Yugos love it here

Of the three foreign teams that competed in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Samsung Invitational Champion-ships, Fash Yugoslavia was by far the most colorful.

The Yugos were–and still are–the talk of the town. During the course of the competitions, there were rumors of European-looking giants roaming the streets of Malate until the wee hours. What about reports that some Yugo players wore absolutely no underwear at practice? No supporters. No briefs. Talk about getting ready for action. If a strong wind happened to blow the shorts up, imagine the ecstasy of the PBA’s gay fans. And is it true that when a TV cameraman knocked on the door of a Yugo team official’s hotel room one lazy afternoon for an interview, a girl in scant clothing welcomed him in?

And what about the spectacle of the Yugos turning impromptu traffic cops on Roxas Boulevard one morning when their van ran out of gas moving up a flyover on the way to practice? The players were on the street, motioning to motorists to stay clear of their van–parked in the middle of the flyover–while the bus driver ran to the nearest gasoline station for a can of fuel.

Although the Yugos played their last game last Sunday, they’re not leaving the country until Thursday. Tonight, they’ll be in Magalang for a dinner hosted by long-time Philippine resident Steve Hidosan who’s from Croatia. Steve is married to a Filipina-Chinese and has lived in Pampanga the last 13 years or so. He breeds and trains canine bomb sniffers and prepares the tastiest and most delicious lechon—using his own special recipe—in the country. Even President Arroyo has savored his lechon, boasts Steve.

The Yugos will lounge around in Subic for more rest and recreation before taking the flight back home.

Yugoslavia’s honorary consul to the Philippines Jack Rodriguez, a prominent businessman who once played for La Salle in the seniors collegiate league, facilitated the team’s participation in the PBA. Lamoiyan Corp., owned by Cecilio Pedro, sponsored the Yugos here. The Yugos wore the purple-and-gold Los Angeles Lakers colors of Lamoiyan’s latest product Fash, a liquid detergent.

My good pal and golfer Emy Arcilla sat on the Yugos’ bench as Lamoiyan’s representative. He also sat on the bench of the Hapee Toothpaste national team sponsored by Lamoiyan during the Governors Cup last season.

Steve said Yugoslavian team manager Djorde Podgornik assembled a squad made up of players from different clubs. Before arriving here, the team had never played under coach Dragan Kecojevic who used to call the shots for the Austrian national quintet.

So it wasn’t surprising that in the Yugos’ first PBA game, they looked absolutely awful and shamefully disorganized. FedEx massacred the Yugos, 98-81, as the visitors compiled a PBA-record 45 turnovers. In their second game, the Yugos shot a dismal 35.6 percent from the floor and lost a 110-89 decision to Talk ‘N’ Text.

Wearing their Fash jerseys for the first time from start to finish, the Yugos played tough in dropping a 103-93 verdict to Red Bull in their third outing last Friday. They had unveiled the Fash uniforms in the second half of their previous game against the Phone Pals.

Slowly but surely, the Yugos began to play as a team. The jelling became evident game after game as Kecojevic worked on their chemistry.

Last Sunday, Fash Yugoslavia brought down Yonsei University, 100-88, to emerge the only foreign entry with a win in the Invitationals.

"If they played more games, I’m sure they would’ve picked up more wins–even over PBA teams," said PBA Commissioner Noli Eala. "You saw how they got better as the tournament went on. They told me they want to come back next year. With this experience behind them, they promised to be much more competitive."

Podgornik, who is from Novi Sad in the united republic of Serbia and Montenegro, recruited several stars for the Manila trip. Playmaker Slobodan Subasic, 24, is a Yugo Division I veteran. Igor Beljanski, 25, played two years for Chaminade University–the same Hawaii school that produced Fil-Am cagers Will Antonio and Willie Pearson–and is coming off a stint in the French league. Mihajlo Delic, 25, suited up for Norfolk State University–alma mater of PBA pioneer import Cisco Oliver. Seven-foot Bojan Popovic, 20, averaged 15.8 points for the University of Belgrade varsity that won the European Universities Championship this year.

Podgornik, 46, said he considers the Philippines his second country. He lived in Las Piñas with his Filipina wife Normita Arpon of Caloocan City for two years before deciding to settle in Novi Sad in 1994.

Podgornik said he met his wife while she was on a tour in Novi Sad. "It was love at first view," he recalled. "I courted her for two weeks then we got married. The courtship wasn’t too short. My parents got married after they knew each other for only 21 days and they’ve stayed together now for 65 years. My wife and I have been married for 17 years and we have a 13-year-old daughter Joann. There are about 25 Filipinas married to Yugoslavians in Serbia and Montenegro."

On his third trip here, Podgornik said he’s been a basketball fan for years. In 1980, he accompanied the Yugoslavian team that captured the gold medal at the Moscow Olympics. The national lineup included Drazen Dalipagic, Dragan Kicanovic and Kresimir Cosic. He singled out Vlade Divac as Yugoslavia’s greatest player ever with Drazen Petrovic and the legendary Cosic, a Hall of Famer, close behind. One of the country’s best cagers today is Dejan Bodiroga who earns over $1 Million a year playing for Barcelona, noted Podgornik.

"Yugoslavia is the world champion in basketball," said Podgornik. "There is no special secret to our success. We love the sport like Filipinos. Schools play basketball and we arrange the children to play at an early age. We are creative in our approach to the game."

Podgornik, who exports fruits—apples, pears and many more, without chemicals, of course—from his hometown to different European countries, said the Yugos would’ve played more competitively in the PBA with more preparation. "It took us some time to adjust," he explained. "There’s the time difference. The climate is different and the rules are different." You could almost hear Podgornik declare that the results will be different, too, next time around.