WHEN Titing Manalili's temperature rises, he doesn’t reach for medicine, he reaches for a ball.
For the Letran guard, the game isn’t just in the bloodline of his father, Cebu legend Titing Manalili Sr., it’s the remedy he swears by and the cure he turns to when life burns a little too hot.
In a thriller against Mapua that saw Letran edge the defending champs, 85–82, for a third straight NCAA Season 101 win, the younger Manalili delivered 14 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds.
All of it, he did while playing through a fever.
Doctors may recommend, studies may show, but for the early favorite for Rookie of the Year himself, the only thing that makes him feel better is having a ball in his hands.
“Umiiyak talaga ko 'pag matatapos yung araw na 'di ako nakapag-basketball. Kahit nilalagnat ako, ginagawa kong gamot yung basketball,” he shared, looking all the way back to his early days playing.
Fever or fatigue, it didn’t matter. Basketball wasn’t the illness, it was the cure.
And two years removed from their last trip to the playoffs, it looks like Manalili is the cure for whatever ailed the Knights.
Titing talks the talk and walks the talk
Now arguably the face of the 'Grand Ol' League,' it isn't stardom that makes Manalili get out of bed each and every day.
READ: Manalili rises above Escamis' mind games to prove that he belongs
Instead, it's a trifecta of reasons to live ball is life: his doubters, his family, and his younger self still learning to dream.
“Doubters ang lagi kong kinukuhaan ng motivation para mapamukha ko sa kanila na kaya ko, and I know gagawin din nila yun para sa sarili nila,” he said.
"Kasi kung 'di sila naniwala sa'kin at kaya ko, pwede din nilang gawing motivation yun para i-prove ang sarili nila."
There’s no bitterness in his tone; just an attitue rooted in growing up in a house where competition was served with dinner.
“Gusto kong ipatuloy yung nasimulan namin ni papa nung bata ako and lagpasan na din yung naabot niya kasi palagi niya akong kinekwentuhan ng mga nalaruan niya dati, parang 'di siya nagpapatalo sa'kin," he said.
"And siyempre, sa mga sacrifices nila and effort simula bata ako, gusto ko makabawi dun.”
Now, every time he steps on the court, it’s that same kid showing up, ready and raring to prove his doubters wrong, make his family proud, and fulfill the potential of his younger self.
“Dun ko lang nafi-feel yung peace or comfort talaga, if may challenges na dumating sa'kin or own problems, nilalaro ko lang para malagpasan ko,” he said.
Whether rain or shine, through thick and thin, in pleasure or pain, Manalili wants to have the ball in his hands.
And for sure, Letran would also have it nowhere else.
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