The Legacy of Rolly Manlapaz

PHILIPPINE basketball has lost a great voice in Rolly Manlapaz who died at age 53 (not 58 as I previously posted earlier) due to ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

So many tributes have been posted on social media for Manlapaz who started his career as a coliseum announcer (or barker in everyday lingo) in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association in 1998.

Prior to his MBA stint, Manlapaz was a radio DJ who was known by his monikers such as Harry Nolan and Jellybean. He played New Wave on DWXB, dance music on 89 DMZ and classic hits on DZRJ FM.

When the MBA folded up, he moved to the PBA where his ad-libbing style got the ire of some PBA officials. He was even castigated for saying in public the quotient system that Talk n Text needed to win over Red Bull to make the semifinals of a PBA Invitational tournament in 2003. Manlapaz was eventually suspended but made his way back to the pro league in 2012 when Boyet Sison left for greener pastures.

Manlapaz was the barker when Gilas Pilipinas brought down South Korea to win a spot in the finals of the FIBA Asia in 2013 at the Mall of Asia Arena that sent the Philippines to the FIBA World Cup in Spain the following year. He then went back to the PBA but eventually resigned after just one game in the 2014 season due to the same differences with PBA officials.

Rolly eventually found his calling in the college leagues like UAAP and NCAA where his style was embraced even more by officials of both leagues who didn't mind his ad-libbing. He also took his act to volleyball leagues like the UAAP and the Philippine Super Liga.

Perhaps the biggest contribution that Rolly made to Philippine basketball was his penchant for giving nicknames to players. His most notable was KG to Nino Canaleta, which other PBA barkers like Mark Luzon, Rob Evangelista and Noel Zarate are still using today.

In volleyball, Manlapaz gave the moniker "Ella-vator" to former Ateneo volleyball star Ella de Jesus. Even volleyball stars like Alyssa Valdez were impressed with his style.

Other than giving nicknames, Manlapaz had such charisma in his voice that fans and even athletes looked forward to playing inspired when he was behind the mike.

Rolly was also a comics fan and he enjoyed reading both Marvel and DC comics, even watching movies from both comic superpowers.

Many of today's barkers like Mark, Rob, Noel Zarate, Noel Vilar, Edwin "Rick Stryker" Logina and Sirjay de la Cruz look to Rolly as an inspiration in their work. Even yours truly tried being a barker once and although the job is pressure-filled, it can be fun if you enjoy the game.

Thanks for your booming voice, Rolly. May the Heavens appreciate your voice Up There.