TWO big men rose to the occasion and created ripples for their teams before the PBA Philippine Cup bubble was forced to take a brief break.
Vic Manuel of Alaska and Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga came out big to keep Alaska and Rain or Shine in the upper half of the standings, in the process being named as Cignal TV-PBA Press Corps Co-Player of the Week for Oct. 26-Nov. 1.
Manuel, dubbed the “Muscle Man,” had 21.0 points (60 percent shooting clip), 7.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists as the Aces went on an unbeaten streak during the week to climb to a 5-3 card.
The Philippine School of Business Administration alum had 18 points and seven boards in Alaska’s 99-96 win over Terrafirma, before spoiling close pal Calvin Abueva and Phoenix Super LPG with a 105-97 victory behind a 24-point, seven-rebound outing.
Belga had 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in Rain or Shine’s lone yet massive 85-82 overtime victory over Barangay Ginebra before the break.
The former Philippine Christian University standout capped his exploits with five straight points in the extra session, none bigger than the dagger trey he pumped in during the final minute of the win that propelled the Elasto Painters to solo second spot at 4-1.
Mike Ayonayon also made his own mark after being named the PBAPC Rookie of the Week after NLEX pulled the rug from under previously unbeaten TNT in a physical tussle 109-98.
The win got the Road Warriors back on track with a 2-5 slate.
Complementing the backcourt tandem of Kevin Alas and Kiefer Ravena, the spitfire guard put up eight points and three rebounds in quality minutes off the bench to earn the citation given by members of the media covering the PBA.
