UP finally scores Player of the Week award as Manuel's heroic earns him said plum

File photo

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--In an unusual position, UP is in the thick of things UAAP men's basketball Final Four-wise.

Although assured of another losing season, the Fighting Maroons can still pull a miraculous late run to the Final Four, and they will need Player of the Week Jett Manuel for that.

Manuel, who initially applied but later backed out of the PBA Draft to help UP's playoff push, put on a stellar performance against NU on Wednesday, scoring 19 points and tallying five rebounds, two assists and two steals to lead the team to the much-needed win.

The shooting guard became the first Maroon to win the Accel-Quantum XVI-UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week award since the said citation was revived in 2005.

“This is the first time in my career that, at this point in the season, I’m still vying for the Final Four. I want to win more. You know, these opportunities don’t come often, especially for UP. So I always tell the team coming into games na I want us to win so bad,” said Manuel.

UP is down to its last two games, both against struggling teams UST on Sunday and UE on Nov. 13, putting the team in a good position of making the Final Four.

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno