DANDING COJUANGCO COUNSELED Purefoods governor Rene Pardo to proceed with caution.

Mang Pards had announced last Saturday during a small gathering at the executive dining room of the San Miguel Complex in Mandaluyong the good news that Purefoods cager Romel Adducul had been given the medical clearance by his physicians to return to active playing.

He informed us that Romel had finished his simultaneous chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a naso-pharyngeal malignancy and the cager had responded very well.

Romel was very eager to get back to action, according to Mang Pards, and wanted to report for practice as soon as possible. He felt his body was back in playing condition. However, his wife Jocelyn, who is a doctor, planned to take the cager to the United States to seek a second opinion from a leading oncologist there.

A kidney specialist, Jocelyn wanted to be sure her husband was fit to play before he plunges into action full blast.

“Dahan-dahan lang. Huwag niyong bibiglain. A person’s energy level is very low after undergoing drastic treatments for cancer,” said San Miguel’s top honcho. Danding knows exactly whereof he speaks. His daughter-in-law Rio Diaz had succumbed to the dreaded disease after a lengthy battle.

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After more than 10 years, we were finally able to push through with Danding’s invitation to have a reunion with the veteran sportswriters who were active during the NCC (Northern Consolidated Corporation) era when he was the country’s basketball project director.

The nostalgia dinner was set for Thursday, 8 p.m. The media group invited numbered less than l0, their ages ranging from almost senior, senior and very senior.

I’m not sure if Abante columnist Al Mendoza had purposely gone to the venue before dusk to catch the Manila sunset, but as I was getting dressed for the affair, Al called to say that he was at the moment enjoying the sunset inside his car stationed at the tree-lined parking area of the San Miguel Corporation complex.

Al said the sun was still out when he arrived there. He didn’t say if he was avoiding the traffic that’s why he came early or that he forgot that the late dinner had been set at 8.

“I should be given an early bird prize,” Al said.

In the case of People’s Journal Group editor-in-chief Gus Villanueva, he managed to make it to the dinner exactly at 8 although he arrived at the SMC compound about half an hour early.

Gus, you see, got lost in the huge SMC premises. It took about 30 minutes before he could find the right entrance to the lobby.

* * *

Except for Manila Standard’s Ronnie Nathanielsz, the cast was almost complete when the evening’s hosts Danding and Henry Cojuangco arrived.

I couldn’t tell if they still recognized the guests, whose hair had either fallen or turned white. After all, it has been more than 20 years since NCC had won the historic ABC (now Fiba-Asia) and William Jones Cup titles in the mid-80s.

Philippine Star’s Quinito Henson, Bulletin’s Ed Picson and Inquirer’s Manolo Iñigo, still recuperating from a second stroke about a year ago, came to the reunion.

Tempo’s Tito Talao, the Benjamin of the group, looked like he was having minor difficulties relating.

Philippine Star sports editor Lito Tacujan and Philippine Gazette’s Iking Gonzales were also invited to the affair but both were tied up at their respective desks closing the Olympic pages. Philippine Gazette sports editor Eddie Alinea was in the US while PDI’s Recah Trinidad was in Beijing covering the Olympics.

In addition to Danding, Henry and Mang Pards, Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen, Tommy Campos and San Miguel’s Robert Non, who organized the affair, helped entertain the guests.

* * *

Several minutes after the amenities, Danding noticed that the group was still very quiet.

I explained to the man everyone calls “boss” that after more than 20 years, the adrenalin rush of his guests must have slowed down considerably.

Or was it past most everyone’s bedtime?

At any rate, the conversation livened up a bit during dinner—very well planned if I may mention. And we started making light talk of the Olympics, the dire performance of our athletes there, the US Dream Team and how the other power teams are preparing for the basketball event in the world’s premier sporting event.

“What exactly did Danding say about how we should prepare our national team?” I called a couple of guests that night before I wrote this column to make sure that what I heard was right.

They had two conflicting quotes.

I’ll have to ask those who sat closest to Danding before I write about it in my next column.