UFV's Manny Dulay was shaken by a near fatal spin-out on the highway but still hit eight threes in a Cascades' win Friday over Victoria. (Dan Kinvig, UFV athletics)
Feature University Men's Basketball

UFV players Dulay, Bains escape tragedy in snowy Highway 1 spin-out

ABBOTSFORD — The Manny Moment, it turns out, is impervious to just about anything including the rage of an Fraser Valley East snowstorm.
 
Manny Dulay and teammate Nav Bains got caught in an icy, snowy traffic jam on Highway 1 east Friday as the pair headed to Abbotsford to suit up for the Fraser Valley Cascades’ men’s basketball game against the Victoria Vikes.
 
At one stage of the journey, Bains’ car did a 360-degree spin and they changed lanes, and the pair said later that their lives flashed before their eyes.
 
“We were in the left lane (headed eastbound), and the right lane opened up,” Dulay told UFV athletics. “As we switched, Nav’s car started swerving and we actually did a 360 (degree spin) in both lanes. We ended up in the left lane, but now we’re facing these cars (going in the same direction). Luckily, no one was coming right behind us, and everyone went around us. We didn’t end up in the ditch, and no car hit us. We didn’t want to tell anyone (when we got to the gym), but we actually almost died.”
 
So delayed were the two starters that head coach Adam Friesen had no choice but to bring them into the game off the bench, and when Dulay, the nation’s leader in made three pointers made his debut, he acted like he had strolled into the Envision Athletic Centre on a nice, sunny day.
 
Dulay finished with a game-high 36 points, including an 8-of-11 night from beyond the arc.

“I think it was because our adrenaline was so high,” Dulay continued. “We were so amped (after the close call on the freeway), and we couldn’t calm down. We were talking about how we were so lucky, and that was kind of in my mind the whole night – being able to play, being happy on the court. I think that kind of drove me to play basketball carefree.”
Bains added 10 points and Andrew Morris 14 for the Cascades. Grant Sitton added 26 in the loss for the Vikes.

“It’s just one of those things – once you hit a couple and see them go through the net, and you see what’s working and where you’re getting those shots, I just kept going with that,” continued Dulay, set to one honoured Saturday as UFV and Victoria rematch on Cascades’ seniors night. “I kept getting good looks, and fortunately today I knocked them down.”
 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *