Game 1 hero Vic Manuel plays through back spasms in PBA finals

Vic Manuel tries to put up a shot. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Vic Manuel shone brightest in the PBA’s grandest stage where he led Alaska to a comeback win over San Miguel Beer in Game 1 of the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals.

The Aces forward did it all with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field that went with five rebounds, two steals and a block.

He had 14 points in the fourth quarter, where he spearheaded Alaska’s rally from 12 points down.

Not bad for someone who didn’t expect he was going to play due to a bad back which also forced him to miss a couple of practices in the days leading up to Sunday’s finals opener.

“I didn’t expect that they would still use me because I skipped practice for two days because I was having problems with my back. I had back spasms,” Manuel revealed the day after setting his career-high with 24 points in a 100-91 victory.

Manuel said he sustained the injury during Alaska’s series-clinching win over GlobalPort last week when it got hit by Batang Pier bruiser Doug Kramer.

“I was really in pain and I had to miss practice for two days because of it.”

Manuel, though, didn’t let his injury prevent him from helping Alaska and he plans to endure the pain until the best-of-seven series is over.

“Our therapist has been doing a good job to lessen the pain. It’s still painful right now, but I’ll only think about it once the finals is over.”