The Big J's No. 1 fan

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands, who claim they’re Robert Jaworski’s biggest fans. But of all those who insist they’re forever diehards, one man stands out for his devotion, admiration and loyalty to the Living Legend. He’s none other than retired Nestle executive Levi Castillo.

Not too many know that while he was a top corporate executive, Castillo used a pseudonym – a pen name – Federico Pangilinan just so he could write articles about Jaworski without compromising himself since he was involved in media through advertising. Castillo’s full name happens to be Levi Federico Pangilinan Castillo.

“I wrote about 30 articles about Bobby in the old ‘Scoreboard’ magazine,” said Castillo. “It was in the early ‘90s and the series was called ‘The Making of a Legend.’ I gave Bobby a complete set. We went to UE together in the ‘60s. At Nestle, he appeared in a Nescafe Master Roast TV commercial, my personal choice of course. He was my special guest at a party when I retired early from Nestle in 2000. He was then a senator.”

Castillo would’ve moved heaven and earth to be at the Smart Araneta Coliseum when Jaworski’s Barangay Ginebra No. 7 jersey was retired in a special tribute by the PBA recently. But he had an out-of-town commitment to attend a wedding.

“We were classmates in a marketing class at UE around 1964,” said Castillo. “He was in the powerful Murder Inc. team, a moniker given by the late sportswriter Tony Siddayao because they would murder the opposition. The original Murder Inc. team belonged to the Letran Knights of Lauro Mumar in the ‘50s. Bobby’s version ignited an unprecedented seven-year domination of the UAAP until the era of Rudy Kutch, Johnny Revilla and Rey Franco – the nucleus of the Crispa squad.”

Before the start of Jaworski’s jersey retirement, he asked if somewhere during the tribute, it could be mentioned that in his four years with the Warriors, the varsity won seven championships, including national inter-collegiate titles. Jaworski will always be proud of his UE roots.

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Castillo said ironically, Jaworski never wore No. 7 at UE. “Bobby started with No. 5 and ended his UE career with No. 4 as team captain,” continued Castillo. “He started donning No. 7 when he joined YCO in the MICAA after UE although he played a few games with Crispa while still at UE. Bobby immediately helped the Painters to beat Ysmael Steel for the national open crown in 1967. I hope I got all that right, at least I think I’m 95 percent accurate.”

What amazed Castillo was Jaworski’s impact on the Barangay Ginebra-Petron game that followed his jersey retirement. The Kings came back from an 11-point deficit starting the fourth period to edge the Blaze Boosters, 87-85, on Cedric Bozeman’s floater with about three seconds left. At the half, Jaworski walked up to the Kings bench and gave a pep talk to inspire them to rally from eight down after two periods. Whatever Jaworski told the players, it worked.

Jaworski’s influence is overpowering. During the recent Game 3 of the ABL finals between Indonesia and San Miguel Beer at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig, Jaworski entered the dugout to give the locals a morale boost on sports director Noli Eala’s invitation. From five points down in the half, the Beermen grabbed the lead by one in the third period and narrowly lost by two despite incredible heroics by the Warriors’ Stanley Pringle, Steve Thomas and Evan Brock. Just by his presence, the Big J almost brought a championship to San Miguel in its ABL debut season.

But before walking into the dugout, Jaworski made sure San Miguel coach Bobby Parks had finished his halftime brush-ups. He showed respect for Parks and didn’t want to interrupt the interaction. That’s ethics for you. And in his brief remarks, Jaworski only reminded the players to give it their all because this was just one game for all the marbles and there wouldn’t be a tomorrow. His message rang loud and clear in their minds.

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I sat beside Jaworski during that game and noticed how passionate he was in cheering for the home team. Whenever a San Miguel player trooped to the line for free throws, he shouted, “Take time,” meaning not to hurry taking the foul shots. Jaworski observed that one man had to be stopped for San Miguel to win – Pringle who did extreme damage on the floor. Another observation was how San Miguel’s 7-foot center Nick Fazekas wouldn’t exploit his height advantage by positioning himself in the corners to receive a kick-out for a triple instead of posting up at the low block.

When the Warriors’ lead ballooned with seven minutes to go, Jaworski wasn’t worried. “There’s lots of time to come back, no need to panic, no need to rush,” he said. “Just read the defense and attack their weakness.” Jaworski grimaced as if in pain when the Warriors big men screened off the San Miguel rebounders for guards like Jeric Canada to grab offensive boards. He winced when a shooter like Indonesia’s Filipino import Allan Salangsang got open for an uncontested three.

“Don’t give up until the last buzzer,” he yelled. And sure enough, the Beermen heard the Big J. Leo Avenido could’ve sent the game into overtime but missed a fastbreak layup as time ran out. It probably would’ve been a different outcome if the contest went into extension. As for Jaworski, he applauded San Miguel for the gallant stand – after all, making it to the finals was a feat in itself for the rookie ABL franchise. The Big J knows they’ll be back wiser and stronger with a vengeance next season. That’s Jaworski’s mantra – never say die.