Although the Alaska Aces have bowed out of contention for the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup Finals after losing to the San Miguel Beermen in Game Four of the semifinals Sunday night, Vic Manuel still remained positive.
For him, this is already an achievement for a team that had to go through a lot this conference, from franchise player Calvin Abueva missing practices and later on being suspended, to missing Jeron Teng for games after a brawl.
“Okay lang. Syempre, proud pa rin ako sa team namin. Marami man nangyari pero nakaabot pa rin kami sa semis,” said Manuel after the defeat. “Kuntento na ‘ko doon.
“Pero hindi dito natatapos, may mga next conferences pa.”
Of the darkness that covered the Aces, Manuel provided the positive light. The 6-foot-4 power forward just had the best conference of his career since joining the league in 2012 by scoring 20-plus points in 11 straight games.
Manuel, however, downplayed the idea that this mid-season joust had been an avenue for him to tell that he’s one of the best big men in the league. For him, he will just continue to do his thing to be able to deliver more for Alaska.
“Hindi naman siguro. Tulad ng lagi kong sinasabi, every game talagang ready lang ako. Ico-continue ko kung ano mas magiging maganda para sa team namin,” said the six-year pro. “And yun din, dapat alagaan ko sarili ko.
“Ayun naging maganda yung conference ko. Siguro dapat iwasan ko yung injury, yun lang siguro. Yun lang magiging problema ko, injury talaga,” added the 31-year-old from Nueva Ecija.
“Yun lang makakapigil sa akin.”
Manuel has been stellar this conference, so much so that he got into the Best Player of the Conference race — he even emerged as the frontrunner after the eliminations, before sliding to second after the quarterfinals.
But with Sunday night’s loss, Manuel’s chances of winning his first-ever BPC award have gone in tatters. But that is the least of Manuel’s concern, that he’s already satisfied with the way he had delivered in the tilt.
“Hindi. Masaya na ako, naipakita ko. Okay na ako doon,” said Manuel, the ninth overall pick in the 2012 Draft.
“Yun nga sabi ko, nakapasok kami sa semis. Kahit na na-short kami, kuntento na ako. Masaya na ako.”
