"Cool na cool si Danding. Ibang klase. Kalmadong-kalmado habang nag-iiyakan na ang ibang players at team officials sa ibaba," said a young scribe who covered the semifinal game between the Philippines and South Korea Saturday afternoon.
The hosts, as you all know by now, won the tightly-fought contest, 69-68, behind Lee Sang Min’s buzzer-beating triple, a shot that broke the hearts of the Filipino cagers and their millions of fans back home, and denied the PBA squad the right to face China in Monday’s finals. Cojuangco, in his gray suit, left the stands as slowly as the players left the court and was later seen walking down the lonely hallway leading to the RP dugout.
"Sanay na siya diyan. Madami nang nakita yan. He’s been in every possible situation in the past and he surely knows how to handle them," said an older scribe, a veteran of countless international meets.
The former ambassador went into the RP dugout where almost everybody cried his heart out, and stayed there just for a while, probably delivering a short message that was never to leave the room.
Some words of wisdom, probably, from the man who looked so cool, so calm, so gracious in defeat.
Moving On: Over dinner of steaks and lobsters at a downtown Outback restaurant, the Filipino cagers drowned all their frustrations following the bitter semifinal loss to South Korea last Saturday.
The small gathering, which included PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino, Elmer Yanga and the entire coaching staff, was meant to keep the team together as they prepared for the bronze medal game against Kazakhstan the following day.
"At first medyo malungkot talaga dahil nga sa sakit ng pagkatalo," said Rickie Santos, the executive assistant to the commissioner who also handles the league’s media affairs.
"Pero habang tumagal, medyo sumaya na din. Nagtatawanan na at naglolokohan sila. And it was nice to see the players that way because there’s another important game ahead," he added.
Before the dinner was over, coach Jong Uichico and American team consultant Paul Howard urged the players to leave that painful loss behind and that it was time to move on and win the bronze.
Of course, that would be better than none.
Enough Is Enough: Those who cheered on the RP basketball team from way up the stands of the Sajik Gymnasium last Saturday were clearly outnumbered, outshouted, outclapped, but never outfought.
Led by Philippine Sports Commission chairman Eric Buhain, his executive assistant Ike Buan and PSC media bureau officer Arsenic Lacson, the Filipino group which included the 35-strong RP cheering squad and some other athletes and officials no longer allowed themselves to be cowed by the venue’s security officers.
In the quarterfinal match against China last Tuesday, the RP cheering squad was prevented by the Korean officers from doing their thing during the game and was not allowed to use the drums they’d use in the previous games.
"Against South Korea, pinagbawalan na naman kami at yung drummer natin. Pulis na nga ang lumapit sa amin," said Lacson.
"Pero hindi sila umubra kay Ike. Sinigawan niya yung mga pulis. ‘This is very bad! Why are you doing this to Filipinos! Don’t do this to us!’" Lacson narrated.
"Yun natakot nga ata kay Ike. Pinayagan na din kami," he added.
Too bad, the Filipinos lost down the court, but this time, not up in the stands.