'Sweet Lou' a late bloomer

Last Sunday, a 31-year-old undrafted player made his PBA debut with Air 21 and made a good account of himself, contributing seven points, five rebounds, three assists and no turnover in 22 solid minutes as a point guard off the bench.

“Sweet” Lou Gatumbato managed to log more minutes than Wynne Arboleda (20) and Josh Urbiztondo (six) despite playing behind both quarterbacks. He scored four of his seven points in the payoff period when the Express staged a rally to eventually scuttle Barako Bull, 82-77.

In 2004, Gatumbato was one of 46 applicants for the PBA draft. That year, Rich Alvarez was the No. 1 overall pick, followed by other first-rounders James Yap, Marc Pingris, Ranidel de Ocampo, Sonny Thoss, Denver Lopez, Erwin Sotto, Bitoy Omolon, Wesley Gonzales and Gary David.

There were 27 players drafted up to the fourth round. The last pick was Warren Ybanez. Those drafted but never got to play in the PBA were Francis Mercado, Christopher Guerrero, Theodore Hawkins, Manuel Huelar, Christopher Quimpo, Rhagnee Sinco and Eric de la Cuesta.

Among the undrafted cagers were Gatumbato, Nurjan Alfad, Alvin Pua – all of whom later made it to the PBA. Alfad, who turned 32 last month, got a call-up with Rain Or Shine last season. Pua, 32, played two games for Sta. Lucia Realty in 2007-08. By the way, the second round picks that year were Paul Artadi, Carlo Sharma, Kim Valenzuela, Nino Gelig, Willy Wilson, Mercado, Mac Cuan, Guerrero and Manny Ramos.

It took the 5-8 Gatumbato six years before finally breaking into the pros. He could be the oldest rookie ever to play in the PBA at 31 years and eight months old. Alfad was 30 when he made his debut on Oct. 21, 2009. Aris Franco was 31 and four months old when the 1990 season opened. Franco, a Lyceum standout, played 29 games for Shell in his only season as a pro. Another former Shell cager Demetrio (Tito) Antonio was 31 and three months old when the 1988 season started. Antonio suited up in only 11 games for Shell and was cut before the Third Conference.

Gatumbato earned his spurs with the College of St. Benilde varsity then paid his dues with the Iloilo Megavoltz in the MBA, the PBL and Liga Pilipinas. He never gave up on his dream to someday play in the PBA. Gatumbato finally got his chance when Air 21 assistant coach Johnny Tam invited him to practice with Marcy Arellano out of commission until early next year.

Gatumbato’s inspiring story is a reminder that in life, there is always hope for your wildest dreams to come true. With hard work and determination, nothing is impossible. In the PBA today, Gatumbato isn’t the only undrafted player in uniform. The list includes B-Meg’s Jerwin Gaco, Powerade’s Chico Lanete, Barako’s Chad Alonzo, Reed Juntilla and Dennis Daa, San Miguel Beer’s Vaughn Canta, Meralco’s Hans Thiele, Urbiztondo, Talk ‘N’ Text’s Mark Yee, Rain Or Shine’s Jonathan Uyloan and Air 21’s Erick Rodriguez.

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Only eight games and four playing days remain in the PBA Philippine Cup schedule. 

San Miguel Beer is on top of the standings with an 11-3 mark, assured of a twice-to-beat advantage in the first round of playoffs. If Talk ‘N’ Text beats Barangay Ginebra on Friday and Air 21 on Dec. 12, the Tropa ties San Miguel at 11-3 and claims the No. 1 seeding due to a higher quotient. If Ginebra defeats Talk ‘N’ Text and Rain Or Shine on Dec. 12, it ties San Miguel at 11-3 but settles for the No. 2 seeding because of an inferior quotient.

Under tournament rules, all ties will be resolved by the quotient system except for a logjam in eighth place. That’s because the last two finishers, No. 9 and No. 10, won’t advance to the playoffs, making No. 8 highly-coveted. As it turns out, No. 10 Barako (2-11) and No. 9 Powerade (3-10) are out of playoff contention because neither can reach five wins and eight teams have already won five games. That eliminates the eventuality of a playoff.

Five teams are out to avoid finishing at No. 7 or No. 8 because those that end up in the slots are hobbled by a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the first round of playoffs. Because the quotient system will be in effect in case of ties, expect every team to try to win by the largest possible margin until the end of the eliminations. In other first round playoff pairings, No. 3 plays No. 6 and No. 4 takes on No. 5 in separate best-of-three series.

Today’s games are crucial. Meralco (6-6) faces B-Meg (6-6) and Air 21 (5-7) meets Rain Or Shine (5-6). On Friday, the big game is Ginebra (9-3) against Talk ‘N’ Text (9-3). This Sunday, the doubleheader features Talk ‘N’ Text versus Air 21 and Rain Or Shine versus Ginebra. Next Wednesday, the final day of the eliminations, it will be Alaska (6-7) against Powerade and Meralco against Rain Or Shine. All remaining games are scheduled at the Araneta Coliseum.