Dream come true

For San Miguel Beer team manager Robert Non, his job is a dream come true. Non, 48, has been a San Miguel Corp. employee since 1976 and is in his third season with the Beermen. Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that someday, he would sit on the bench of his favorite Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team.

Non’s most memorable moment with the Beermen came during the 2001 All-Filipino Cup. "That was my first championship experience," he recalled. "I used to be a manager of our team in the inter-department tournament kaya sanay ako sa pagaalaga ng player but not in the magnitude of the PBA. When we won the title, at first, ‘di ko alam kung anong gagawin ko. But I learned to adjust. Masarap hawakan ang San Miguel team kasi professional from top to bottom. Walang problema at minimal ang supervision."

Non said the team’s professionalism is due to the example of top management. "Kanya ang mga player at coaching staff very professional, kasi nakikita nila ang professionalism ng top management sa San Miguel," he continued. "From the Chairman (Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco) to the Vice Chairman and President (Ramon Ang) to Mr. Cojuangco’s brother Boss Henry. The support from top management is solid kaya we’re all trying our best."

To illustrate, Non pointed out that Ambassador Cojuangco and his wife drove over four hours from Bacolod to watch San Miguel’s game against Shell in Dumaguete last Saturday. Then, they drove back to Bacolod after the contest.

Before the season began, Non said a team-building session in Tagaytay set the players and coaching staff on the right track. Injured stars Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle participated in the overnight exercise.

"It helped us a lot," said Non. "The team promised not only to be good but to be the best. Because of our injured players, the rest of the guys committed to step up. Kung ano ang kulang, sila na ang pupuno. Each player wrote down his commitments for the year. Coach Jong (Uichico) collected the papers and put them in individual folders. He’ll review the commitments periodically with the players to check if they’re keeping their word or not. Some of the commitments? An example is never coming late for practice."

Last year was particularly challenging for San Miguel because Uichico was lent to the national team along with Olsen Racela, Dondon Hontiveros, Ildefonso, and Seigle. The Beermen qualified for the semis in each of the three conferences but never bagged a title in compiling a 26-23 record from 43-27 the previous season.

To gear up for this season, Uichico fine-tuned the San Miguel lineup and brought in rookies Marlon Legaspi, Arnold Calo, and Billy Moody. Struck out were Alvin Castro (to Alaska), Jun Carmona, Art de la Cruz (now a full-time assistant coach), Dwight Lago (to concentrate on business), Mike Mustre (drafted to play for the San Miguel South squad), and Onie Padilla (relegated to practice player status with Isagani Malindog).

Legaspi and Calo, teammates in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), came in from this year’s draft. Legaspi, 25, was the PBL’s 2000 Rookie of the Year. The 6-5, 200-pound forward is from Sto. Tomas, Pampanga. Calo, 26, is a 6-3, 170-pound guard from Cebu.

Moody, 24, was Purefoods’ fourth round pick in the 2001 draft. The 6-1 free agent guard from Letran accompanied a friend, Rendell Delarea of Jose Rizal University, to a San Miguel tryout and wound up getting a job.

"It was the day before the draft and Billy showed up at practice," recounted Non. "He was impressive. He was initially offered a contract as a practice player. Then, there was room in our lineup because of the injuries of the two Dannys. So Billy was taken in. Mabait siya. He recently asked me for advice on what business to get involved in so he can give back to his mother-in-law who has helped his family a lot."

Non said Ildefonso’s season debut in Dumaguete was perfectly timed. "Kulang sa malalaking player ang Shell kanya hindi bugbog si Danny I sa laro," he explained. "As for Danny S, ang bilis ng kanyang recovery. Right now, he’s shooting a little bit but still not jumping. Maybe, by the third week of April, he’ll begin practicing. Baka, end of April or early May, he’ll be ready to play."

Ildefonso compiled nine points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes as a starter last Saturday. Seigle, who sat on the bench in Dumaguete, said he can’t wait to get back into action. His reaction to Ildefonso’s return? "I’m envious," he sighed.

Non said the Dumaguete game featured a sidelight involving Hontiveros.

"The players left Manila for Dumaguete last Thursday and I was scheduled to leave the next day," related Non. "Late Thursday night, Dondon phoned me from Dumaguete asking a favor. Kung pwede ko raw ibitbit yung sapatos niyang naiwanan when I arrive on Friday. Sabi ko, on one condition–that he scores 20 points against Shell. Quits kami if he scores 20 but if he doesn’t, he’ll get fined."

As it turned out, Hontiveros was 10 short of 20 points entering the fourth period and had to work double time. With 35 ticks to go, he had already scored 18 and was on the line for two shots. He missed one. In the dying seconds, Hontiveros was fouled again and finally hit 20 to escape Non’s fine.

When the national team visited Sondrio, Italy, last year, Hontiveros had a similar experience. He got down from the team bus to play in a game only to later realize in the dressing room, he left his basketball shoes in the bus. Luckily, someone found the bus driver outside the stadium and brought the shoes to Hontiveros before the game started.

Non said he enjoys playing basketball but confessed his knees aren’t what they used to be. He played a quarter for the PBA team with Chairman Jun Cabalan, Commissioner Noli Eala, and Ginebra team manager Ira Maniquis, among others, in a game against the Bulletin recently. "Wala ako sa kondisyon," he admitted.

But Non said he’s getting back in shape. He’s jogging again and he hopes to play in San Miguel’s coming inter-department league. I wonder if Non wrote down what he plans to accomplish and if his coach also keeps an individual file of his players.

Postscript. Olsen Racela accompanied his mother to Dumaguete for a visit during San Miguel’s out-of-town assignment last weekend. His mother is a good friend of Dumaguete City Mayor Agustin Perdices. Racela’s in-laws (the Puey family) are from Bacolod and his wife’s relatives drove to the Negros Oriental capital to watch the San Miguel-Shell game ... Shell rookie Roland Tubid’s mother took a boat ride from Iloilo to Dumaguete to cheer for her son. Tubid didn’t disappoint his mother as he scored 16 points but alas, Shell lost an 89-81 decision ... Negros Oriental Rep. Emilio (Dodo) Macias welcomed Ambassador and Mrs. Cojuangco and the PBA group to the Lamberto Macias Sports Center which was constructed in 1991-92 to the tune of P30 Million. Macias, 69, studied at Silliman High School and took up medicine at the University of the Philippines. He coached the Medicine team to two UP intramural titles. Macias was a resident at the Philippine General Hospital and returned to practice in Dumaguete in 1962. He was a Constitutional Convention delegate in 1971 and elected Vice Governor in 1980. Macias worked as Undersecretary of Health in 1985-86 and was voted Governor in 1988. In Negros Oriental, Macias works closely with political allies Gov. George Arnaiz and Perdices. They’re known as the MAP (Macias, Arnaiz, Perdices). Macias, incidentally, is a Los Angeles Lakers fan.