Quite ironic that Vic Manuel continues his pursuit of a first-ever PBA title with the very same team that spoiled his chances many times in the past.
The ‘Muscle Man’ is cognizant of that fact, but he’s leaving all that in the past as he puts more premium on what’s in front of him now that he and San Miguel are trying to dethrone TNT and put the franchise back on top of the Philippine Cup.
“Maraming beses na akong pinaiyak ng San Miguel eh.
“So, ayun, motivation ko pa rin sa sarili ko yun na makakuha ng championship,” he said moments after their Game Two win, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. “Siyempre, hindi pa naman huli para sa akin ang lahat eh. May chance pa, hanggang nandito ako, naglalaro, alam ko makakakuha ako.”
Manuel was unsuccessful in his first five trips to the Finals, all of which were with now-defunct Alaska. And three of those losses were from SMB.
But as fate would have it, the 6-foot-4 bruiser would find himself becoming a part of the league’s winningest franchise, when he was traded to San Miguel by NorthPort in exchange for MVP Arwind Santos back in 2021.
Now he’s back in the Finals after four seasons, and showed how badly he wants to end his quest for gold through an impressive Game Two showing,
Manuel fired 20 points in the 109-100 win, his playoff career-high in a Beermen uniform. He shot 52.6-percent from the floor, and also collected four rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block each in 25 minutes of play.
He played an important role in his side’s second half pull away that saw them unload 12 straight points for a 91-79 lead. The 10-year vet also kept the Tropang Giga at bay late in the game to secure the series-tying win.
The 35-year-old said that there was a conscious effort on his part to bounce back after that paltry six-point outing in Game One last Sunday which they lost, 86-84, no thanks to a Jayson Castro buzzer-beater.
“Kailangan tulungan ko lang ‘yung mga teammates ko. Alam ko naman, lagi sila sa Finals, tapos lagi silang nagcha-champion. Kailangan, tulong ako,” he said.
“Siyempre, hindi naman ako pwedeng mag-relax lang, na mag-aabang ka na lang na magcha-champion, na wala kang itutulong. So, ang pangit tingnan. Hindi ko kaya ‘yun. Hindi ko kaya na walang maitulong sa team.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
