The result of losing Calvin Abueva

(c) PBA Media Bureau

For more than five seasons, The Beast was the face of the Alaska Aces. Even though he usually does not play the most minutes every game, his appearance in the game was always anticipated and the opponents always prepare hard for him.

This year, the break-up finally happen. It was a break-up that was forced by The Beast by going AWOL. In the end, the result of the Governors' Cup is a good indication that their break-up was beneficial for both parties.

For this article, I will focus on Alaska. How did the rotation and their scheme adjust this conference, without Abueva?

VIC MANUEL IS NOW THE MAIN BIGMAN 

I believe that the performance of The Muscle Man in the 2018 Commissioner's Cup made the Alaska management comfortable in dealing Calvin. So, it was not surprising that his minutes and shots increased after the trade.

Manuel's minutes this conference rose up from 16.9 last 2017 Gov. Cup to 25.1 this 2018 Gov. Cup. The more defining number is his field-goal attempts that almost double this conference, in comparison to the 2017 Gov. Cup (8.5 to 15.6). 

There is no denying that Manuel is now the best post player in the league and his midrange shot is becoming more deadlier each conference.

REBOUNDING IS NOW EVERYONE'S (LOCALS) OBLIGATION

In the 2018 Philippine Cup and the 2017 Governors' Cup, Calvin Abueva averaged double-digits in rebounding and led their locals. This conference, no Aces averaged more than 6 rebounds! So, what they did was to get an import who is elite in rebounding.

And that was a great decision by the management! Kudos to them.

The Aces ended up as the 2nd best rebounding team this conference due to the league-leading 21.7 average of Mike Harris, higher by 3.2 boards from the 2nd best guy, Eugene Phelps.

To assist him, five local players grabbed more than 3 rebounds in average. 

BANCHERO WAS RELEASED
The departure of a playmaker in Abueva may have pushed coach Alex Compton to give the playmaking duties entirely to the point guards. Banchero has outplayed Jayvee Casio so he was the recipient of the increased in usage.

Overall, Banchero's minutes increase from 23.4 (2017 Gov. Cup) to 31.1 (2018 Gov. Cup). His average assists is now 8.7 per game, best in the league. That was so much higher than the 3.7 and 3.1 in 2018 Phil Cup and 2017 Gov. Cup, respectively. 

It was not only his playmaking that is now revealed. Even his scoring ability was legitimized. 

OVERALL

In short, the departure of Calvin opened up the gate to Vic Manuel and Chris Banchero to solidify themselves as the current main duo of the franchise. The 2019 Philippine Cup will be the real test for the duo if they are the right duo to lead this franchise.