Vic Manuel plays extended minutes, gives Aces big lift

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

ANTIPOLO CITY—Vic Manuel was forced to play beyond his minutes restriction and it turned out to make wonders for Alaska.

After suffering three injuries the past season, Manuel only made his return for the Aces on June 5 four games into the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and he was immediately put under minutes restriction.

Manuel played almost nine minutes in his first game back against Magnolia, where he finished with six points in almost nine minutes to help the Aces to the 103-80 win.

Against Meralco, however, Manuel played more than what head coach Alex Compton set for him, staying on the floor for more than 24 minutes, instead of the allocated maximum 15 minutes, and finished with 17 points, six rebounds, and two steals.

“I’m okay, I missed playing and coach was limiting my minutes but I played beyond it because our import (Chris Daniels) got into foul trouble and Jake (Pascual) hurt his shoulder,” said Manuel in Filipino Sunday at Ynares Center here.

Daniels played for 26 minutes for 12 points and seven rebounds but trudged through five fouls while Pascual logged in 23 minutes for seven points and three rebounds.

“Yeah I can play and it’s okay for me to play beyond my restriction because it feels so good to play because I was gone for almost six months and I’m happy I’m back,” said Manuel.

Compton said he initially wanted Manuel to play for just 15 minutes but the circumstances that happened to Daniels and Pascual forced him to play his returning star a little bit more.

The 45-year-old coach added that Manuel has the, what he called, “Allan Caidic thing” where a player can just turn up and play at the highest level.

“There’s a certain thing that certain people have, and I never had it as a player, but it’s the Allan Caidic thing where you don’t touch a ball for a long time and you walk in and you’re the best player in the gym,” said Compton. “If I could bottle it, I’d be a billionaire.”

Manuel’s presence has also helped the Aces keep winning after they chalked up their third straight win, two of which were with the power forward on the floor.

Alaska climbed to third place in the standings with a 4-2 record, half-a-game behind second seeds NorthPort and TNT.

“I didn’t expect that I would be playing this long today,” said Manuel. “I really pushed myself because I know that coach needed me on the floor and it’s important for us to get this win,” said Manuel.