By: Joaquin Cortez
Titing Manalili returned from a two-game absence and played through a lingering right wrist injury, but Letran’s struggles from the free-throw line proved too costly against San Beda.
Manalili delivered an all-around performance in his first game back, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and six steals. However, his efforts were not enough as Colegio de San Juan de Letran fell to the defending champions, 74-65, in overtime on Monday in their first meeting since last season’s finals.
Adding to Letran’s woes, the returning guard struggled at the charity stripe, converting just one of his seven attempts. The Knights as a team went just 11-of-27 from the free-throw line for a 40.7 percent clip.
“’Yung effort namin, talagang nagkulang kami, lalo na sa rebounding and ’yung free throw namin,” Manalili said.
“Balikan lang namin sa ensayo kung ano ’yung nangyari.”
The Knights were also outrebounded by San Beda, 52-38, as their inability to capitalize on free-throw opportunities and secure possessions on the glass ultimately allowed the game to slip away in overtime.
Letran also had to contend with the noise from the Red Lions crowd in the second half, particularly during free throws, as the San Beda Red Corps, the school’s cheerleading team, spun large red-and-black discs behind the basket in an attempt to disrupt the Knights.
However, Manalili refused to blame the distraction for their struggles.
“Hindi naman. Talagang missed free throws lang. Need lang namin mag-extra,” the 22-year-old sophomore said.
The loss marked Letran’s second straight defeat after the Knights split their two games without Manalili, beating Emilio Aguinaldo College before suffering their first loss of the season against Arellano University.
For Manalili, returning to the court came with its own challenge as he continued to play through the wrist injury that had sidelined him for the previous two games.
“Siyempre, mahirap eh. Masakit talaga siya. Sabi nila four to six weeks [ang recovery] bago mag-100 percent,” the 6-foot floor general from Cebu said.
“Pero wala, kailangan ko ’yun at kailangan ako ng team. Ginawa ko rin ’to para sa team lalo na sa Letran. Ayoko rin makita ’yung team na matalo. So, wala akong magawa at kailangan kong i-laro. Kung anong puwedeng iinom para mawala ’yung pain, iinomin ko,” he added.
Manalili, however, stressed that he was not rushing his return simply because Letran was facing the defending champions.
“Di naman,” he said when asked if he forced himself back onto the court.
“Kung kaya ko naman talaga, lalaro ako.”
With the Knights looking to snap their two-game skid, Manalili kept his answer short and simple when asked what they need to fix moving forward.
“Decision-making,” he said.
