Manuel rescues Aces; Batang Pier trim Hotshots

ALASKA power forward draws a foul on the drive from Blackwater’s Riego Gamalinda in last night’s game at MoA Arena. KIMBERLY DELA CRUZ

Two days removed from his wedding, Vic Manuel was his usual hardworking self Friday night, coming off the bench in the second half to help Alaska nip Blackwater, 87-79, for a piece of the PBA Philippine Cup lead at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

Manuel turned out to be the man that provided the spark for the Aces when things didn’t work their way in the first two quarters, as Alaska dodged the upset ax to win for the second time and tie idle NLEX, Rain or Shine and defending champion San Miguel Beer at 2-0.

GlobalPort bounced back from its season-debut loss later in the night by bringing down Star, 101-94, after getting 23 points from Stanley Pringle and a stronger performance from Terrence Romeo.

Romeo tossed in 20 and three others had 10 or more for coach Pido Jarencio, whose Batang Pier came into the game still licking the wounds of a heavy defeat to the Beermen last week.

The Hotshots dropped to 1-2.

“I’m glad I have him,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said of Manuel, who could have easily begged off from duty against the Elite.

The 6-foot-4 Manuel scored 13 points and had seven rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra slugs it out with Barako Bull in the featured game at 5:15 p.m. today, also at MOA Arena.

All four teams playing today will be coming off losses in their debuts, with powerhouse Talk ‘N Text—Alaska’s first victim—battling Mahindra in the 3 p.m. game without the injured Ranidel de Ocampo.

De Ocampo, a fixture of the Gilas Pilipinas team, suffered a scary back injury while lifting weights last week and is expected to be out for at least six weeks.

The scores:
First Game
ALASKA 87—Banchero 13, Manuel 13, Dela Cruz 11, Casio 10, Abueva 7, Dela Rosa 7, Thoss 6, Hontiveros 5, Baclao 4, Baguio 4, Exciminiano 4, Jazul 2, Magat 1, Eman 0.
BLACKWATER 79—Erram 13, Cervantes 11, Canada 10, Melano 10, Cortez 9, Reyes 7, Gamalinda 5, Ballesteros 4, Sena 4, Agovida 3, Golla 2, Lastimosa 1, Vosotros 0.
Quarters: 20-22, 41-48, 69-66, 87-79
Second Game
GLOBALPORT 101—Pringle 23, Romeo 20, Kramer 14, Jensen 12, Washington 10, Mamaril 8, Yeo 8, Maierhofer 4, Paniamogan 2, Sumang 0, Uyloan 0.
STAR 94—Pingris 14, Barroca 13, Simon 12, Sangalang 11, Torres 10, Yap 10, Pascual R. 7, Taha 7, Melton 4, Pascual J. 4, Mallari 2.
Quarters: 24-17, 48-46, 74-73, 101-94