UNHERALDED rookie AP Manlapaz almost stole the spotlight in the star-studded duel between Adamson and University of the Philippines on Sunday.
With focus on the debut of rookie Kobe Paras for the Fighting Maroons and the hot-shooting one-and-done Valandre Chauca for the Soaring Falcons, the 6-foot-4 Manlapaz grabbed his share of the limelight with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and a block.
That after scoring only a total of four points in the first three games this UAAP Season 82.
"Nung last games wala akong napapakita sa team kaya gusto ko talaga bumawi sa game na yun kaya parang nagkusa na rin ako," the 19-year-old said.
Manlapaz was steady in the clutch, and even buried six straight points in the overtime period to put Adamson up, 80-75 with 2:45 left to play.
Shockingly, as solid as the homegrown neophyte is, it was the Soaring Falcons' veterans who crumbled in the end as UP stole the win, 83-82.
"Nagkulang lang ng puso nung huli. Parang nagbreakdown yung mga veterans namin," rued Manlapaz, one of the two former Baby Falcons who moved up to the seniors team this year, the other being Joem Sabandal.
Manlapaz believes he could build on this performance as he aims to continue earning his spot in coach Franz Pumaren's rotation.
"Masaya naman kasi parang malaki yung tiwala nila sa akin kaya gusto ko talagang may maipakita ako sa kanila. Ngayon parang nag-start na ma-boost yung confidence ko sa mga darating pa na games namin," said Manlapaz as Adamson looks to put this slim loss in the rear view.
"Sabi ni coach, mahaba pa naman yung season kaya pwede pa kami makabawi."
And lucky for Manlapaz, Pumaren is willing to put faith on him even if he's just a rookie.
"That’s why he played a lot of minutes because I know he was under the radar," said the four-time UAAP champion. "In the last couple of practices, I talked to him. I told him what he needs to do to make it here in the senior level and the kid is really talented even though during his high school days, he was just an underachiever."
The Soaring Falcons (2-2) look to bounce back when they takes on University of Sto. Tomas on Wednesday.
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