Silver like gold for Atoy

For PBA legend Fortunato (Atoy) Co, the silver medal shone like gold for the Philippine national basketball team at the recent FIBA-Asia Championships and if Iran had no Hamed Haddadi, Gilas would’ve captured the crown.

“It was like we won the title,” said the Fortune Cookie, now coaching Mapua in the NCAA seniors. “I don’t want to sound like I’m not nationalistic but let’s face it, pound-for-pound, we couldn’t beat Iran even if Marcus Douthit played. That’s because of Haddadi. Without Haddadi and if Douthit played, there’s no doubt we would’ve won it.”

Douthit sat out the finals because of a badly bruised and swollen leg. It was the only game he didn’t play the entire tournament. In the semifinals against South Korea, Douthit played sparingly in the first half and didn’t see action in the second. Despite his absence, Gilas managed to beat South Korea and advance to the finals.

Co said his most memorable international experience was playing for the Philippine team that took the Asian Youth crown in Manila in 1972.  The Philippines beat Chinese-Taipei, 96-62, in the finals. It was the year before Manila hosted the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships which the national team topped. In 1972, Co’s teammates were Philip Cezar, Joy Dionisio, Rey Franco, Miguel Bilbao, Ramon Fernandez, Rino Salazar, Jimmy Noblezada, Ompong Segura, Ed Carvajal, Marcelino Diputado and Norby Rivera with Fely Fajardo as coach. Korea settled for third place followed by India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia in that order.

Co’s last stint with the national team came at the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. His teammates were Rudy Soriano, Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Cezar, Abet Guidaben, Johnny Revilla, Danny Florencio, Robert Jaworski, Jimmy Mariano, Yoyong Martirez and Dave Regullano. The Philippines finished fourth behind Israel, Korea and China. At that time, Israel played in Asia – today, the country competes in Europe.

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At the 1974 Asian Games, the Philippines got off to a slow start and lost to Israel, 122-73. But the Filipinos bounced back to stun host Iran, 93-91, and China, 91-86, before bowing to the Democratic Republic of Korea, 91-89. In the semifinals, Israel repeated over the Philippines, 123-101 and in the battle for the bronze, China got back at the Filipinos, 102-89.

Co said he played in a goodwill series in New Zealand before joining the PBA in 1975, the year the professional league was created to break away from Lito Puyat and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP). Co went on to play 14 seasons in the PBA, averaging 17.3 points with Crispa, Manila Beer and Presto. He was the PBA’s MVP in 1979. Co retired from the PBA in 1988.

 Co briefly coached Crispa in the PABL and won a title in 1990 with a lineup that included Bong Hawkins, Johnny Abarrientos, Vic Pablo, Jun Jabar and Kevin Ramas. Since then, Co hadn’t coached until he was invited by Mapua alumnus and good friend Manny Sy to take over the Cardinals this season. As a rookie collegiate coach, Co said he is both a father and basketball mentor to his players.

When he played at Mapua for three years, the Cardinals never won a championship although they came close once, losing to Letran in 1970-71. A fierce rival in the NCAA was La Salle’s Lim Eng Beng. They were competitors even in high school as Co played for the Philippine Cultural High School and Beng for Chiang Kai Shek in the Chinese league.

While with the Cardinals, Co was invited by Crispa to train with the Redmanizers. “Crispa was recruiting me and once in a while, I would go to their practice to improve my skills,” said Co. “Eventually, I joined Crispa and stayed with them until the PBA.”

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Alaska import Wendell McKines’ story is an inspiration to players coming back from injury. Before his senior year at New Mexico State, he broke a bone in his left foot at practice and was ruled out for the season. He underwent surgery and rehabbed furiously to get back into shape for the 2011-12 campaign.

Like nothing happened before, McKines averaged 18.7 points and 10.7 rebounds in his final year with the varsity. He ranked No. 8 in rebounding in college hoops that season. Writer Ed Isaacson said: “Coming back from an injury is hard for a lot of players. Coming back from an injury and being better than you were before you got hurt is not very common. However, McKines did just that. One of the nation’s best rebounders before he had to redshirt his senior year due to a foot injury, McKines came back as the same great rebounder but with the added kick of being an explosive scorer. McKines finished his college career averaging a double-double and helping launch New Mexico State into the NCAA Tournament.”

In the PBA, McKines recently staged another comeback of sorts. Last Sept. 3, he was held to 13 points on 3-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line in Alaska’s 84-74 loss to Meralco. He scored only three points in the final 41 minutes. It was the lowest output of any import so far in the Governors Cup. But three days later, McKines was unstoppable as he fired 38 points on 13-of-28 from the floor and 10-of-14 from the line. He also grabbed 16 rebounds, seven offensive, and had two blocked shots in 40 minutes as Alaska beat Talk ‘N’ Text, 112-104. His comeback from a woeful showing was as remarkable as when he was reactivated after foot surgery in college.