'El Presidente' Ramon Fernandez hopes Gilas can relive magic of 1973

MANILA, Philippines – Ramon Fernandez was one of the few members of the legendary 1973 Philippine team who were present during the FIBA-Asia draw last Thursday.

They were honored with a plaque of recognition for winning the country's last ABC crown 40 years ago.  

Fernandez clutched the plaque of recognition like it was 1973 all over again.   

The wrinkles on his face indicate that he had been to countless battles.  But of all the battles he had won, it was the 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation, the forerunner of the FIBA-Asia tournament, remains to be the sweetest victory for the man known in Philippine basketball folklore as “El Presidente.”

At 59, Fernandez may be too old to remember the details of their 1973 ABC championship run but the feeling of winning it at home with the Philippine flag waving from the stands is something he will never forget.

It was his proudest moment as a basketball player.

“For me, I always consider playing for the national team as the culmination of my dream,” Fernandez said. “Playing in the PBA was just an icing on the cake.”

Fernandez went on to play in the PBA two years after that ABC gold medal run. He won a record four Most Valuable Player awards and 19 PBA titles including the 1989 Grandslam year with San Miguel Beer that cemented his spot in the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of all time.

Considered as the player, who revolutionized the center position in the local play, Fernandez is hoping that the new generation of Philippine national team – Gilas Pilipinas – could recapture the magic of 1973.

Fernandez, who is now based in Cebu, stressed that team chemistry is the biggest weapon Gilas Pilipinas should have come August.

“I hope the team would be able to jell considering that they know, more or less, each other,” he said. “I hope the preparation would be enough.”

Fernandez said that the international game has remained the same.

“Basically, it is still the same – running, passing and shooting. The training, perhaps, has changed. The competition has definitely improved,” Fernandez explained.  

He lamented the fact that the today’s preparation is shorter compared before.  

“We had a long preparation back then. I would remember the early morning jogging at the Rizal Memorial Stadium,” said Fernandez, who was one of the three centers of that fabled squad.  The other two were Alberto “Big Boy” Reynoso and his would-be PBA rival Abet Guidaben.

Aside from Reynoso and Guidaben, Fernandez also had Bogs Adornado, who went on to become the most outstanding player during that championship run.  The other members of the team were Robert Jaworski, Manny Paner, Francis Aranaiz, Jimmy Mariano, Yoyong Martirez, Tembong Melencio, David Regullano and Ricardo Cleofas.  

The late national coach Tito Eduque was able to bond the team into one special unit in about six months to make up for the bronze and silver medal finishes of the previous national teams in the last two editions of the ABC championship prior to the country’s 1973 hosting. 

And it proved to be the most memorable one as it marked the last time the Filipinos ruled the event.  

The 1973 Philippine team toyed with the oppositions starting off with a 133-55 rout of Pakistan in the opening day. 

What followed was an incredible run winning over India (109-73), Indonesia (108-77), Singapore (130-49) and China (88-81).  In the next round, they racked up four more wins against Iran (88-80), Japan (89-68), a repeat win over China (101-64) and India (110-84) before capping off the title romp with a 90-78 conquest of South Korea led by legendary Shin Dong Pa in the finals.

“When we won the 1973 ABC, the team was kept intact for the 1974 world championships in Puerto Rico,” Fernandez said. “We had quite a preparation.”

But their preparation could only land them 13^th in the World Championships in 1974 won by the Soviet Union.  But nonetheless, Fernandez considers his stint in the national team as the crowning glory of his storied basketball career.

Forty years later, the Asian cagefest returns to the Philippines.

With the new generation of national team players too young to have watched that epic 1973 run, Fernandez could only hope that the Gilas boys would enjoy their own proudest moment of their basketball careers in August.