Goodbye, Abu Dhabi

We cannot deny that, for many Filipinos, earning a living overseas is an alluring prospect. Millions of Filipinos leap at the opportunity, staking their life savings and leaving their loved ones to become laborers and skilled professionals thousands of miles away. Few ever get the opportunity to return right away.

Alex Ricalde was originally from Batangas, and saw the chance to improve the life of his family in Abu Dhabi. So he transplanted his young family to the Middle East eight years ago, starting up a business while his wife worked as a nurse.

One of the family passions was basketball, and they devoured any news or videotapes of Filipino players, and drove for hours for any remote chance to watch them live. Most intense was their only son, Ian, a hulking 6’3" 16-year old. Ian played center in the IFSAM (Inter-Filipino School Athletic Meet), and suited up in other commercial leagues, where his teams would regularly emerge champion.

"I wanted to play basketball, more so since God gave me the height for it," the younger Ricalde told The STAR. "But I wanted to get a good foundation. In Abu Dhabi, we only got what we’d watch on cable, so I’d do those in my games, but I was never sure if it was right."

Ian’s favorite program is The Basketball Show, carried internationally over ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel. The segment he liked the most was "Basketball Basics," an instructional portion then sponsored by Selecta and hosted by Beaujing Acot, head coach of Benedictine International School’s basketball team.

As luck would have it, Acot accompanied a local commercial team to a tournament in Dubai earlier this year. Ian nagged his father to make the long trip. Little did he know that fate would step in.

"I recognized coach Beaujing, but had a hard time remembering where," Ian recalls. Then I remembered it was on The Basketball Show, so I wanted to meet him."

Acot, also a scout for the RP-Cebuana Lhuillier team, was surprised at the recognition.

"At first, I didn’t know if I should bring Ian back with me," Acot explains. "It was going to be a big challenge for him, and he would be alone. But I saw that he was very serious."

Acot recruited Ricalde for the B.I.S. Tigersharks, and Ricalde said a bittersweet goodbye to Abu Dhabi and hello to Quezon City.

"We’re very, very proud, because of the fact that he’s a very good boy, not just a good athlete," admits Joan Bondoc, a board member of B.I.S. No complaints from his teachers. Plus this is the first time in the history of the Philippines that a high school student was recruited to play this way."

Ricalde now lives in the school dorm, and works his tail off on the court, in the weights room and in the classroom. His toughest drill, though, is boxing out his loneliness.

"It’s hard," he admits. "But I will manage. This is for me and my family. I’m very happy to have my dream of playing basketball in the Philippines. I intend to finish my studies, then play in higher leagues."

In the past two years. The Tigersharks have done very well, always finishing in the top three in their tournaments, even in the tough NCRAA. This year, though, they are rebuilding, due to the loss of center Junjun Tanuan to graduation and point guard Mikey Victorino to San Beda high school. But hopes are high that their Abu Dhabi Jabbar will take them to the Promised Land.

More on Ian Ricalde on The Basketball Show at 3 p.m. on ABC 5.