THERE’S nothing quite like basketball to unite a community. It’s the national sport that everyone understands and has grown up with in some way. Young boys and girls dream of playing even in the simplest of organized leagues to get a uniform and the claim that one is part of a team.
Last Sunday morning at Meralco Gym, this feeling of community was felt as former PBA players came together as one team to play a squad of public servants and personalities. The tuneup games were in preparation for an exhibition game at Smart Araneta Coliseum this Tuesday that will precede Game 2 of the UNTV Cup finals.
The PBA side represented three generations of players. Waking up early for the workout were Ronnie Magsanoc, Jerry Codiñera, Arturo Cristobal, Tito Varela, Freddie Hubalde and Yoyong Martirez. I was the saling pusa (stray cat) of the team that was just thrilled to play along with the idols I covered in the pros.
We played against broadcaster Daniel Razon, movie stars Bayani Agbayani and PJ Abellana, legislators Dave Almarinez and Sherwin Tugna and some young turks. Despite their public persona, these guys were basketball fans at heart and were just as honored to play against the PBA legends.
The pros were several years detached from their playing years but you could still see signs of their former brilliance. Having covered them, I knew exactly how each one would move and just tried to blend in.
Magsanoc still cranks up top-of-the-key threes, Cristobal can still score from the wings and Codiñera could still swat shots. Hubalde could still bank it off the board and score underneath while Martirez and Varela could still steal the ball off careless passes.
But more than the basketball, it was engaging to hear the stories from the past and the present.
Cristobal revealed that he was first called “Bay” when he was recruited for FEU. He is not really Visayan but everybody assumed he was because the nickname somehow stuck.
Martirez and Varela had stories about the trials of politics but one could sense their passion to be of public service.
The younger team of public servants put on a strong second quarter and secured the game from that point on. The pros gave one final chase in the fourth but time ran out and they fell short by six points.
The final score seemed insignificant in the scheme of things because the players were just glad to have a chance to sweat it out. The small crowd that gathered at the gym enjoyed seeing the former stars strut their stuff.
Sports can indeed be competitive and sometimes divisive but when contextualized properly, they can be an avenue for great friendships. And this maybe even more so in a basketball-crazy country like ours when there is no need to explain the simplicity and joy of the game.
The real game on Tuesday at the Big Dome may bring out the competitive juices anew but will not diminish the greater value of forging great friendships and alliances.