Slow start for Pinoy cagers

It hasn’t been a rousing start for two Filipino cagers in the US NCAA.

Japeth Aguilar is averaging 3.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 15.3 minutes in four games so far for Western Kentucky University, a Division I contender. He’s hitting 3-of-10 field goals (.300) and 7-of-9 free throws (.778). The consolation is the Hilltoppers won those four contests over Campbellsville State, 94-67, Kentucky State (where Billy Ray Bates and Jay-Jay Helterbrand once played), 102-52, Kennesaw State, 96-61, and Kentucky Wesleyan, 88-67.

Aguilar was the last man off the bench in each of the games, an indication that coach Darrin Horn has no major role in mind for the former Ateneo center. Worse, Aguilar didn’t even play in Western Kentucky’s last game, an 87-63 win over Murray State.

Gian Chiu is also off to a slow beginning at Oberlin College in Ohio. He was the starting center in the Yeomen’s Division III season debut and missed all seven attempts from the floor in 21 minutes. Chiu grabbed a single rebound and committed four turnovers as Oberlin lost an 81-62 decision to Swarthmore College on the road. Ryan Magiere, a rookie like Chiu, tallied 10 points for the losers.

In his second outing, Chiu started again for Oberlin but this time, played only eight minutes. He was 0-4 from the floor, snagged a rebound and had a turnover in limited time. Alas, Oberlin was trounced by Haverford College, 58-35.

The other homegrown Filipino cager enrolled in a US school, 6-11 Jericho de Guzman, is sitting out this season as a redshirt sophomore for Martin Methodist College in Tennessee.

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Tony Harris is dead. He was reportedly found with an electrical cord around his neck, hanging from a tree, in an Army training ground in Formosa, Gojas, about 50 miles east of the Brazilian capital city Brasilia last Sunday.

Harris, 37, played basketball at Washington State then saw action as an import in Brazil, Russia and Venezuela. He played three games for the Brazilian club Universo before disappearing two weeks ago.

A former South American league MVP, Harris tried to leave Brazil but his passport was held by his team. He took a taxi out of Brasilia and left the cab on foot, leaving his laptop and credit card, when he couldn’t pay the fare. It appeared that he was running away from something or someone. A team supervisor said Harris was crying and talking nonsense in his hotel room shortly before vanishing. Could he have been terrorized by a gambling or game-fixing syndicate?

It was incorrectly mentioned in wire reports that Harris had once played for the Boston Celtics. The Tony Harris who wore the Celtic green was the former University of New Orleans star and PBA import nicknamed “Hurricane.” That Harris is now 40. He scored a record 105 points for Swift in a 152-147 win over Ginebra in a PBA game in Iloilo City in 1992.

The Tony Harris who played in the PBA isn’t the Tony Harris who died in Brazil a few days back.

The list of PBA imports who have passed away includes Ronnie Thompkins, Carlos Terry, Jim Bradley, Bruce (Sky) King and Anthony Roberts.

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As an actor, recent Manila visitor and veteran boxing referee Lou Filippo of Los Angeles said he was always treated with respect by TV stars such as George Peppard and Mr. T (“A-Team”), Ricardo Montalban (“Fantasy Island”) and Bruce Willis (“Moonlighting”).

“I was lucky to get parts,” said Filippo. “But I never had a kissing scene. In the ‘Rocky’ movies, we were about 30 who auditioned for the referee’s role. About seven or eight were real referees like me. I loved working with (Sylvester) Stallone who could’ve been a boxer. He knew how to fight. In the movies, I couldn’t referee the way I did in the ring because the director tells you where to go and what to do. But it was a lot of fun.”

Filippo, 81, appeared in five “Rocky” movies. He attended the recent WBC convention at the Manila Hotel and was in town for a week.

One of Filippo’s favorite fighters was the late world featherweight champion Salvador Sanchez whom he said could’ve gone on to become the greatest Mexican fighter ever. He was killed in an automobile accident in the prime of his career.

Filippo said today’s referees are competent and measuring up to standards. He named Laurence Cole, Tony Weeks, Kenny Bayless, Jay Nady and Bruce McTavish among the top arbiters.

For aspiring referees, Filippo advised they should master the rules, do what’s right and stay in tip-top physical condition.

“I’m about 30 pounds overweight now,” he said. “But when I was active, I used to run every morning and go to the gym.”

On the proliferation of governing bodies, Filippo said he has no problem with it. “They’re just doing their job,” he said. “Everyone has a different outlook in life. I think it’s great for fighters that there are so many titles to fight for, so many chances to earn big purses and become champions. When I fought, there was only one champion in a weight class.”

Postscript: The third season of the St. Ignatius de Loyola Cup inter-school Invitational Basketball Tournament opened at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro City last Saturday. There are 27 teams playing in the grade school, high school junior varsity (14-under), high school varsity (17-under) and college men divisions. Xavier athletics director Gerry Sabal said the Loyola Cup was conceived in 2005 to assure continuity in the basketball programs of participating schools, namely Xavier, Capitol University, COC-Pharma, ACSAT, STI, Pilgrim Christian College, Southern Philippines College, Liceo de Cagayan University, St. Mary’s School, Corpus Christi, Merry Child School and Sacred Heart Montessori. Xavier college athletics coordinator John Montalvan said this year’s Cup is sanctioned by the SBP under regional head Rey Baula.