BY John Miles Arcenal
TITING Manalili honestly didn't expect Letran to start 0-2 in NCAA Season 101, especially after coming off a winning program in high school under the same coach in Allen Ricardo, and playing alongside some really talented teammates in his first year in college.
But such is their situation now as after a shock loss to JRU in the opener, the Knights fell in their highly-anticipated rivalry match against the San Beda Red Lions, 68-58 on Sunday at the Playtime Filoil Center.
READ: Janti Miller clutch as San Beda scores one over rival Letran
“Siyempre hindi ko in-expect, hindi naman namin ginusto yung nangyari [pero a] loss is a loss,“ Manalili said.
Manalili, however, was probably the only bright spot for the Knights as he finished with 13 points, six assists and two steals though he admitted to feeling the jitters especially knowing the magnitude of this game for his school.
“May konting kaba kasi nga rookie year ko and ‘yun na-test naman kailangan lang naming bumawi,” he said.
Though only a rookie, Manalili already has a huge responsibility being the team’s main facilitator. While he admits that it is a heavy burden to carry, he’s more than up to the task given the trust that his teammates and coaches give to him.
“Mabigat sa’kin kasi nga rookie ako, bata ako,” he stressed.
“Tinutulungan naman ako, pinagsasabihan naman ako ng teammates ko, ng mga coaches ko kung ano yung dapat yung gawin ko. So ginagawa ko lang kung anong role ko,” Manalili added.
Plenty of room to grow
The good thing is that his coach is giving him some leeway to explore, make mistakes and ultimately grow as this team’s leader.
But of course, there are still a lot of things to work on and Ricardo promises to help Manalili through it.
“May mga pagkakataon minsan hinahayaan ko siyang mag-desisyon sa court binibigay ko sa kanya. Pero tingin ko we need to talk, we need to view some clips on what went good and what went wrong,” he said.
“Siyempre nandoon pa rin yung bata sa adjustment period, kasi at the end of the day rookie pa rin ‘yan kahit nagpahinga nang isang taon. My trust to him hindi nawawala eh, yung pagmamahal ko sa kanya hindi nawawala.”
Manalili will always be grateful for that.
“Sobrang thankful ako kay coach Allen [Ricardo] despite sa mga pagkatalo namin. Kumbaga sinisisi ko nga sarili ko sa mga talo namin pero thankful pa rin kasi nandoon pa rin yung tiwala niya sa akin,” he said.
Despite a sluggish start to the season, the 21-year-old guard remains confident that they have the tools to bounce back.
“Kumpiyansa ako kasi nabanggit nga kanina na nakikita naman ng coaches na kaya namin. Kumbaga winning team kami, siguro may kulang lang kaya babalikan namin sa ensayo.”
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