Calvin Abueva. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Alaska coach Alex Compton isn’t losing sleep over the injuries in his team going into the upcoming 2017 season.
The Aces are sitting out Calvin Abueva, who is nursing a minor injury on his quadriceps, and Chris Banchero, who is recovering from his sore groin, in the team’s recent tuneup games.
But the American mentor said that they would rather be safe than sorry.
“We don’t force anything here. They’re injured and I’m not running one of the main guys in the league to a really horrible injury,” said Compton.
Abueva and Banchero are still participating in the team’s practices but both are taking a cautious approach, hoping to on full health when the 2017 Philippine Cup tips off.
But on the bright side, Alaska is expecting the return of Vic Manuel from a calf injury.
“He’s slowly coming back. I think he’s starting to get more physically fit. He’s still working on his
timing but I think as the season rolls around, he’ll get his groove. He’s on his way,” said Compton of his hardworking forward.
If things fall into place, Alaska could once again contend for the all-Filipino title for the third straight year.
But Compton isn’t going jump the gun just yet, believing that the Aces’ success will depend on the team’s cohesion—which has worked for them in their last four Finals appearances in the past two seasons.
“Since I started coaching, I’ve always felt that we’re a top six or seven team. If we go up and down, we’ll probably be six or seven. But if we do really well, we can get closer to the top end of that,” he said.