Air 21 coach Bong Ramos has gone full circle in his basketball career. He played two years with the Mapua seniors under coach Charlie Badion in 1980-82 and would’ve enjoyed a longer stint as a Cardinal but was struck out of the roster due to a rule prohibiting NCAA cagers from suiting up in a commercial league. Unaware of the rule, Ramos saw action for Bank of Rizal and Mapua teammate Junel Baculi for the Army Jungle Fighters in the PABL while with the varsity, resulting in their disqualification.
Ramos went on to play for Lagerlite, ESQ Marketing and Purefoods in the PABL. In 1988, Ric-Ric Marata and Ramos were close to joining the fledgling US league International Basketball Association which set a height limit of 6-4 but the deal fell through. Instead, Ramos played over three years as the first Filipino import in Indonesia.
From Indonesia, Ramos was invited by Joel Banal to try coaching but wanted to play some more in the PABL, transformed to the PBL, until a knee injury sidelined him for good. Ramos stayed away from basketball for five years, working as a marketing man with Colours and Ivy League shoes.
Then, Banal brought Ramos back to the game as Mapua head coach. Ramos went on to call the shots for Batangas, Manila and Laguna in the MBA from 1998 to 2001 and became an assistant coach with Barangay Ginebra under Allan Caidic in the PBA in 2002. Ramos returned to Indonesia after a conference with Ginebra and worked as an expatriate coach for three years, leading Aspac-Jakarta to four league titles. In 2005, he was hired as Fed Ex head coach in the PBA but after a conference, left to join Banal’s staff with Talk ‘N’ Text. He was with the Texters for three seasons then moved back to Indonesia and the last two years, coached Brunei in the ABL.
“I owe a lot to (Air 21 chairman) Mr. (Bert) Lina,” said Ramos. “He gave me the chance to come back to the PBA. This is only my second conference as a head coach. I’m grateful to Governor Manny (Alvarez) and (team manager) Allan Gregorio for their support. It was Allan who spotted Alpha (Bangura) in Dubai. It took a while before Alpha could come over because he was waiting for the checks from his former club in Lebanon to clear. He was given his team release by FIBA because there was a breach of contract. His agent never got paid and his payments were often delayed. We’re happy with Alpha. He’s the best import in the PBA and we want him back for the Third Conference.”
Air 21 will be allowed to play a 6-4 import in the Governors Cup. Talk ‘N’ Text, San Miguel Beer, Barangay Ginebra and B-Meg will be handicapped by a 6-2 import. Aside from the Express, the other teams eligible to sign up a 6-4 import are Alaska, Rain Or Shine and Meralco. Powerade and Barako, if it reactivates, will be permitted to recruit a 6-6 import.
In his only previous stint as a PBA head coach, Ramos piloted Fed Ex to a 10-11 overall record in the 2005 Fiesta Conference. His players included Ranidel de Ocampo, Wynne Arboleda, Marc Pingris, Ren-Ren Ritualo, Gary David and import Anthony (Pig) Miller. Fed Ex lost to Purefoods, 2-1, in a best-of-three wildcard series.
An unforgettable chapter in Ramos’ career was his coaching experience at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. He piloted the Indonesian, not the Philippine, national squad. “We didn’t end up with a medal but I remember in our game against the Philippines, we were up by 20 and lost by five,” he said. “It was a strange feeling coaching against your home country but as a professional, I took it only as a job and a challenge, nothing personal.” The Philippine squad was composed of James Yap, David, Pingris, De Ocampo, Paul Artadi, Rich Alvarez, Ricky Calimag, Dennis Madrid, Richie Melencio, Erwin Sotto, Willy Wilson and Celino Cruz. Curiously, Ramos was an assistant coach under Boysie Zamar on the Philippine team that took the gold medal at the 2001 Southeast Asian Games.
Leading Air 21 to the semifinals of the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup is one of the high points in Ramos’ basketball journey.
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If the Philippines chose Group B, it will face lighter opponents from Group A in the knockout quarterfinals of the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup at the PhilSports Arena on May 28-June 5.
That’s one way of looking at things as the Philippines is expected to finish in the top four at the end of the eliminations. Group A is made up of Jordan, Malaysia, Japan, Kazakhstan or Afghanistan and the Philippines. Group B is composed of defending champion Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Syria.
Holding the ninth pick in the draw, the Philippines had the option to go to Group A or B as host nation. Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman chose Group A since Group B is loaded with big guns. The top four in each group advance to the knockout quarterfinals where No. 1 battles No. 4 and No. 2 takes on No. 3 on a crossover basis.
Toroman knows what he’s doing. More than anyone else, he appreciates the strengths and weaknesses of every team in FIBA-Asia. The unknown variable, however, is the quality of imports each team in the Champions Cup will bring over. Rules allow each entry to play two imports apiece. Lebanon and Qatar are known to sign up more than two imports each, passing off those beyond the limit as naturalized players. Smart Gilas will not exercise its option to hire two imports.
SBP deputy executive director Bernie Atienza said a decision will be made later as to whether the last place teams of Groups A and B after the eliminations will play off for ninth spot overall.
“The teams from the Middle East are expected to be favored,” said SBP executive director Sonny Barrios. “But since the Cup allows two imports per team, any team may give stiff competition. The Champions Cup will allow us to showcase the Philippines through the sport of basketball. Any event that can give our country’s image a boost would be most welcome.”