BJ Manalo: mercenary or misunderstood?

A new drama enveloped the Ateneo de Manila’s basketball program a few days ago. They lost BJ Manalo again. Then again, did they really have him, or was it part of some surreal pipe dream that seems to have enveloped the erstwhile Blue Eaglet/Green Archer’s career?

There are several versions of what happened, all unconfirmed. One version has it that Manalo had pre-conditions to joining the Blue Eagles; one rumor says it was the other way around. Yet another story suggests that the alumnus or alumni who caused Manalo to leave for De La Salle still didn’t want to see him wearing the trademark blue and white. Still one more angle put forth was that three veteran members of the team were unclear as to whether or not Manalo was returning for love of the school, love of the game, or his own selfish interests. BJ denies anything like those stories happened at all.

Last season, Manalo was poised for a breakout. In his fourth year at De La Salle, he was going to inherit Mike Cortez’s starting spot, and was doing well for their PBL team. He was surely starting for the RP team. Then he tore both the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his right knee, and had to sit out the season.

In an interview for The Basketball Show, Manalo said he was affected by his sudden lack of exposure on television and in print. He worked extremely hard to get back in shape, acquiring the services of San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra trainer and skills coach Kirk Collier, with impressive results. Through a tough, year-long plyometrics program, BJ was bigger and stronger than before.

However, the six-foot guard has never been easy to understand. He professed his love for the Ateneo, then went to their most bitter rival, De La Salle. He said he wanted, more than anything, to play UAAP basketball; then he embarks on a show business career. He is unfailingly polite in conversation, but his actions indicate a certain disrespect for established procedures and protocol. He appears humble and meek in person, but now has agents, a road manager, cordon of people around him: Team Manalo. You don’t know if he’s a lamb, or wolf in sheep’s clothing; Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde; a mercenary, or simply misunderstood. The fact that one can even doubt his true nature is unsettling.

In Friday’s exhibition game at the Blue Eagle Gym, the current Ateneo varsity had a tough time turning back the Ateneo Legends squad, not even a real team. Former Blue Eagles Olsen Racela, Wesley Gonzales, Eric Reyes, Gabby Cui and Mon Tioseco were instrumental in erasing a 19-9 deficit, and even giving the Legends a small lead early in the fourth quarter. The Blue Eagles scored a basket and two free throws to retire their elders, 66-62. Those were the only points for either team in the last four and a half minutes of the game.

Legends Racela, Gonzales and playing coaches Jojo Lastimosa and Jun Reyes concur that the Blue Eagles still have a lot of work to do to beat defending champion Far Eastern University and DLSU. The team could use one more big guard. But the question is not whether or not BJ Manalo would have made a difference, but what else coach Sandy Arespacochaga and consultant Norman Black can do to cut down on game-time jitters.

When this writer spoke with BJ Saturday, he downplayed any friction with teammates, and said he might play for the national team again, but it was ultimately in the hands of his manager, Dondon Monteverde. Unfortunately, the man who said he only wanted to play college basketball will be unable to do that at all. He is afloat on a sea of uncertainty, like a man without a country he can call home.