Tommy Manotoc

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is La'O and the surname or paternal family name is Manotoc.

Tomás "Tommy" La'O Manotoc Sr. is a Filipino golfer and former basketball coach. As a basketball coach of several Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams, Manotoc won six PBA titles, including a grand slam with the fabled Crispa Redmanizers. Manotoc is the chairman emeritus of the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines (JGFP).^[1] He also served as president of the National Golf Association of the Philippines (NGAP) from 2012 to 2014.^[2][3] He occasionally writes as a sports columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and was a TV panelist for the PBA coverage from 2000 to 2002.

Tommy Manotoc

Personal information
Nationality	Filipino
Career information
College	De La Salle University
Coaching career	1977–1984; 1992; 1997–1998
Career history
As coach:
1977–1980	U/Tex Wranglers
1981–1982	San Miguel Beermen
1983–1984	Crispa Redmanizers
1992	Presto Ice Cream Kings
1997–1998	Mobiline Phone Pals
Career highlights and awards
As head coach: 6× PBA champion (1978 Open, 1980 Open, 1982 Invitational, 1983 All-Filipino, 1983 Reinforced Filipino, 1983 Open) Grand Slam champion (1983)

Early life and family

Manotoc is the son of Ricardo Manotoc^[4] and the former Nena Arguelles La'O.^[5] His father was a realtor,^[4] while his mother belonged to the prominent La'O family.^[5] Two of his uncles - Raúl Manglapus (who had married Pacita La'O, a sister of Manotoc's mother) and Eugenio López, Jr. (who had married Conchita La'O, another sister of Manotoc's mother) were prominent critics of Ferdinand Marcos.^[6]

PBA career

As head coach

Manotoc began his coaching career in 1977 with the U/Tex Wranglers in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was the Wranglers' team manager at the time when head coach Narciso Bernardo suddenly resigned after the 1977 All-Filipino Conference. Manotoc made his coaching debut during the 1977 Open Conference and immediately brought the Wranglers to a runner-up finish against Crispa, in the franchise's first finals appearance. Manotoc gave the Wranglers two PBA Open Conference championships, in 1978 and in 1980. He admitted that besting Toyota in 1980, felt like an achievement since they were down by four points with 16 seconds remaining in the fourth, but ultimately forced overtime and won.^[7]

Manotoc joined San Miguel Beer in 1981 and led the team to one PBA championship.

Manotoc joined the Crispa Redmanizers in 1983 and piloted the franchise to its second grand slam during the same season. On July 1, 1984, citing health reasons, Manotoc resigned as head coach after leading the Redmanizers to the 1984 PBA First All-Filipino Conference finals, winning over NCC, 96–94. He was to be succeeded by assistant coach Narciso Bernardo, who finished the task of capturing the title against the Gilbey's Gin Tonics.

After a long hiatus from coaching, Manotoc made a brief return to the PBA — in 1992 for the Presto Ice Cream Kings — and in 1997–1998 for the Mobiline Phone Pals.

A few decades later in June 2020, he revealed that during his championship stints as head coach of both U-Tex and Crispa, he did not charge the team, in terms of salary, and his bonuses that he had earned, were instead given to his father.^[8]

As PBA Deputy Commissioner

Manotoc briefly served as deputy commissioner of the PBA in 1985 under commissioner Mariano Yenko.

PBA Hall of Fame

Manotoc was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame on October 2, 2011.

DLSAA Sports Hall of Fame

In 2000, Manotoc was inducted into the De La Salle Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame for golf.

Personal life

Manotoc was first married to Miss International 1970 Aurora Pijuan. The couple had two children, namely Mavis and Tomas Jr. ("TJ"), a news presenter for ABS-CBN News and former sports play-by-play and color commentator on some PBA and UAAP coverages. After obtaining a divorce from Pijuan in the Dominican Republic, Manotoc married Imee Marcos, daughter of then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, on December 4, 1981.^[9][10][11] Manotoc and Marcos are now separated. Manotoc and Marcos have three children, Fernando Martín ("Borgy"), a model; Michael Ferdinand ("Mike"), a lawyer; and Matthew Joseph ("Matthew"), incumbent governor of Ilocos Norte.

References

1. Galvez, Waylon (October 24, 2022). "JGFP names Manotoc as chairman emeritus". The Manila Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
2. "Manotoc elected NGAP head, vows to boost golf development". PhilStar.com. March 24, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
3. "Tommy tinkers with tradition". Inquirer.net. January 6, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
4. Nieves Ruiz, Sonora (January 7, 1982). "Kidnapping of Marcos son-in-law shakes Philippines". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
5. Henares, Hilarion Jr. (March 28, 2018) Salvation and Damnation: Make My Day 24. ISBN 1986900142
6. Munro, Ross; Bonnett, Margie (January 25, 1982). "Her Son-in-Law Vanishes, and Questions Focus on Imelda Marcos, 'Dragon Lady' of the Philippines". People Magazine.
7. Terrado, Jonas (August 2, 2020). "Philippine Sports History: U-Tex stuns Toyota for 1980 PBA Open Conference title". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
8. Olivares, Rick (June 6, 2020). "Tommy Manotoc says he took no salary when he led Crispa to PBA Grand Slam in 1983". Philippine Star. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
9. Hollie, Pamela G. (February 10, 1982). "Marcos Son-In-Law Issues an Apology". The New York Times.
10. "Around the World; Philippine Police Search For Missing Athlete". The New York Times. January 3, 1982. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
11. "Man who eloped with Marcos daughter lost". The Age. January 2, 1982. Retrieved May 14, 2015.