VIC Manuel and Sean Anthony continued to play like All-Stars even after being the most notable snubs in the recent PBA All-Star festivities.
The league caught the ire of fans and pundits alike after the two forwards missed out on being named to the midseason cagefest even despite being two of the best locals in the conference.
But both players were in unison in saying that they didn’t mind at all.
“Wala naman sa akin yun. Basta ako, kahit nung All-Star break, di naman ako nagpahinga. Minemaintain ko yung sarili ko para pag dating ko sa mga game, continue lang kung ano yung dapat gawin,” said Manuel.
“Yung All-Star, okay lang, hindi naman big deal sakin yun.”
Anthony, on the other hand, was thankful that he’s getting noticed by other people, but was adamant in saying that he’s more interested if those numbers translate to wins.
“I just credit to my teammates, they’re deadly players and they’re setting me up. Ultimately we got to win. I got to do better and find ways in finding the team win,” Anthony said.
In Alaska’s 109-103 win over GlobalPort, there were no questions that the pair certainly deserved to be there with the league’s biggest stars.
Manuel continued his fine form as he scored 22 to go along three steals while Anthony finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in a losing effort.
Despite their sustained brilliance, they were insistent that they weren’t trying to prove a point – just trying to be consistent at what the do.
“I’m not gonna try and do anything crazy just to prove any individual thing. I’ll just listen to coach, try to do my role and integrate myself with what the team wants me to do and just try and help get some wins. I’m not out to prove anything by myself at all,” Anthony said.
Manuel said that he’s been playing like this since the turn of the conference, and he’s not entirely wrong.
“Kinocontinue ko lang yung ginagawa ko. Hindi ko binabago. Kaya siguro namementain ko yung laro ko,” Manuel said.
“Hindi naman (nagpapatunay). Kasi before naman ng All-Star naglalaro na ako ng maayos.”