Philip Manalang
| No. 18 – Ilagan Isabela Cowboys | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | MPBL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 1, 1997 |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Career information | |
| High school | NU |
| College | UE |
| PBA draft | 2020: 5th round, 50th overall pick |
| Selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–2021 | Basilan Steel/Peace Riders/Jumbo Plastic |
| 2022–2023 | Nueva Ecija Capitals/Rice Vanguards |
| 2024 | Parañaque Patriots |
| 2025–present | Ilagan Isabela Cowboys |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Philip Manalang (born March 1, 1997) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
Manalang played for the National University (NU) Bullpups in high school, before moving to the University of the East afterwards. He played for the UE Red Warriors in his college years.
Manalang entered regional basketball in 2019 as he joined the Basilan Steel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League. He then moved to the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards in 2022 for two seasons before moving to the Parañaque Patriots in 2024 and the Ilagan Isabela Cowboys in 2025.
Career
[edit]High school and college career
[edit]In high school, Manalang played for the NU Bullpups. He last played for the Bullpups during UAAP Season 77 in 2015, after which he was released by NU.[1] He then moved to the UE Red Warriors, where he would go on to play until UAAP Season 82 in 2019.[2]
Basilan Steel
[edit]After his Manalang's college career ended, he joined the regional Basilan Steel of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.[2]
On March 14, 2021, during the PBA season 46 draft, Manalang was selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the fifth round with the 50th pick.[3] He didn't get an offer from the team and thus became an unrestricted free agent.[4] As the now-Basilan Peace Riders moved to the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, so did Manalang, marking his first professional stint.[5] He then won his first league championship after Basilan won the 2021 VisMin 1st Conference.[6] Manalang then became part of the AICC Manila team that won FilBasket's Subic Championship, itself composed of Basilan Peace Riders players.[7]
Basilan was then invited to compete in the 2021 MPBL Invitational and made the finals against the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards. The game went into overtime and was tied while approaching its end. Manalang didn't score once until the final possession with 1.9 seconds remaining. He received the ball from Michael Juico and attempted a three-point shot. He made the shot and by 83–80, Basilan won the tournament. Manalang was awarded the Finals MVP nod.[8][7]
Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (2022–2023)
[edit]In 2022, he moved to the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards franchise. He first played for the team in the 2022 FilBasket Summer Championship. He later played in the 2022 MPBL season, becoming part of the 2022 Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards season. In 2022, he won two championships with Nueva Ecija.[9][10]
Parañaque Patriots (2024)
[edit]After two years with the Nueva Ecija franchise, he moved to the Parañaque Patriots for the 2024 MPBL season.[11]
Ilagan Isabela Cowboys (2025–present)
[edit]After one year in Parañaque he moved to the Expansion team Ilagan Isabela Cowboys for the following 2025 MPBL season.[12]
Career statistics
[edit]MPBL
[edit]| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Season-by-season averages
[edit]| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Basilan | 18 | 4 | 13.9 | .247 | .103 | .632 | 1.6 | 2.6 | .5 | .0 | 2.8 |
| 2022 | Nueva Ecija | 32 | 7 | 13.3 | .306 | .152 | .429 | 2.2 | 2.6 | .7 | .0 | 2.4 |
| 2023 | Nueva Ecija | 23 | 10 | 11.7 | .193 | .188 | .467 | 1.9 | 2.6 | .5 | .0 | 1.5 |
| 2024 | Parañaque | 33 | 26 | 25.9 | .295 | .191 | .528 | 3.5 | 6.2 | 1.1 | .0 | 5.3 |
References
[edit]- ^ Terrado, Reuben (April 21, 2015). "Philip Manalang gets release from NU, looks to make immediate impact with UE Red Warriors". Spin.ph. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Leongson, Randolph B. (October 30, 2019). "Hours after final match for UE, Philip Manalang begins MPBL stint with Basilan". Spin.ph. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (March 14, 2021). "Santi Santillan, Franky Johnson add depth to Rain or Shine lineup". Spin.ph. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Villanueva, Eros (March 25, 2021). "PBA releases list of 23 unrestricted rookie free agents". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ "Basilan Peace Riders eager to prove itself in VisMin Cup". SunStar Publishing Inc. July 8, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Valencia, Justin (December 31, 2021). "2021 in Review: Basilan redefines regional basketball". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ a b Panerio, Jonas N. (December 27, 2021). "Manalang savors title-clinching shot for Basilan in MPBL finals". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Leongson, Randolph (December 22, 2021). "Manalang trey at the buzzer lifts Basilan past N Ecija in MPBL Finals". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
- ^ "Nueva Ecija outlasts San Juan in OT to clinch Filbasket crown". ABS-CBN News. May 9, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ "MPBL: Nueva Ecija, San Juan go for sweep". Philstar.com. November 10, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ Times, Tiebreaker (October 22, 2024). "Underdog Parañaque overcomes odds to knock out Zamboanga-FBS in MPBL QF". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
- ^ "Debuting Ilagan Isabela, retooled Abra raise curtains on MPBL season". Spin.ph. February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 21, 2025.
External links
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