INQUIRER Sports

YOU GET PLEASANT SURPRISES IN the most unexpected places.

Recently, I was about to don my headset for a PBL broadcast when former Ateneo basketball great Jimmy Alabanza tapped my shoulder and said that lawyer Ogie Narvasa had nominated me as a special awardee for the 11th induction of the Ateneo Sports Hall of Fame on Aug. 8.

Any honor given by one?s alma mater long after graduation is a delightful gift.

I was to be part of a list of special awardees that includes sports medicine expert George Canlas, MD, first Philippine Sports Commission chair Cecil Hechanova and trailblazing track star Anay Zalamea.

On that day, outstanding athletes from different eras will be inducted. These include Alex Araneta, Sep Canlas, Nonoy Chuatico and Jet Nieto of the Ateneo UAAP champion basketball teams of 1987-88; trackster and basketball player Edwin Chow; volleyball and track greats Levi Encinas and Larry Gochioco and the late Bernie Violago, a track phenom of the 60s.

I am thrilled that my picture will be placed in the gallery of sports greats alongside those I have idolized and worked with like Joe Cantada, Dick Ildefonso and Jun Bernardino. I am perhaps the only non-athlete among these broadcasters, having never played for the school.

And yet, I am grateful for the gift of sports from my school.

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It allowed me to be on the sidelines supporting or covering athletes while at the same time receiving invaluable lessons about sportsmanship and character.

In high school, I helped run the intramurals, was a cheerleader and a manager of the NCAA champion Ateneo junior volleyball team of 1973. In college, I was still a cheerleader but added sportswriting for the Guidon, the school paper.
Being on the sidelines of greatness was the next best thing to being actually on the playing field with schoolmates.
Later on, these experiences merged with lessons gained from work in public relations, advertising and production.

This led to a break and mentoring 23 years ago from Vintage Enterprises to broadcast the PBA, and from there I have covered college basketball, Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, boxing in the provinces and Philippine participation in international competitions.

My involvement in sports has given me the opportunity to share sports insights with you in this space. I get my share of delightful surprise calls and the invitation made by Inquirer sports editor Teddyvic Melendres one year ago to pen this column is definitely one of the most special.

This wonderful journey began in school.

Many of us dream of being an athlete but not everyone is physically blessed or gets the breaks. Just being where athletes are and on their playing fields is just as fulfilling.

Cheering, covering or managing your gifted schoolmates allows you to watch tons of games. Being a part of a champion high school team as a student manager gives you memories for a lifetime.

These are part of our education. It is a blessing when sports and other passions like theater, music or social work allow us to grow outside the classroom.

To my alma mater, thank you for letting me be part of chapters of your sports history, the courage to make sports a career and this honor you now give.