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HOURS
before tip-off for Game Two of the championship for the
2008 University Athletic Association of the Philippines
(UAAP) men’s basketball tournament, the Araneta Coliseum
was already jammed to the bleachers. Not only did people
arrive early to get the good seats but they also wanted
to be on hand for the awards ceremony, where the Ateneo
De Manila Blue Eagles almost made it a clean sweep of
the individual awards.
When
Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Ateneo’s starting center, was handed
trophies for being voted as the league’s Most Improved
and Most Valuable Player (he also bagged a spot on the
Mythical Five), lost in the adulation of the Ateneo
gallery that nearly filled the entire coliseum was one
man.
On the
court, he is an imposing figure at six-foot-six. His
lean, chiseled body and the tattoos that adorn his arm
add to that fearsome reputation. But more so now since
he’s got game to back up that menacing scowl.
Carlo
Sharma, in a white shirt and baggy khaki shorts, stood
beside former collegiate foes and current Red Bull
teammates Rich Alvarez and Magnum Membrere in the patron
section. The look on Sharma’s face was a mixture of
pride and glee. He clapped his hands vociferously. When
Al-Hussaini, his half- and younger brother, made his way
to the dugout to prepare for their match against La
Salle, Sharma pointed to his brother, who returned the
gesture, which is a sign of recognition and respect.
It was
four years ago when he steered his Rabeh to his school’s
archrival, a decision Sharma never regretted. Rabeh
showed plenty of promise as a player for the Philippine
Christian University Baby Dolphins and was heavily
recruited by all the major college basketball programs,
including De La Salle. But Sharma’s falling out with his
school’s coaching staff and the hardship of latching on
to a pro team in an increasingly competitive Philippine
Basketball Association (PBA) landscape made the decision
an easy one. “Kung basketball ang pagpipilian, dalawa
lang naman ang choice mo. Pero kung sa
basketball at sa pag-aaral, alam mo naman kung saan
ang tama para sa ‘yo, ‘di ba?”
Having
said that, Sharma wishes he had an older brother to
advise him during his formative years to steer him in
the right direction. But who knew, right?
Incredibly, basketball wasn’t Carlo’s first sport as a
youngster. “Chess,” he laughed at the incredulity of the
notion. “Talaga.”
Being
the tallest student at Paco Catholic School, he was
forced to play for his school’s basketball team as a
high-school senior. “Pinilit ako pero tama lang ‘yun
kasi naging maganda ‘yung bunga ng basketball
para sa akin.”
Once he
learned the sport, Sharma, despite being a late bloomer,
soaked in everything about hoops. He even patterned his
game after then-Portland Trailblazer Rasheed Wallace
(take note, even the tattoos on Carlo’s arm).
Rabeh, a
good eight years younger, gravitated to basketball at an
earlier age but nonetheless idolized his older brother,
who led the Green Archers to a 2001 triumph over Ateneo.
The two
are close even with the disparity in age. “Lagi ko
siyang tinatawagan,” says Rabeh, who credits Carlo along
with Norman Black (as well as his teammates) for the
quantum improvement in his game.
“Kung
napansin mo ‘nung mga first years niya sa
Ateneo, laging mainitin ‘yung ulo niya,” noted
Sharma, who remembered feeling alarmed about his
brother’s temper. “Kahit hindi siya kasama sa eksena
nandun siya para mag-defend ng teammate o
kung saan ‘yung may away.”
Sharma
took aside Al-Hussaini and gave him some advice that
imprinted itself on his younger brother’s mind. “Huwag
mo akong gagayahin sa mga pagkakamali ko,” urged
Carlo. The former enforcer of the Green Archers laid out
the realities for his younger brother if he didn’t make
good on his studies and if he didn’t work harder on his
game.
Black
said that Rabeh’s skills and potential to be a big-time
player was always there. “He just needed to realize it
and to change his attitude. Once he came to that
realization, the game became easy for him.”
Carlo
also noted that this season, with better focus and an
understanding of hoops, Rabeh has raised his game by
leaps and bounds because he no longer allows others to
exploit his short fuse. “Ikaw na ngayon ang mapipikon
sa kanya.”
Sharma,
too, had an epiphany of sorts after riding the bench in
the Philippine Basketball League with ICTSI and with
Shell and Coca-Cola in the PBA. “Akala ko tapos na
‘yung career ko kahit halos hindi pa nagsisimula.
Nag-isip ako talaga kung ano ‘yung gagawin ko kung
tuluyang ma-cut sa PBA.”
In Red
Bull, where Sharma has gained a new lease on life in his
pro basketball career, he found himself teammates with a
number of old college foes like Ateneans Alvarez,
Membrere, Enrico Villanueva, Larry Fonacier and Paolo
Bugia and Cyrus Baguio of the University of Santo Tomas
Growling Tigers. Far removed from his hell-raiser days
with the Green Archers, Sharma became a locker-room
favorite for his wittiness and presence. “Carlo Sharma
is one loud boy,” laughed Alvarez when asked to describe
his teammate. “Never a dull moment.” That trust
bequeathed on him (and his teammates) by Barako coach
Yeng Guiao saw the power forward-center become a
dependable and regular part of the rotation, where he
was a candidate for last year’s Most Improved Player.
Although
Al-Hussaini is unable to watch most of Sharma’s games in
the PBA because the Blue Eagles practice in the early
evening, he makes it a point to catch Red Bull’s matches
on television. If not, he calls his brother for a recap
and to ask how he did.
Sharma,
on the other hand, tries to watch Rabeh when
permissible. It isn’t unusual to find him seated beside
his former college rivals during UAAP games, where he
normally wears white. But he makes it a point to cheer
his brother on even if it’s La Salle that Ateneo plays.
“Hindi na tinatanong ‘yun,” explained Carlo. “Kapatid
ko siya.”
After
Rabeh brought home a number of individual awards and
helped Ateneo win its fourth UAAP men’s basketball
championship with a two-game sweep of La Salle, Sharma
kidded his brother to spot for lunch or dinner. “Ha?
Ikaw ‘yung may trabaho diyan, hindi ako,” parried
Al-Hussaini.
“Kuripot,”
jokingly rebutted the beaming older brother. The
brothers now have led their respective schools to a UAAP
title.
As
youngsters, the two played ball at home whenever they
could. Sharma, because of the age and height difference,
used to beat Rabeh regularly in friendly games of
one-on-one.
But when
asked if they have yet to match up on the court now,
Sharma has the last word: “Hindi na. Baka talunin na
ako.” |
