INQUIRER Sports

BASKETBALL FANS may have forgotten his name, but tall and lanky Cristobal Ramas of the fabled Ysmael Steel Admirals of the 1960s used to guard the great Carlos Loyzaga of seven-time National Open champions YCO Painters during the glory days of the Manila Industrial Commercial Athletic Association.

?I had a hard time stopping Caloy,? admitted the 6-foot-5 Ramas during a recent interview in Marilao, Bulacan. ?He is by any measure the greatest Filipino basketball player ever,? said Ramas, who is now 74.

?At 6-foot-7, Caloy enjoyed a big edge in height plus international exposure. But my coach, Enrique Crame, opted to field me against Loyzaga, without question YCO?s high-impact performer.

?Sometimes we lose, sometimes we win,? said Ramas of the Ysmael Steel-YCO blockbuster games of that golden era.

A member of the Philippine team that competed in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Ramas recalled that Loyzaga was a shoo-in to that Olympic squad but failed to make the trip after he fractured his wrist while playing softball. (Loyzaga spends his retirement days in Australia.?Ed)

Coached by Arturo ?Luli? Rius, the RP team finished 11th in the cagefest won by the United States. Making up the hard-fighting RP squad were team captain Carlos Badion, Edgardo Ocampo, Narciso Bernardo, Constancio Ortiz, Edgardo Roque, Roberto Yburan, Emilio Achacoso, Kurt Bachmann, Eduardo Pacheco, Alfonso ?Boy? Marquez, Gerry Cruz and Ramas.

Here?s how the country fared in Rome: RP defeated Spain, 84-82; Puerto Rico, 82-80; Bulgaria (by default); and Mexico, 65-64; but lost to Poland, Uruguay, Hungary and France.

Ramas was also a member of the RP team that won the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games gold. Ably mentored by Crame, the team was composed of Engracio Arazas, Manuel Jocson, Alberto Reynoso, Jose Laganson, Joselino Roa, Edgardo Roque, Roehl Nadurata, Bernardo, Bachmann, Pacheco, Cruz, Marquez, team captain Loyzaga and Ramas.

Then a student at the University of the Visayas in Cebu City, Ramas brought to Manila a fellow UV Lancer, Joaquin Rojas, who became known as the small but terrible Ysmael guard. A prized find, Rojas eventually saw action in the Olympics (1968 Mexico), Asian Games (1966 Bangkok) and several Asian Basketball Confederation (now Fiba Asia) tournaments.

On the state of local caging, Ramas said the players of yesteryear sincerely played for flag and country, unlike some of today?s cagers who, he said, seemed to lack commitment.

Ramas and his wife Lucy reside in a modest home in Pandayan, Meycauayan, Bulacan. They are blessed with four children.

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Residents of Villa Roma subdivision in Marilao were all praise for the civic-spirited University of Santo Tomas players for coming to their rescue at the height of Tropical Storm ?Ondoy.?

My nephew Jay Iñigo reported that the players, who came for a short visit, found themselves stranded by the heavy downpour and rising floodwaters. The UST players were Allen Maliksi, Soc Rivera, Martin Delfinado, Paul Ledesma, Federico Alupani and Joven Sete.

Using their stamina and height to good use, they helped carry hapless children, the elderly, furniture sets, refrigerators, TV sets and washing machines, even computer sets and important documents to higher and safer grounds.

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On behalf of my family, we extend our deepest sympathies to a longtime friend, Northern Samar Gov. Raul Daza, whose brother, Manolo, was shot to death by gunmen in the town of Rosario three days ago.