IT may not look like it now, but Letran’s magical return to the NCAA Season 101 men’s basketball finals actually had a dismal start.
With head coach Allen Ricardo entering his second season at the helm, the Knights had big expectations with the arrival of their star point guard back in the Squires, Jonathan Manalili.
READ: Letran goes on rumbling rally vs Perpetual all the way to finals return
Alas, the team took quite a while to gel, losing their first three games in spite of Manalili’s near triple-double of 23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in their third loss against Benilde.
During that skid, Manalili, who knew nothing but championships and dominance back with the Squires, experienced dwindling belief from the Letran community for the first time.
“Nung nag 0-3 start kami, talagang wala,” Manalili told SPIN.ph.
“So sabi lang ni coach Allen, kung gusto namin makaramdam ng support ulit, need namin magpanalo.”
And win they did.
Manalili and his teammates responded with five straight wins, placing themselves in the middle of the ‘Group of Death’ with more than enough cushion to escape the close play-in for fourth between Emilio Aguinaldo College and Jose Rizal University.
Much better than that, they also doubled down by flipping Arellano’s twice-to-beat advantage against them in the quarterfinals, and dismantling Group A leader Perpetual in two straight games to book a ticket in the finals.
READ: Manalili, Letran continue to be kryptonite for MGC, Perpetual
All of a sudden, their worst start since Season 90 became a distant memory, and Letran earned itself an early head start to prepare for the finals.
But according to Manalili, the rough start may not have been ideal, but ultimately proved to be essential in the Knights discovering the right mentality to survive the rest of the league.
“Magandang epekto sa amin yun kasi nakita namin nangyayari pag nagrerelax kami o mataas tingin namin sa sarili namin,” he said.
“So binago namin lahat, nag-back to zero kami. Alam naman namin na sa una lang yun mahirap, so after nung nakuha namin, nagka kumpiyansa na lahat.”
Throughout their campaign, restoring the faith of the Letran community was one of Manalili’s driving factors, hoping to prove that he can carry the dominance he had with the Squires to this squad with Jimboy Estrada, Deo Cuajao, and his favorite pick-and-roll partner, Kevin Santos.
“Gusto ko ibalik yung fire dun sa fans. Yung Letran community kasi hindi namin pwede biguin. Di rin ganun kadali sumuporta ng team kasi nga sisigaw ka, pupunta ka sa venue, babyahe ka,” he said.
Knowing the expectations that come with his accolades even before stepping up to the seniors division, Manalili was confident that he had the right system and teammates to make noise this Season 101.
Though their slow start startled the Letran faithful, they delivered one of the best turnarounds in the entire league. And now, more than enough supporters have the luxury of rallying behind them at the biggest stage.
“Bawat isa sa amin gusto magchampion, and sila yung motivation namin.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
