San Miguel big man Vic Manuel. –PBA IMAGES
No doubt, the heart of San Miguel’s domination in the PBA is its deep well of talent.
With a 2-0 card to start its title-retention bid in the Philippine Cup, the vaunted club—owner of the league-most 29 titles—is poised to have an even richer roster with skilled bruiser Vic Manuel nearing a clean bill of health.
“I’m good. I just need to be patient. The coaches seem to be taking their time with me since I just got back. I can already keep up during practices, but I feel a bit uncomfortable in the actual game,” he told reporters last weekend, after his club survived TNT, 91-89, in Antipolo City.
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Manuel has been out for nine months now after going under the knife to repair his problematic left knee. He actually played in San Miguel’s 109-97 conference-opening win over Rain or Shine, but only for three minutes. He sat out the match against rival Tropang Giga.
“I guess they’re letting me get a feel of the court for now. I feel like they’re just being careful with me,” said Manuel, a spark plug in San Miguel’s last All-Filipino title romp. “Good thing it’s still the eliminations and we’ve only just played two games. Then there’s going to be a break.”
Longest layoff
Manuel said the setback is the longest he’s been away from the game. The last time he was shelved for a significant amount of time was during his stint with the now-defunct Alaska Aces.
Two months away from turning 37, Manuel said he has applied changes to his fitness approach. He has been focusing on his lower body workouts and has been cutting weight to ease the stress on his knees.
Manuel is optimistic that he will be seeing longer minutes after the PBA All-Star festivities and Holy Week break.
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“Maybe when we get back on March 31 things will be much better,” he said. “I don’t feel any pain any more. I just get uncomfortable whenever I do some lateral moves.”
Manuel gave a resounding yes when asked about getting back to his old form—one that helped him crack the National Five during the last Southeast Asian Games held in Manila, and made him an excellent prospect to the San Miguel brain trust.
“I think I can get back to that,” he said with a smile.