From coaches and players, tributes flow for courtside barker Rolly Manlapaz

MANILA, Philippines—“Basketball will never be the same without that voice.”

This was how Lyceum head coach Topex Robinson honored legendary public address announcer Rolly Manlapaz, whose voice has come to be a part of the collegiate basketball experience in the Philippines for more than a decade.

Manlapaz, 58, died Thursday afternoon after a four-month battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). His death was met with an outpouring of grief from the Philippine sports community, as athletes and coaches recalled how Manlapaz’s booming voice enhanced their games.

“I just love the way he calls games,” Robinson said after the Pirates demolished Arellano, 113-79, in a game that featured several highlights that Manlapaz would have surely loved to call.

“Again, basketball will never be the same without that voice, and I'm sure he will be remembered not just by the NCAA but the whole basketball of the Philippines.”

San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez, whose team hacked out an 82-75 triumph over San Sebastian, hailed Manlapaz not just as a good friend, but also a “good employee" of the NCAA.

“We’re going to miss him,” said Fernandez. “The whole team really felt bad about his loss.”

“Sayang, mami-miss namin ang mga sigaw niya sa arena, especially if he calls me Teodorico and not Boyet,” the multi-titled mentor added.

Manlapaz had a special relationship with the Filipino athletes, many of whom got their nicknames from him. Several basketball and volleyball players paid tribute to Manlapaz on Thursday, including former Ateneo ace Alyssa Valdez, who said that her own name “will never sound the same.”

One player who got his nickname from Manlapaz was Lyceum’s CJ Perez, whom the barker baptized as the “Baby Beast” during his days in San Sebastian.

“Sinigaw na lang niya biglat, nagulat na lang ako,” said Perez of the nickname, which harkened back to Calvin Abueva’s “Beast” moniker when he played for the Golden Stags.

“It's an honor na naging part siya ng mga league dito. Sobrang happy kami na nabibigyan kami ng moniker dahil sa kanya. Lumalabas ang pangalan namin dahil sa kanya,” he added.

Manlapaz’s passing was also hard on San Beda guard Robert Bolick, who had been shocked by the news. “Akala ko OK na siya eh,” he said.

Bolick still remembers how Manlapaz would call out his name during warm-ups back when he was playing for De La Salle University in the UAAP, something that used to embarrass him a bit.

“Pag lume-lay-up akong ganun, sinisigaw din niya so nahihiya tuloy ako mag-warm up. Pero nakaka-miss talaga 'yun,” he said.

Indeed, Bolick said something feels lacking in NCAA games now that Manlapaz is not the one to call out their names after every bucket.

“Nakaka-miss 'yun kasi nakakapagana mag-laro 'yun eh,” he said. Bolick recalled how Manlapaz would exclaim in awe every time he completed a particularly difficult or acrobatic lay-up.

“Dati, pag gumaganun ako, siya kaagad 'yung ‘dipsy-doo.’ Ngayon, medyo hindi na siya ganoon kasaya, nawawala,” he said. “Kahit sa UAAP, ganun din eh.”

Ultimately for the athletes, it was nothing short of an honor to have had their names called out by the iconic barker, whose love for the sport can make even a routine preseason game feel as though it was a do-or-die contest.

“Kapag tinawag niya 'yung pangalan ko, parang feeling mo, nasa NBA ka,” said Bolick. “Maganda ‘yung feeling, kapag pumasok ka sa court. Pampaganang mag-laro. As a barker, ‘yun ang trabaho niya.”

Manlapaz last called an NCAA game in Season 92, when Bolick and the Red Lions regained the men’s basketball crown.

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