‘The Voice’ of PH sports Rolly Manlapaz passes away

Manlapaz was only 58 years old when he died surrounded by his family at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM) Medical Center in Quezon City. (File Photo: Rolly Africa Manlapaz/Facebook)

Iconic Philippine voice Rolly Manlapaz, known for being the coliseum barker of University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and National Collegiate Athletic Association of the Philippines (NCAA) games in the past few years died with pneumonia after a long battle against amyotrophic lacteral sclerosis (ALS) last Thursday, September 27.

Manlapaz was only 58 years old when he died surrounded by his family at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay (UERM) Medical Center in Quezon City.

Many mourned the passing of the famous voice, with radio host Karla Aguas tweeting, “Rest in Peace Rolly. You were such a kind man. The UAAP will never be the same without you.”

Sports fan James Vitaliano also shared on Twitter, “UAAP games and announcing would never be the same again. Thank you for lending your always enthusiastic and energetic voice. RIP Sir Rolly Manlapaz.” 

Sev Sarmenta who works as a panelist for the sports industry spoke about how he also valued Rolly as a friend, posting on social media, “Did many MBA (Metropolitan Basketball Association), PBL (Philippine Basketball League), UAAP, and PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) games when Rolly Manlapaz was the barker. When he was good, he was good. When he made a mistake, he was just as good! He was not afraid to make those mistakes and call the games in a different way.”

Sarmenta also spoke about Manlapaz’s signature style saying, “Some leagues probably did not want Rolly ad-libbing too much but he had a presence you couldn’t ignore. Teased him a lot when he would get cute like simply calling out a ‘platoon substitution’ when players would be changed.”

The public first learned of Manlapaz’s sickness after his hospitalization during the Filoil Flying V preseason cup last June. Organizers of the Ateneo-La Salle and Gilas-EAC games gave a lot of the profits to his family and his medical bills.