Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Vic Manuel poured 11 of his 17 points in the second half while RJ Jazul nailed back-to-back clutch baskets in the endgame as the Alaska Aces came from behind to continue their dominance over San Miguel Beer, 82-75, in Game 3 of their best-of-7 PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City, Philippines.
The Aces thus took a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, putting them one game away from sweeping the championship, thus avenging their loss to the same team which swept them in last season’s Philippine Cup. No team has overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series in the PBA since it was formed 41 years ago.
For the third straight time, the vastly improved Manuel was named Player of the Game as he once again stood out on both ends of the court.
Manuel, the Aces' leading scorer this conference, took over once more in the final quarter, scoring key baskets to put his team on top, 72-68.
SMB’s Arwind Santos converted on a 4-point play on Manuel's fifth foul to tie the count again at 72, forcing the Alaska power forward to the bench.
But Jazul picked up the cudgels for Manuel as he scored four straight clutch points to put Alaska on top for good, 78-75, with 45 seconds left.
Sonny Thoss and JVee Casio then sealed the win on four free throws.
The Aces continued to take advantage of the absence of reigning back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo. No Beermen has yet been able to fill up the void left by the scoring and defensive behemoth.
Meanwhile, Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers said he is ready to suit up for the Philippines’ Gilas national men’s basketball team in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, saying it would be an “awesome experience” to help Gilas Pilipinas in their mission to grab an elusive spot in the Rio Olympics.
In an interview with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com, Clarkson reiterated his desire to represent the Philippines in international competitions and now hopes that he can finally do it at the Olympic qualifier to be played in Manila this July.
“We’re working on it right now actually,” Clarkson said. “We have to go through some stuff with FIBA, so we’re trying to make sure that happens. So hopefully the timing is right, and I get a chance to do that. I definitely want to compete, I want to try to get the guys to Rio. That would be awesome to experience.”
Unlike last year, there’s a big chance that Clarkson could be given permission to join Gilas Pilipinas in the Olympic qualifier as the Lakers aren’t expected to make the NBA playoffs.
Clarkson and naturalized player Andray Blatche are expected to greatly boost the firepower of Gilas Pilipinas which will be facing seasoned teams, most of them with NBA talent, in the Olympic qualifiers.
Game Sunday: Alaska Aces vs. San Miguel Beermen (Game 4 of best-of-7 Finals; Alaska leads 3-0).
