For the third straight time, Vic Manuel has proven how lethal he can be on the offensive side of the floor.
The 30-year-old scorched hot on Sunday night, setting a new career-high of 29 points on 12-of-16 field goal shooting along with 12 rebounds to power the Alaska Aces in a wire-to-wire 110-100 victory over the TNT Katropa.
As the Aces have hiked up their win-loss card to 3-1, Manuel has also elevated his per-game averages this 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, as he now has norms of 25.3 points on a 63 percent-shooting clip together with 6.0 caroms.
“Ginagawa ko lang talaga eh, everytime sinasabi ko na option ako ni coach.
“‘Pag locals din ang bumabantay [sa akin], nanlalaki din ang mata ko. Threat din talaga ako sa scoring eh,” said the 6-foot-4 power forward of his outing.
“Ginagawa ko lang din kung ano yung dapat kong gawin. Kapag pinasahan ako ng teammates ko, wide open na eh. Ilalagay mo na lang din sa ring kaya rin siguro napapadaas din ako maka-score,” added six-year pro.
With yet another stellar performance, Manuel has earned praises again from none other than Aces head coach Alex Compton, this time likening the former PBA D-League Most Valuable Player to an import.
“He’s just really playing phenomenal. Minsan parang import nga si Vic eh,” said the American, as he himself was the one who gave Manuel the go signal to take shots.
“And a lot of times, players just recognized it and gave him the ball.”
“Niloloko niya nga kami na may bago kaming import. Natawa lang ako,” shared added the native of Nueva Ecija, on the other hand, of Compton’s comments with a laugh. “Basta ako, ginagawa ko lang talaga ang lahat.”
Surely, Manuel will now be a marked man with his scoring streak. But for the cager from Nueva Ecija, he doesn’t mind if his production in the next games will be limited, as long as he and the Milkmen go home victorious.
“Aware ako sa next games na mas hihigpit ang depensa. May scouting ang bawat team kaya dapat ready lang talaga. Mas maganda sa amin kahit hindi mataas ang score ko, basta’t manalo ang team namin, mas okay sa akin.”
