fully recovered from a right calf muscle injury by powering the Alaska Aces to back-to-back victories the past week to earn the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citation for the period Dec. 12-18.
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Manuel led the Aces past the Meralco Bolts, 81-79, last Wednesday, December 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. He scored a team-high 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four assists to win Best Player of the Game.
He made nine of 16 attempts from the field for a 56 percent average from the field. He made 100 percent of his free throw attempts converting all four of his attempts from the foul line.
Last Sunday, December 18 Manuel helped the Aces to a strong start against Barangay Ginebra by coming off the bench to convert three consecutive field goals. Another basket by Chris Banchero and a triple by Tony Dela Cruz propelled the Aces to a 12-point, 27-15, advantage after the first period. The Gin Kings never caught up to Alaska.
Manuel came off the bench to provide the spark for the Aces. He went on to finish with 10 points, five rebounds, two steals and a block as Alaska posted a 101-86 rout of Barangay Ginebra.
Manuel, who is the ninth overall pick in the 2012 PBA Rookie Draft, averaged 16 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks to gain the nod as Player of the Week.
He was chosen over three-time league MVP June Mar Fajardo and playmaker Alex Cabagnot of San Miguel Beer; Star’s Paul Lee; TNT big man Kelly Williams; and Blackwater forward Art Dela Cruz.
Alaska continues to miss the services of starting center Sonny Thoss and backup center Noy Baclao.
The Aces have adapted well by changing both their offense and defense to suit their smaller but faster and more versatile lineup. Manuel has played an indispensable role as the team's big man in the middle.
Alaska posted three consecutive victories after opening the brand new season with back-to-back losses to the NLEX Road Warriors and the San Miguel Beermen.
The Aces (3 wins, 2 losses) are tied at third place with the Star Hotshots, the TNT KaTropa and the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters.
Leading the standings are San Miguel Beer (4-1) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (4-1).
The other teams include the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (3-3), the Blackwater Elite (3-3), the Meralco Bolts (2-3), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (2-3), NLEX (1-4) and the Mahindra Floodbuster (0-5).