Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
ANTIPOLO — Back to his hardworking self, Vic Manuel seemingly couldn’t do anything wrong when Alaska played Ginebra on Sunday.
But as stellar as he was in the game, the 30-year-old forward still has one thing he wished he didn’t do.
Manuel was apologetic for his spat with LA Tenorio at the 1:25 mark of the third quarter.
Receiving a pass from Calvin Abueva down low, the 6-foot-4 bruiser went for an undergoal stab but lost his balance when the Ginebra guard tried to stop his shot from behind. With emotions on a high, Manuel pushed Tenorio as both were restrained by their teammates.
Looking back, Manuel said that he should have known better.
“I didn’t know that he was just trying to pick me back up, and I still hit him,” he admitted in Filipino. “Of course, the emotions were so high and we got carried away. He was asking me whyI hit him when he was just trying to get me back up and I felt ashamed of what I did. I would have wanted to apologize but he had already left.”
But his brush with Tenorio won’t overshadow his sensational play. He finished with a season-best 18 points, 11 coming in the pivotal third quarter. He also had five rebounds and two assists in Alaska’s 97-83 win.
The win was the Aces’ third straight victory, putting them in joint third with TNT with similar 3-2 slates.
“We’re always competing in practice. Nothing comes easy and we always give it our all. That’s why we’re bringing our aggression from our practices to the games,” said Manuel, who is finding his way from a calf injury that sidelined him for the better part of last season.
“Every team is strong and there are no more easy games. We’re happy with the win, but we need to be focused every game, be aggressive, and do what we’ve been doing over these last three games to our next games,” he said.