Vic Manuel and Dominique Sutton got into a bit of a spat when San Miguel battled Phoenix Super LPG in 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup action, Wednesday.
The two were seen exchanging words at the 8:21-mark of the third quarter when the ‘Muscle Man’ hauled down a rebound against the import.
And that play, according to Manuel, is what irked Sutton.
“Nagkaroon lang ng konting trash talk e. Sabi niya ‘yung siko ko raw, alisin ko raw kasi baka raw tamaan siya,” said the veteran forward.
“E ako naman, ‘pag rumebound talagang nakabuka lagi ‘yung siko ko,” he explained further.
“So ayun, parang naasar siya e.”
Not only did Manuel beat Sutton in that rebounding battle, but he actually got the best of the returning reinforcement — and his former team as well.
That incident fired up the 34-year-old. He scored 17 points in the second half, including clutch buckets to fend off the Fuel Masters, 104-99.
All in all, Manuel finished with his conference-high 22 points on a 53-percent clip from the field. He also had nine rebounds, a steal, and a block.
Photo by PBA Images
It was actually his first meeting with Phoenix since being traded last November to NorthPort in exchange for Sean Anthony in a multi-player deal.
The Batang Pier then sent him to the Beermen for Arwind Santos.
SMB head coach Leo Austria was proud to see Manuel deliver a breakout game, although he was hardly surprised as he knows his capability.
“Expected naman siya na gagawa ng ganung points, even though limited playing time. That’s Vic Manuel e,” the champion mentor said.
“If you noticed before, si Vic Manuel when he’s playing with the other team, in limited minutes, he can still score more than 20 points,” he added.
“We’re expecting him to do that in our team.”
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