MANILA, Philippines – The Alaska Aces took down the giants in Barangay Ginebra for their 3rd straight win on Sunday, January 21, but Vic Manuel is not making much of a big deal out of their success.

Manuel was one of the key factors why the Aces remained unscathed in 3 games this year as he registered a team-high 18 points and 5 rebounds in a 97-83 victory over the Gin Kings before a mammoth crowd at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Alaska outscored Ginebra 37-19 in the 3rd quarter and “The Muscleman” was pivotal, scoring 11 points in the period. Alaska now holds a 3-2 slate to tie the TNT KaTropa at 3rd place.

However, Manuel does not believe they deserve the “contender” tag early this season, especially since they defeated Ginebra who played without Greg Slaughter and Joe Devance – both nursing injuries.

“Hindi pa rin masabi, kasi lahat ng team ngayon, talagang malalakas na eh, hindi na basta basta easy ‘yung mga game eh,” said Manuel.

(You really cannot tell because all of the teams are strong. There is no such thing as an easy game.)

Manuel’s sentiments are understandable after the Blackwater Elite pulled off a shocking upset over Ginebra, their first in franchise history. On January 20, the Kia Picanto toppled the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who are coming off a 21-point rout over Phoenix in their previous game, to end their 16-game losing streak.

Nevertheless, the 30-year-old forward is happy to take the victory.

“Siguro ito, malaking bonus na rin sa amin, kasi wala nga si Greg kaya nakuha namin ‘yung panalo. Siguro kailangan every game, focused pa rin kami, mas maging aggressive kami. Kung ano’ng mga ginagawa namin nitong mga last 3 games namin, kailangan dalhin pa namin sa mga susunod naming games eh,” Manuel said.

(This is a big bonus for us since Greg was missing, so we got the win. We need to be focused every game and be more aggressive. What we did in the last 3 games, we should emulate that in our upcoming games.)

Manuel and the Aces will try to keep their winning streak alive as they clash against the Blackwater Elite on Saturday, January 27, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com