Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Vic Manuel has proven himself as a legitimate scoring threat, but to be Alaska’s go-to guy? Nobody saw it coming.
The Nueva Ecjia native once again showed his slick offensive prowess, uncorking 20 of his 26 points in the second quarter run that triggered the Aces’ 134-103 blowout over Columbian Dyip on Friday.
So far this 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Manuel has emerged as the team’s leading scorer, averaging 21.7 points through the first three games.
READ: PBA: Manuel powers Alaska to decimation of Columbian
But as always, the soft-spoken big man shrugged off his high-scoring night and attributed it to luck.
“We’re just lucky that we got to run in the open floor. A lot of my layups were easy baskets,” he said in Filipino.
What Manuel wouldn’t deny, though, is his renewed drive to perform at his best after playing through a calf injury for the majority of last season.
READ: Urged to shoot more, Manuel drops career-high to lead Alaska
“I told coach that every time he uses me, I’ll be ready. I really want to help our team because I was coming off an injury last year. So you can see that I really want to play and that’s why we’re getting good results now,” he said.
Bullish on both ends of the floor, Manuel hopes to sustain this run in the coming games, starting against TNT next Sunday.
“Every game, we’re ready who our opponent will be. Everything starts in our practices and that will prepare us for our coming games,” he said.