As the shifty 6-foot guard looks to bring his act to the senior ranks, Manalili said the only thing he is looking forward to is to continue playing under Colegio de San Juan de Letran juniors basketball team head coach Allen Ricardo.
Ricardo, of course, is the interim head coach of the Knights, who are eyeing to reclaim its lost glory following a lackluster Season 99 campaign.
"Oo siyempre, gusto kong umakyat ng Letran para si Coach Allen pa rin ang coach," Manalili said after ruling the NCAA Season 99 tournament.
(Of course, I want to go up to the seniors rank in Letran so that I could still be under Coach Allen.)
Manalili was a crucial part of Letran's title run.
The 19-year-old guard poured in a career-high 35 points to help the Squires hack out a 97-80 victory in Game 1 as they moved on the verge of back-to-back titles. However, he was held to just 12 markers in Game 2, which the Junior Altas won to force a decider.
However, Manalili made sure to bounce back in the clincher, churning out 19 points to provide the help to Syrex Silorio and Daniel Padilla en route to their 14th overall title.
Manalili, a product of Cebu, hopes to continue making a name for himself with Ricardo guiding him.
"Gusto ko habang nagba-basketball ako siya lang ‘yung coach ko kasi siya lang ‘yung nakakaintindi sa akin. Siguro kung nasa ibang school ako, hindi ganito ‘yung maipapakita ko," he added.
(I want that as I play, he is my coach because he understands me. Perhaps if I am in other schools, I would not be like this.)
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
