Titing Manalili only suffered four losses in his two-year high school career with the Squires, making defeats tough to stomach for the Letran rookie.
That’s why when the Knights dropped their first three games to start their NCAA Season 101 campaign, the 6-foot-1 point guard took it personally, even blaming himself at times for their woeful 0-3 start.
"Sa amin naman sa team, kinakausap ko sila kasi nu’ng juniors pa lang ako, matalo man ako isa o dalawang beses lang," Manalili said as the Knights finally broke through with an 84-80 win against EAC on Saturday.
"Sinabihan ko lang sila na talagang hard-loser lang ako, sana makuha din nila ‘yung attitude na ‘yun."
Manalili was used to winning in the junior ranks.
In Season 98, he and the Squires had an 8-1 card to end the eliminations and went on winning all three games in the playoffs—semifinals against Mapua and finals against Benilde-LSGH—to hoist the title.
The Squires completed a title repeat the following season, despite losing two games in the elimination round and one match in the best-of-three finals series against the Perpetual ALTAs.
But in his first three games in the seniors division, the Knights nearly matched those four defeats as they fell to JRU, San Beda, and Benilde for an early 0-3 start.
Manalili admitted it felt strange to see himself on the losing end, but said that’s just how life goes.
"Hindi talaga ako sanay na matalo kasi ‘yung talo na ‘yan, nadaanan ko na ‘yan sa buhay. Kaya ayun, ayoko nang balikan ‘yun," Manalili told GMA News Online.
"Every time na matatalo kami, sinisisi ko ‘yung sarili ko kaya bumoses na talaga ako kasi hindi ko na talaga kaya. Gabi-gabi kahit nagce-cellphone ako, pumapasok pa rin sa utak ko. Parang napapanaginipan ko na rin."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
