Tall Tales: Manguera and Webb

By Cristine Antonette B. Catu

Two of the tall players of head Coach Boris Aldeguer served not only as skippers of Zobel Junior Archers; they also anchored the team through victory and defeat.


Jed Bryan Rosales Manguera is definitely starting to break away from Lipa Vice Mayor Boy Manguera’s shadow.

6-foot Manguera, is slowly making a name for himself as one of the most feared defenders of Zobel in the Father Martin Cup. The junior playmaker was shifted back to the two-guard spot when he moved in La Salle Zobel varsity team after spending his grade school (Grade 1 to 5) in De La Salle Lipa and Grade 6 until 2nd year high school in La Salle Green Hills.

Being the son of La Salle’s legendary 70’s player, Manguera has quite a name to live up to. In fact, it was his dad whom he really looked up to through his entire basketball life. Thus, he wants to stretch the Manguera legacy.

He started playing basketball when he was 5 years old. Seeing the obvious talent, his then-coach invited him to join the varsity when he was in De La Salle Lipa. A veteran of tournaments such as SMAA, MMBL and MNCAA leagues, Manguera was part of La Salle’s (DLSL, Green Hills & Zobel) team that won numerous championships in the past couple of years.

Meanwhile, Joshua David Spider Webb may seem like the kind of guy who insists on speaking only English and with an American twang at that. But that’s not even close to the truth that he was raised here in the Philippines. He lived in Subic for four years, and later on moved in Manila.

Standing at 6-foot-5, Webb might as well be considered a basketball hero in his hometown. Having the height advantage, he ruled over the much shorter players in small basketball leagues. Though considerably thin and scrawny, the young Webb taught himself how to play basketball at the age 7. Playing with his friends, he realized that he could use his height to his benefit and easily discovered his natural talent.

Dominance entails confidence and Webb has already fitted in and adjusted well to the Archer system. “I was recruited by Zobel in the varsity during my freshman year [in high schoo] and I played for the UAAP. At first, it was hard for me to adjust but in my sophomore year, I was able to score more through the support of my teammates and coach,” explains Webb, who counts his co famed Green Archers Martin Reyes, Simon Atkins, Migs de Asis, Dan Salavador and David Urra as his favorite players. “They’re all my idols because they all worked hard and got where they wanted to go.”

Basketball is undoubtedly their passion but height often plays a crucial role in sports. For most sports, height is useful as it affects the leverage between muscle volume and bones towards greater speed of movement. “Its feels great to be so tall because it gives you an advantage when it comes to sports, especially in basketball. Besides tall people are very noticeable in public,” Manguera says.

Manguera revealed to Animo that he started taking up the growth-enhancing multivitamin Cherifer at the age of 12. The product tagline which says that Enhance Growth Potential instigated him to buy the innovative and leading product of INTERMED Marketing, Philippines Inc. As a result, his teammates easily noticed that he got taller.

For Webb, he regularly takes Cherifer PGM, which his mom buyss for him.

Much as sports equates to a world of record-breaking competition, both Webb and Manguera carries this reverent passion to have their team surpass the records their father or grandfather achieved all through their athletic career.

The Archers have always depended on its backcourt for those well-executed plays we see during the games. This is why the presence of a sharp yet steady 6-foot shooting guard and 6-foot-2 center is always necessary for the green-and-white squad.