ROYCE Mantua rarely played for San Miguel in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup, but felt very much a part of the Beermen’s run to the championship.
The San Miguel rookie, picked in the third round, No. 33 overall in the Season 50 Draft, won a PBA title right in his first conference after the Beermen defeated TNT in six games in the best-of-seven title playoff.
The former University of Santo Tomas' player is basking in the glory, even with naysayers saying he only saw limited time on the court during the title run.
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“It’s very surreal,” Mantua told SPIN.ph. “I’m very afloat. So I’m very happy to be part of this team and I’m also very proud of my teammates. They all really worked really hard to get this championship and so did I.”
Mantua played only a total of 22 minutes spread across eight games in the Philippine Cup, logging 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. But that doesn't mean that he his contribution to the championship run in any less.
He mentioned his role during practices that got the entire team ready each and every game.
“I played a big role just like helping them out during practices and all… I know I rarely played. That’s like part of my role, too, as a rookie. I’m very young and I still have a lot of potential to show throughout my future career. So, I’m looking forward to that,” said the 23-year-old Fil-Aussie player.
Shortly after the championship was taken, Mantua joined fellow seldom-used Beermen Chris Miller and Justine Guevarra in the customary photoshoot for the winning team right after the match where he also talked about their role in the team.
Miller is a fellow rookie of Mantua, having been drafted in the first round at No. 9 overall.
“It’s like being part of our third group in practice. We’re all teammates and we go 100 percent every time we practice. We build that kind of chemistry together,” said the San Miguel guard.
Though playing time was scarce, Mantua said he won’t trade anything for the experience being on a winning team and learning from teammates who know what it takes to win championships on a regular basis.
“Just the whole experience, just playing a game, that’s pretty much it. No holding back, just have fun pretty much. And sharing that experience that they have, I'm learning a lot,” said Mantua about what he learned from his teammates.
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