I WAS nine years old when the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) made its debut. From the get-go, my parents, aunts and uncles on both sides of the family, and even some neighbors, were all Crispa Redmanizer fans.
I wasn’t that knowledgeable about sports at that age. Who is? I had begun to root for the New York Yankees because of my grandfather (who also introduced the game of baseball to me). I was already aware of my school’s sports team—the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
In fact, one of my earliest recollections of that time was trying to catch a glimpse of the games held at the old Loyola Center inside the Ateneo campus and then-star Steve Watson ruffling my hair. I knew then our coach was Baby Dalupan who coached Crispa, and there were a few Blue Eagles on the Redmanizers squad.
But I gravitated towards Toyota because of three players—Francis Arnaiz, Ramon Fernandez and Robert Jaworski.
The first ever PBA posters of their stars were also sold at the cafeteria of the Ateneo Grade School. The posters were a hit but none more so than Arnaiz who once played for the blue and white.
The posters sold for P5, which was a huge sum, but somehow I managed to get all three of the Toyota players. The posters soon adorned the walls of my bedroom along with my music heroes Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Wings, the Juan dela Cruz Band and Sampaguita among others.
It was tough being a Toyota fan then. Everyone gave me stick. Even when the Tamaraws won, I couldn’t overly celebrate because everyone still ganged up on me.
Nevertheless, it was a treat to be able to watch Toyota play in the Big Dome of which I live a few minutes’ drive away (including walking distance). The only time I would get to watch was on weekends when there was no school.
I remember that series against U-Tex in 1980, I asked my dad if he could get us tickets to the games. Since Crispa wasn’t playing, he didn’t. That fateful Game 5, I wasn’t even able to watch.
We went to watch the film The Final Countdown at Broadway Centrum. When we got out of the theater, the guards at the cinema were all glued to the radio listening to the broadcast of the game. So my parents and I—like many others—stopped to listen to the blow-by-blow account of the game’s final moments.
Like many other Toyota fans, I was stunned and heartbroken over the loss. I forgot the film that we just saw and was despondent over the loss.
Sometime later, I remember my dad bringing me ringside at the Big Dome where he introduced me to Ed Ocampo who was then the new coach of Toyota. My dad and Ed were schoolmates at the Ateneo although the latter was two years ahead of him. It was a small student body then and everyone knew each other.
What a thrill that was to see the team up close as they went about their round robin.
So I stayed a fan right up to their disbandment. Boy was I upset. Even worse, I had to choose—do I root for the team where Jaworski and Arnaiz were or the one with Fernandez? While I rooted for Gilbey’s Gin and then Ginebra, I also rooted for Beer Hausen, Tanduay and Manila Beer (not San Miguel though).
In college, I sent a long handwritten letter to Jaworski after their Game 2 loss to Manila Beer during the 1986 Reinforced Conference. Imagine my surprise that Christmas, I received not only an autographed Christmas card but also a Ginebra jacket and a basket of Christmas goodies.
And years later, I got to collaborate with Arnaiz as we put out a replica Ateneo jersey of his. That was some thrill as his Ateneo teammate and then Ateneo Sports Director Ricky Palou introduced me to him.
Then several years ago, I got to help Ramon Fernandez with some relief efforts in his capacity as Philippine Sports Commission commissioner. How cool was that? And I will be doing some projects with El Presidente soon.
And in 2016, I got acquainted with Gil Cortez with the BaliPure volleyball team and worked with them not only as media officer, but also with their team building. Since then, that friendship has only grown.
During the first year of the lockdown due to the Covid-19 virus, I got to invite about five players from Toyota to my podcast—Cortez, Emer Legaspi, Ompong Segura, Ricky Relosa and Uly Rodriguez. What a thrill that was.
While writing several chapters in Baby Dalupan’s book, the coach would often tease me when I visited him at his Loyola Grand Villas home that “it killed him every time I visited because I was a Toyota fan.”
I would also gently riposte Coach Baby by saying that I was a fan of his as an Ateneo athlete and as coach of the Blue Eagles.
Last February 18, at the Gaslight Alfresco at Don Chino Roces Avenue, I got to sit down, talk and eat with my Toyota heroes. Now about only 15 of them made it but that was beside the point. I was just thrilled.
If the 50th Anniversary Reunion brought back memories for the players, it sure did for me as a fan. I am still pinching myself so I know that I wasn’t dreaming.