PERHAPS the only good thing going for Letran and its ardent supporters in the midst of its horrendous start to the NCAA Season 101 is how its prized rookie Jonathan ‘Titing’ Manalili is getting better as the season progresses for the Knights.
Manalili, a high school standout with the Squires, played his best game in college after posting a near triple-double with 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting alongside eight rebounds and nine assists which ultimately went down the drain after the Knights fell to the St. Benilde Blazers, 95-80 on Wednesday at the Playtime Filoil Center.
READ: Ricardo hoping post-game spat from players lights fire in Letran
The rookie played like a veteran as he led the Knights’ counterattack after going down by 15 early in the second quarter. However, a mild sprain midway through the fourth halted his drive.
He did return in the endgame but the Blazers already had their foot on the gas to finish off the hard-luck Knights and send them to their third loss in as many games.
“That’s good for me. I’m still optimistic about him. At least hindi ba, despite the loss, yun ang importante nakakabwelo na siya sa game niya,” Letran coach Allen Ricardo said.
His performance wasn’t lost on CSB coach Charles Tiu who briefly coached Manalili when the highly-touted recruit suited up for Strong Group Athletics in the William Jones Cup two years before.
Tiu believes Letran will only get better as Manalili continues to refine his game.
“He’s their key. He’s a guy who runs their engine. I’m a big fan of his game. He almost had a triple-double again. He’s very efficient. I really respect his game a lot,” Tiu said.
“It’s really a challenge to stop him kasi I think Letran goes where he goes. Obviously coach Allen really trusts Titing a lot. He’s a great player. It’s impressive for a rookie to see what he’s doing.”
In the first three games of the season, Manalili is averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, six assists and a steal per game.
Unfortunately, his veterans have struggled to keep up as his bigs in Kevin Santos and Mark Omega are yet to fully play to their full potential.
His backcourt partner, Jimboy Estrada, hasn’t been healthy since the first game against JRU – with Estrada playing paltry minutes against San Beda and missing the game against the Blazers with a flu.
Jun Roque, Letran’s do-it-all forward, also missed the Benilde game with a nagging shoulder injury.
While despair fills the halls of Letran with this horrid start, Ricardo believes Manalili’s trajectory is a good sign of things to come for them.
He can only hope everyone else follows suit.
“Maganda yun going into the upcoming games, andun na yung kumpyansa nya. Alam niyo naman, Jonathan is Jonathan. I will rely on him. Talagang trusted ko na siya sa mga ganyang situation,” he said.
“Now we’ll try to move forward with this loss and focus on the next.”
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