Glenn McDonald’s happy return

It had been over 20 years since Glenn McDonald had been back in the Philippines. This time, he joyfully returned to attend the wedding of Ilocos Norte Vice Gov. Matthew Manotoc. Matt is the son of McDonald’s dear friend and former U/Tex coach Tommy Manotoc.

Glenn first caught attention after coming off the bench and saving Game 5 of the 1976 NBA Finals for the Boston Celtics in triple overtime. The Celtics won the title following that emotional win. Next, the 6’5” forward played in Sweden, when a trusted friend told him about the Philippines. He had never heard about the country, but was invited to come over and check it out.

“And then you get here, and there’s a hoop on a telephone pole, anything,” the Long Beach State alum recalls. “When I got here, all that I experienced was truthful. And they understand the game of basketball. It’s not like they just cheer.”

McDonald prides himself on being part of the Wranglers squad, the only team to beat Crispa and Toyota in a championship series. After four years of playing, he ended up coaching U/Tex. He never complained about the physicality of the PBA in that era, which frustrated the league’s bruisers, who gave up trying to get into his head. Besides, he knew his teammates would rush to protect him.

After his PBA career, he was named to the Long Beach State Hall of Fame in 1988. Inevitably, Glenn returned to the US, and joined famed Los Angeles Lakers sixth man Michael Cooper on the coaching staff of the LA Sparks. He returned to Long Beach and ran their intramurals program. He has nothing but fond memories of the Philippines, including strong friendships of more than half a century.

“It’s so hard to describe how everything was,” he explains. “For them to just grasp hold of me as an individual, you know, you have people walk up to you. Those are the kinds of things you saw in the States with the Magic Johnsons, the Dr. Js, and here I am over here and it’s happening to me. You can only respect these people.”

Having played at the highest level and live a basketball life for over 60 years, Glenn firmly believes without a doubt that Filipinos can and will make it into the NBA. It’s just a matter of getting the attention of league scouts.

“Just keep pushing,” insists McDonald, now 73. “I know the talent’s here. There are definitely talented people here. It’s just getting people from the States here to see that there are players here who can definitely get into the league. It’s just more knowledge of what’s going on here. They know about China and every place else.”

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