Celebrating the Lions’ den

Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Chairman Jun Cabalan led a delegation from the pro league to toast the inauguration of the St. Placid Sports Center at the San Beda College campus on Mendiola last Friday.

The visit to the Red Lions’ den was significant as it took a year to finish the P56 Million Sports Center and as Fr. Tarsy Narciso, Abbot of Our Lady of Montserrat, intimated, over 40 years to materialize since conceptualization.

Apparently, a plan to construct a state-of-the-art sports facility–such as what was just inaugurated–was scuttled in 1957 because of a government proposal to expropriate part of the Mendiola property for an infrastructure project. The eventuality of expropriation shelved the plan indefinitely.

But after the government took up about 800 square meters of space from San Beda for the LRT railway a few years ago, the plan was revived. Fr. Narciso asked prominent alumnus Pinggoy Manosa to draft the architectural blueprints that finally led to turning every red-blooded Lion’s dream into reality. In a sense, the St. Placid Sports Center was more than 40 years in the making.

Today, the sports building stands proudly in the heart of the Mendiola campus. It has two wooden basketball courts, both with the capacity to accommodate about 1,000 spectators. One court has four backboards, two of which are ceiling-mounted for practice purposes. The other court has lines for badminton and volleyball.

The wooden floors–costing some P3.5 Million for each court–were imported from Germany and Russian technicians planed in to install the panels. The FIBA (International Basketball Federation) backboards came from Germany.

San Beda athletic moderator Fr. Bede Hechanova said when the Sports Center was newly constructed, the Russian technicians were driven to a frenzy by students who would barge onto the courts wearing leather shoes.

"Of course, the kids were excited," related Fr. Hechanova. "I told the technicians to understand the situation. I didn’t want to be so strict at the start because I wanted the students to feel that the facility is theirs to use. Eventually, I’ll issue guidelines. But my idea was to open the Sports Center for all, to make the kids feel welcome. Now, we’ve got students playing their intramural games there, employees playing their inter-department games there, and our varsity teams practicing there."

The excitement was justified. Where the Sports Center now stands used to be laid out three basketball courts–two had cement flooring and one, parquet–and a tennis court, nothing elaborate. The Sports Center is a dramatic transformation from rags to riches.

Cabalan attended the morning inauguration rites with Purefoods assistant coach Ronnie Magsanoc, San Miguel Beer star Danny Seigle, and Tender Juicy Hot Dogs players Alvin Patrimonio, Kerby Raymundo, Billy Mamaril, and Rey Evangelista.

Also at the rites were former Bedan Mike Advani who played four years in the PBA, coach Joe Lipa who described the Sports Center as "an excellent practice facility, very player-friendly," BEST founder and former national coach Nic Jorge and his wife Marilyn (the couple is celebrating BEST’s 25th anniversary next year), Filipino-Indian Basketball League Commissioner Dilip Budhrani, legendary San Beda cager Tata Carranceja, Eddie Pacheco of the Philippine Sports Commission, Joaqui Preysler of the Philippine Football Federation, San Beda Sports Hall of Fame shooter Enrique Beech, San Beda junior varsity coach Ato Badolato, and San Beda senior varsity coach Jonathan Reyes.

Fr. Narciso and Rector-President Fr. Anscar Chupungco cut the ribbon to formally open the doors of the Sports Center. Several games were held that day to highlight the celebration. The national youth squad faced the San Beda juniors in the featured match.

Fr. Narciso said the transformation on campus has just begun. His next project is rehabilitating the swimming pool which was constructed in 1968. And he’s thinking of laying out tennis courts on the parking lot beside the Sports Center. Fr. Narciso was also instrumental in raising the funds for the Sports Center in San Beda’s affiliate school, St. Benedict College, in Alabang Hills.

San Beda’s legacy in sports is well-known. It has produced such pre-war basketball stars as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (who led San Beda over powerhouse University of Santo Tomas to the 1936 National Open title)–Charlie Borck, Jesus Marzan, Angel de la Paz and Antonio Carillo–Manoli and Freddie Zerboulakous, Manuel Vistan, Jesus Gallegos, Antonio Raquiza, Arturo Rius, Juanito Buenaflor, George Young, Cady Tanquintic, Harry Leyden and Jesus Suarez.

Other cage luminaries who wore the Bedan colors were Caloy Loyzaga, Tony Genato, Pocholo Martinez, Rafael Barretto, Pons Saldana, Bonnie Carbonell, Willie Sotelo, Jose Banggoy, Cesar Jota, Rafael ("Last Three Seconds") Alberto, Meliton Santos, Mariano Santos, Edward Dee, Gopal Singh, Doy Escober, Louie Brill, Frankie Lim, Ralph Rivera, Dindo Pumaren, Eric Altamirano, RenRen Ritualo, Rensy Bajar, Jenkins Mesina, Chito and Joey Loyzaga, Joey Mendoza, Boybits Victoria, Benjie Paras, L.A. Tenorio, and Magnum Membrere.

Badolato, the multi-titled juniors coach, is primarily responsible for developing San Beda’s star cagers today. A confirmed bachelor, he lives only for San Beda and its highly-regarded high school basketball program. Badolato even pays the tuition, out of his own pocket, for players who don’t qualify for scholarships.

"Ateneo should give Ato a plaque of appreciation," said Preysler, "because four of their senior players today came from Ato’s juniors team in San Beda." University of the Philippines also benefited from Ato’s development program as San Beda high school stars like Paras, Magsanoc, and Mendoza went on to play for the Maroons in the seniors league.

Last month, the initial batch of the San Beda Sports Hall of Fame was enshrined. The honorees were Loyzaga, Borck, Beech, Rius, Ildefonso Tronqued of football, Ramon Aldea of archery, and lifetime honorary World Chess Federation president Florencio Campomanes.