LETRAN will only go as far as to where Jonathan ‘Titing’ Manalili will take them and that couldn’t be any more apparent in the Knights’ four-game winning streak in the NCAA Season 101.
After a horror to start to the season where they dropped three straight games, Letran is finally looking like the fancied squad fans expected them to be in the preseason – flaunting their depth as heroes came aplenty in that stretch, from their wings in Deo Cuajao and Jimboy Estrada, to their bigs in Kevin Santos and Aaron Buensalida.
But the man pulling the strings in all of that is no other than the Knights’ highly-touted rookie in Manalili who’s posting averages of 10.7 points, 12 assists and six rebounds in the last four games.
READ: Letran makes it four in a row in S101 by outlasting Mapua in OT
Letran head coach Allen Ricardo has always been adamant in putting the ball in Manalili’s hands – even in that tough stretch to kick off the season, and now he’s being proven right.
“At the end of the day, Jonathan Manalili will decide for the others. Ganun nila tinanggap yun tinanggap ng team. At the end of the day, alam nila to give it to Jonathan and let him decide where to go,” Ricardo said when the Knights were just starting their four-game winning streak last week.
“Ang gagaling nung mga player e. Meron kang three-point shooter, meron kang perimeter at slasher, so it’s all about understanding where to go.”
Fast forward to a week later, and Manalili proved that not only is he Letran’s top dog now, he also belongs in the conversation among the NCAA’s best players.
Facing a former league MVP in Clint Escamis, Manalili took things to a whole different level.
While his clutch free throws in the face of Escamis’ mind games which sent the game into overtime certainly grabbed the headlines, his brilliance in this game goes beyond that.
READ: Manalili rises above Escamis' mind games to prove that he belongs
For one, Manalili either scored or assisted in 15 of the Knights’ final 19 points from the halfway point of the fourth quarter up until the end of the overtime period.
He was also Escamis’ main defender when he went 0-for-4 from the field in that stretch, including two misses in the dying seconds of regulation and overtime period in a game where Letran won 85-82.
Ricardo never doubted the capabilities of his longtime guard, a player he’s won two titles with in the juniors division, and now everybody’s starting to see why.
“Yun naman ang sinasabi ko sa kanya. Especially kanina pag hinahatak ko siya. I told him this is your moment. Kung sa high school nagawa natin to dito sa college, walang imposible. Sabi ko dalhin mo tong team and when I say dalhin mo tong team, nagkakaintindihan na kami sa ganung bagay,” he said.
“I always emphasize, ikaw yung second coach sa loob e. So hindi pe-pwedeng ako lang magvo-voice out sa apat na kasama mo. You have to lead. You have to be precise with the kind of plays and what kind of defense ang gagawin natin.”
Manalili's certainly heeding his coach's call.
More than his exploits on the court, the Cebuano guard has also embraced the role as the leader off the court even as a rookie as he can be seen leading the huddles in-game and post-game.
“After ng game naman namin, nakikita niyo naman na naguusap usap kami. Lagi kong pinapaalala sa kanila na after na tapos na to. Move tayo sa next na kalaban natin,” Manalili said after posting 14 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the Mapua win.
“Di pa ‘to matatapos. Di pa natin masusukat na tayo na ang magchahampion. Kaunting celebration tapos balik sa trabaho,” he added.
He’s also adamant in reminding his teammates to not get their recent success get in their heads – especially as they now have targets on their backs being the hottest team in the league right now with four straight wins.
“Sabi ko naman sa team kahit sinong makakatapat natin, hindi natin alam kung mananalo tayo na sure kasi palakas ng palakas ang team ngayon. Talagang nag ka-kumpyansa na lahat,” he said.
“Trabaho lang tayo no matter what. Dikit man o ano, basta makuha natin ang panalo.”
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