Is Manuel the best Power Forward in the PBA today?

(c) PBA Media Bureau

To call the 2018 Commissioner's Cup as the breakout conference of Vic Manuel may even be an understatement. 

The Muscle Man catapulted himself into the top 10 players discussion. 

How? He produced 24.2 points and 6.4 rebounds, while shooting 58% in the court. When a player is elite in efficiency and effectiveness, the guy deserves a shot in the top 10 spot.

When was the last time that a power forward led the locals in scoring? I mean, when was the last time that a power forward was so far ahead from the 2nd place in terms of making points.

The 2nd best local scorer is Stanley Pringle and he is at 21.0 points per game. That did not resonate with you? He was a better scorer than all of your recognized elite bucket-getter in the league!

You want a more amazing number? Vic managed that in just 22 minutes of play! In short, Vic was almost synonymous with automatic!


If you translate his production to 36 minutes, you will get 39.7 points! Unfortunately, coach Alex Compton's scheme did not allow him the opportunity to reach the legendary mark of 30 points per game.

Vic was popular as arguably the best post scorer today. But the guy kept on developing his game, and now he has a midrange game, ability to attack the basket and pull-up shots.

So, the question now is, is he the best power forward in the league today?

For that distinction, he is competing with four obvious candidates; Arwind Santos, Ranidel de Ocampo, Japeth Aguilar and Ian Sangalang.

Japeth Aguilar and Ian Sangalang have good cases but the fact that they play a lot of centers disqualifies them in a way.

Ranidel de Ocampo, could be a more finesse player but that was in his prime. The current RDO today is not as good and fluid as the younger one. 

His biggest challenger is Arwind Santos. Santos is different from Manuel. He is athletic and long, capable of protecting the rim, shooting threes and making plays.

If we talk about defense, Santos is a more impactful player, but the difference is not that wide. Manuel can hold his own against the quickest and tallest big out there.

On offense, their strengths are very different but the efficiency of the scoring exploit of Manuel could be more valuable than Santos.

Overall, I think this is a tough one to argue.

So, which one will you take as the best power forward in the league? Muscle Man or Spider-man.