Congressional charity

The congressmen were sweating it out, trying to find a common ground. It was dark out, and they were tired, and it was a Friday — time to relax — but the numbers were all that mattered. People were counting on them. The need for unity and teamwork eventually prevailed, and they took off their game faces, and broke out into smiles. It became fun, and a job well done.

No, this wasn’t the national budget they were working on, the session that took them all the way to 5 a.m. the other day. It was a charity basketball game at the San Andres Gym, and the legislators, sleepless and mentally drained, were going to lend a helping hand.

This was the "Press Against Congress," a first-of-its-kind charity basketball event organized by the Coca-Cola Export Corporation to raise money for not just one, but three charities. Legislators who loved the game, out of shape or not, would put on their jerseys, lace up their sneakers, and play full-court against a team of tri-media practitioners, bannered by four members of the powerhouse team of The Philippine STAR. The winning team would get to donate P100,000 to its favorite charity; the runner-up, P 50,000. Then the combined scores of both teams would be multiplied by a certain factor and donated to the Philippine General Hospital. So now you know that defense wasn’t a priority. After all, every point could save lives.

The game got off to a raucous start, thanks to an orange-clad throng of supporters of "homecourt" hero Rep. Miles Roces of the third district of Manila, and the loudly drumming volunteer cheerleaders of De La Salle. The media men built an early lead, thanks to their size advantage and perimeter shooting. The eight-member Congress team was undermanned and tired from their duties, but more than willing to give it their all.

By halftime, the Tri-Media All-Stars held a slim five-point lead. That would all but evaporate behind the refreshing teamwork displayed by the Congressional All-Stars. Party-list representative Joel Villanueva of CIBAC (Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption), a former UST Growling Tiger, started attacking the basket and leading a fastbreak attack to give them the lead with six minutes remaining. He would finish with 28 points to lead all scorers.

Taguig’s Rep. Alan Cayetano, who regularly plays basketball with members of the House, both impressed and entertained the crowd with his penetrations and ball fakes. He added 22 points for the cause. Pasig Rep. and former pro Dodot Jaworski, meanwhile, provided the lone rebounding presence, while former television correspondent and Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla played the point and sniped away from the outside.

Eventually, though, the deeper bench of the Tri-Media All-Stars gave them an advantage, as did the game shape of The STAR’s players, who are seeing action in the on-going Philippine Advocacy League. They built a small lead in the last five minutes, and never let it go, winning the friendly contest, 98-92.

"It feels great that in sports, everybody’s equal, and the greatest thing about it is the corporate responsibility of Coca-Cola, helping the PGH, helping our charities and forging unity among us," said Cayetano. "It’s so refreshing to be working together, a common goal, and it’s not all talk. We’re sweating it out. Luckily, the media group was friendly to us."

"It’s great, because all of us crossed party lines and we’re just having fun," laughed Jaworski, a former Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagle who is considering shifting to local politics in Pasig next year. "We get to experience the camaraderie in a different light compared to what we do in Congress. We’re all enjoying, and we hope the people watching had fun, too."

"For once, we’re doing teamwork, that’s why we played well," chuckled Remulla, a long-time ABS-CBN News correspondent. "Seriously, when we play as congressmen, it’s all for fun, we want to be fit, we want to still think that we’re young. Although the next day, we remember we’re not young anymore. But the camaraderie we get here is something we can’t get in Congress."

Catch tomorrow’s episode of The Basketball Show, shot at the Porsche World Roadtour in the Expo Pilipino in Clark, Pampanga and see some of the most gorgeous cars in the world, and also see the prettiest faces watching Philippine basketball. The Basketball Show airs every Sunday at 2 p.m. over RPN 9.