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AWAY
from the glitz of the University Athletic Association of
the Philippines (UAAP) and the National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA), basketball isn’t all that
crap that has turned the game into a slum book for
Multiply or Facebook.
There are no pretty girls in cheerleader
outfits and pigtails to tell at the crowd they’ve got
the fever. After all, it’s only during the opening
ceremony and the finals when the stands are buzzing with
people. On regular game days, the audience is sparse,
with the few in attendance usually players from the
other team who watch for a few minutes then stretch out
on the seats and doze off. The matches are far from
yawners. They’re close and intense except that the dim
lights and stifling heat make one sleepy. They even dull
one’s senses that, sometimes, the referees or the
coaches have to call the attention of the arena utility
person to mop the sweat or water off the court.
There are, however, cheers of “defense” yet it emanates
not from the gallery but from the players on the bench
with an assistant coach or two chiming in. The other is
the ubiquitous “hooh” that is commonly used during
interbarangay games to distract free-throw shooters.
Does it work? One can only hazard a guess. But the games
are exciting that even the official timer occasionally
forgets (whether intentional is anyone’s guess, too) to
get the clock going.
Figuratively speaking, National Athletic
Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (Naascu)
is where old coaches go to die. Jimmy Mariano, Francis
Rodriguez and Adonis Tierra were once top bench
tacticians in the pros and the premier collegiate
leagues. Now? Well…they are where the television
spotlights don’t shine. The league hopes to see any of
its players make a name for themselves in the pro
leagues because it will bring honor, attention and
much-needed corporate sponsorship to Naascu.
Literally, this is where hoop dreams
live and flourish. Where kids who get buried in Team Bs
or go unnoticed keep alive their dreams of making it.
Yet, occasionally, they dream of playing if only for
another day.
Mike Cabangon is a six-foot forward for
the STI Olympians and on Friday, September 16, he played
his last game for his school team. It was only the
squad’s 16th match of the season (with at least six to
go), but league rules prohibit a player of 24 years of
age from suiting up.
And two days after that Friday game, the
clock struck 12 and Mike, now 24, was done for college.
His hopes now hinge on either finding a slot on a
Philippine Basketball League (PBL) team or trying out
with the Liga Pilipinas or some other alphabet league.
Cabangon was a high-wire act and the singular draw for
North Western Visayan College before he ventured to
Manila to try out for Cris Calilan’s Jose Rizal Heavy
Bombers. He, didn’t make the cut, but with the help of a
friend, he found his way to STI as a walk-in. After an
impressive tryout, Olympians coach Vic Ycasiano said,
“Kunin na natin bago makawala.”
The Olympians’ dugout at the Makati
Coliseum is spacious but at once unnerving. It’s almost
devoid of anything, save for a bench that you’d rather
not sit on, and it has a shower room that, well, you’d
rather not bathe in. A couple of years ago, the coliseum
hosted the Champions League and the PBL games. Now, it’s
commonly used for stag derbies and it has clearly seen
better days and for this season, the coliseum is one of
the many venues for Naascu matches.
The team’s recovery meal is in Styro
packs and it’s up to the players or the coaches when
they want to eat it. There aren’t enough assistants or
even utility persons to haul their equipment so it’s the
players themselves who bring in their food, juice drinks
and water.
In the final briefing by Ycasiano, a
former Red Cub teammate of Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric
Altamirano, he reminded the team that their opponent
that day, the league-leading San Sebastian Recoletos of
Cavite Baycats are faster, stronger and a whole lot
deeper. The Olympians aren’t the team of last year when
they won their first Naascu title. Ycasiano’s squad
features 11 rookies with only center Darryl Mendoza,
power forward Ramon Mabayo, point guard Alvin Macabasco,
small forward William Vasallo and Cabangon the holdovers
from the title-winning squad. Of the five, Macabasco and
Vasallo previously saw a lot of time on the pine yet
this year, they are expected to deliver.
The Baycats upset the Olympians in the
first round and after a difficult start, the champs have
found their groove as they hurdled from seventh place to
second behind San Sebastian. The game has many
implications because a win would give them a share of
the lead and on a smaller scale, it would be a great
parting gift for Cabangon. A team jersey is placed in
the middle of the huddle with Cabangon’s No. 9 taped on
the uniform. Ycasiano has no time for sentimentalism and
exhorted in not too many words to win for the school,
themselves, and for their teammate. The Olympians broke
the huddle with a grunt: “Effort!”
The game turns out as the STI braintrust
prophesied. The faster and more athletic Baycats burst
out of the gates and nearly run the defending champions
off the court. The Olympians’ 2-3 zone is largely
ineffective because Baycats Romelle Alcasabas, Ric
Gracilla and Mark Basa beat their slower guards off the
dribble penetration or for a spot-up three.
With 3:51 to play in the first quarter
with the score 7-13 in favor of SSC, Ycasiano inserted
Cabangon. The forward promptly lapsed into a series of
turnovers that put the team in a bigger hole. “Last game
ni Mike pero ang sama ng laro,” muttered Ycasiano to no
one in particular.
The shit then hit the fan as the Baycats
raced to a 15-point lead, 41-26, with two minutes before
the merciful halftime break. Just when everyone thought
the game was lost, the Olympians sprung back to life
anchored by the superb defense of Mendoza, strong drives
by Mabayo, and timely treys by Jay Aranzaso and Vasallo.
Ycasiano’s squad was back in the hunt and down by five
after the first 20 minutes of play, 52-57.
The coach’s voice was raspy and he
momentarily turned the reins over to assistant coach
Hubert de los Santos, who is also the head man over at
La Salle-Greenhills, for a critique on what they did
right and wrong. Ycasiano sealed the deal with a simple
instruction, “If you do what we ask of you [slow down
the game and execute their game plan which called for
quick ball movement then pounding the ball inside] we
will get back in this game and win. I promise you.”
The coach’s words weren’t lost and with
time down to 2:21 on the game clock, Cabangon skied for
an offensive board over Baycats’ center Kris Lucernas
and a putback that tied the match for the first time,
69-all. Seconds later, a William Vasallo trey gave STI
the lead for good, 76-74.
The Baycats’ coach, former San Sebastian
Stags’ hotshot Edgar Macaraya, whose claim to fame was
breaking Allan Caidic’s three-point record in college,
sued for time to draw up a final play. Macaraya called
for a pick and roll and a strong drive by Alcasabas
(both squads were in penalty at that point). Over the
Olympians’ bench, Ycasiano worked on his perimeter
defense. “Now is the best time to win. Play honest D!”
The Olympians didn’t fall for the screen and the ball
instead swung toward SSC’s John Pantonia, who was
emphatically blocked by Cabangon. STI added three more
free throws for insurance and the final margin of 79-78.
They now had the share of the lead.
Ycasiano leaned back on his seat and let
out a sigh of relief. “That was something, huh? Big win
and a big test of character.” He clapped his hands and
followed his victorious squad into the dugout.
Cabangon lingered on the court for a
moment as he accepted congratulations from the few
supporters who watched (including a pair of Far Eastern
University collegialas). “Hindi ko alam kung masaya ako
o malungkot,” he said as he slowly trudged toward the
dugout. He can’t let go. He doesn’t care whether it’s
the glitz of the top flight leagues or the anonymity of
toiling in the Naascu. He hopes to make it somewhere,
anywhere. He just wants to play. |
