Vic Manuel wasn’t disappointed even after his personal streak of scoring 20 points came to an end Saturday night, in their 79-92 loss to the San Miguel Beermen in the opener of their 2018 Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
From scoring 22 points in their semis-clinching win over the Magnolia Hotshots last July 10, Manuel only had 16 points this time on a dismal 7-of-20 shooting from the field – he started the game with five straight misses.
“Hindi naman. Yung San Miguel magagaling din dumipensa sa post. Ang lalaki din nila, so talagang nahirapan din ako,” admitted the 6-foot-4 forward.
“Siguro next game papakita ako ulit.
“Hindi namin ako nalimit sa scoring, talagang masama yung start ko,” he added.
Manuel also does not want to make excuses for his streak-ending outing. The 31-year-old forward incurred a small cut at the palm of his right hand – his shooting hand – which he said he got while at home days ago.
“After nung game namin, parang na-cut siya sa bahay… ‘Di ko nga alam din. Pero kaya naman,” shared the six-year pro.
“Ayoko naman sisihin yung kamay ko na nagkaproblema, kasi nakakatira naman ako ng maayos.”
But if there’s anything that made Manuel a tad disappointed, it was the way he and the Aces lost the game.
“Kailangan next game limit namin turnovers namin kasi yun yung naging problema namin lalo na nung start ng third. Parang sobrang dami ng naging turnovers namin,” said Manuel, as Alaska finished with 17 turnovers.
“Hanggang pagpasok ng fourth, parang ‘di kami magkaintindihan — yung communication namin… Iga-grab na nga lang yung rebound, mawawala pa. Yun siguro naging problema namin,” admitted the Best Player of the Conference leader.
Add to thatt the fact that they had failed to limit the production of SMB main man June Mar Fajardo.
Back in their 105-103 victory – which was made possible by Manuel with his runner at the buzzer – over the Beermen last May 19 in Dumaguete City, the Aces were able to limit Fajardo and held him to just a lowly seven points.
But on Saturday night, the reigning, four-time league Most Valuable Player got going, finishing with 17 points on a 50 percent-shooting clip along with nine rebounds, two steals, and an assist in over 28 minutes he had played.
“Yung kay June Mar… Kasi that time na-limit namin siya sa seven points. Ngayon ata halos twenty points ginawa niya,” rued Manuel.
“Next game kailangan ma-stop namin siya, at kung gusto namin manalo, dapat trabahuhin namin siya.”
