TJ Manotoc: Easy leap from hardcourt to TV

The good things in life often don’t come via well-laid-out plans. They come in surprise packages, making you whoop in delight when you least expect them.

Ask TJ Manotoc. He started out as a fresh La Salle Marketing graduate looking for ways to augment his meager pay as basketball coach of the school’s high school team. Then came an opening to host the MBA (Metropolitan Basketball Association) games on ABS-CBN. TJ applied, and got the job. But he was not meant to stay for long.

Opportunity came knocking three months after. Viva’s Vic del Rosario was looking for fresh, young faces to host the PBA games which the company was producing with Vintage Productions.

The well-scrubbed, promising TJ was right for the role. He hosted the games with Paolo Trillo on IBC 13 for the next three years.

Joining mainstream TV was easy from there. TJ, by then well-versed on the language of hosting, appeared on GMA 7’s Unang Hirit when Ryan Agoncillo left the morning show in 2001. And then, when Ryan left Unang Hirit for ABS-CBN, TJ didn’t waste time applying for the post. It was not until months after that the ABS-CBN people called — not for TJ, but for his brother, Borgy Manotoc. Still, TJ thought the call was providential.

"I gathered all my guts and asked pointblank, ‘May I audition there?’ "TJ recalls.

He has stayed put in the network, where he is segment host of the daily Magandang Umaga Pilipinas and Connie Sison’s co-host in TFC’s (The Filipino Channel) Kuwentong Disyerto.

"I’m so grateful to GMA, of course," says TJ. "But ABS has given my career more direction. It gave me what I’ve always wanted: adventure with sports."

Now, TJ is on a roll. His schedule is packed from sun-up to sundown. The lucky guy is getting what he has always wanted, and in record time at that.

As bonus, he even gets to peek at his mom, Miss International Aurora Pijuan’s glamorous world whenever he hosts beauty pageants. TJ stood tall and proud beside his mom onstage when he hosted the Bb. Pilipinas ruby anniversary celebration. The loving mother hugged her son out of sheer joy at seeing where he is now.

And where TJ is now is where he always wanted to be.

"Sure, I love sports and I grew up with it (after all, his father happens to be top golfer Tommy Manotoc)," says TJ. "But I don’t want to get stereotyped in sportscasting. I know of many people who hosted sports shows for four to five years and ended up getting boxed in that field alone. Nothing happened to them after that."

In contrast, things are literally and figuratively jumping for TJ. He hops from place to place as host of the travel segment Trip ni TJ on Magandang Umaga Pilipinas. He handles the lighter side of OFW concerns, like events in the Middle East, in the community billboard segment of Kuwentong Disyerto (Saturdays, 11 p.m. to 12 midnight on ANC and live on TFC-Middle East with a live telecast at 9 a.m.., Saudi time, 10 a.m., Dubai time and 8 a.m., Gulf time, with a primetime telecast at 9:45 p.m., Saudi time, 10:45 p.m., Dubai time and 8:45 p.m., Gulf time).

TJ also makes life lighter for hardworking OFWs by giving birthday greetings from their loved ones in the Philippines.

Connie Sison, the more seasoned host when it comes to news and public affairs (she hosts Special Assignment), handles the heavier stuff. Business As Usual explores the business opportunities where OFWs can invest their hard-earned money. OFW Helpline is an interactive public service segment where OFWs can text in their concerns on benefits, welfare and labor. Bayanihan sa Middle East features the camaraderie of Mideast Filipino organizations and how they affect the lives of their kababayans in the region positively.

Kabayani features day-to-day triumphs and heroic deeds of OFWs in the Mideast. D’Pinoy Connection guides OFWs about what they have to know when returning and staying in the Philippines. Kumustahan sa Gitnang Silangan is a reunion on air for OFWs and their loved ones in the Philippines.

A new segment, Pinoy Update informs OFWs about the latest trends in the country, like new words such as "krung krung" and "chika."

Especially touching, relates Connie, was an episode on bigamy where an OFW asked Kuwento ng Disyerto guest, lawyer Katrina Legarda about a nagging problem.

The OFW broke down, a sign of how grave the situation has turned out to be. That episode, adds Connie, drew a lot of inquiries and reactions from viewers.

TJ is learning a lot from the interaction, too. Someday, he dreams of going to the Middle East to see and assess the situation for himself.

Meanwhile, he wants to explore all avenues of broadcasting as much as he can. Then, he wants to return to his first love: sports, but with a slight twist. TJ wants to host a sports talk show five to eight years hence. He knows it’s not the most highly-paid job there is. But what the heck. That’s what TJ enjoys most. In the long run, that’s what really counts the most.