After being held scoreless in the previous two games, University of the Philippines star and Smart Elite Ambassador Jett Manuel is glad to be back on track.
The 6’2 swingman brushed off those two bad games against Ateneo and Adamson to end the first round and bounced back on a big way as he scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to push the Maroons past the Falcons in their second round meeting in the UAAP basketball tournament .
Asked about that, Manuel admits that the past two games have haunted him and admitted that he’s still a work in progress.
But what’s important is that they have finally ended their five-game skid.
“I wanna forget about that. I’m still learning. I have a lot to learn as a player. My coaches are helping me a lot. It wasn’t easy for me but what’s important is how we come out and get the win together,” said Manuel in the post-match interview.
It was a heated encounter between the two teams with Manuel getting entangled with several Adamson players in the game.
Although Manuel said that it’s nothing personal, he understands that they had to play with much better intensity in this game given the fact that they absorbed a loss from the same squad in the first round.
“As a competitor, we want to get back. It’s not anything personal. We want to compete at the highest level we can. We took it as a challenge for us because we lost to them in the first round,” he mentioned.
Asked about what changed in this game, Manuel said that it’s more of a mental adjustment not only for him but for the rest of the squad
“It was a good team win for us, collectively. Everyone contributed from the bench, our energy was different today. We recomposed ourselves as a team. I think that’s what helped us. We had a whole new energy and mind set,” Manuel further explained.
And now, it’s on to the second round for them as they look to salvage a tough season marred with heartbreaking defeats in the first round.
“We’re forgetting about the first round but at the same time we’re learning from it. It’s gonna be an exciting second round for us now.”
