Antonio Campbell had himself an impressive 20-20 outing in the Alaska Aces’ wire-to-wire victory over the TNT Katropa Sunday night, but he left the Ynares Center in Antipolo City singing praises for Vic Manuel.
The 23-year-old reinforcement was left amazed with the way Manuel led the Aces in the 110-100 win, scoring 29 points on an efficient 12-of-18 shooting from the floor to go along with 12 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
“Vic’s a beast.
“I know that’s Calvin Abueva’s name but Vic is a beast, the Muscle Man. He takes advantage of those big guns he has,” said Campbell moments after the match, where he produced 23 points and 20 rebounds.
“I told him if he can score on me in practice, he can score on everybody. He took that to heart and he’s doing his thing,” added the first-year pro.
Even Aces head coach Alex Compton sung praises for Manuel, whom the former had ribbed — and encouraged — many times before to take shots and be more assertive on offense as he knows what Manuel’s capable of.
Photo by PBA Images
“Late game, when we wanted to slow it down when we had a lead, and we need some buckets, Vic took over. He’s just really playing phenomenal,” lauded the veteran bench strategist.
“Minsan parang import nga si Vic eh.”
This has now become the second time in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup that the 30-year-old power forward has set his career-high in points. He did it first last April 30, scoring 27 points to lead Alaska to a 93-74 win over Blackwater Elite.
With Manuel’s streak and Campbell’s steadiness, the Aces now have arguably one of the most dreaded frontcourts in the league. And for the former NBA G-Leaguer, its’ all possible as both of them help each other in lots of ways.
“[It makes my job a] lot easier, especially when we’re on the floor at the same time.
“When he gets the ball on the post, can’t really double him. It makes my job easier, it makes his job easier. It works both way,” said Campbell.
