Cebuano sage

MANDAUE, Cebu – The gym at the St. Louis College here is humming with activity, as close to 200 kids and teens are in the middle of an intense but enjoyable dribbling drill. Later, they will be taking turns doing lay-ups with either hand, as their workshop director walks around, softly giving encouragement and correcting their form. They listen, because it is not every day that a third-generation Cebuano basketball legend stands before them sharing his experience. So they listen, and try to absorb as much as they can.

This is what Elmer Cabahug has been up to. One of the PBA’s all-time leaders in three-point shooting, the former All-Star has been packing in a busy schedule, moving from place to place almost every week, scouring the Visayas teaching kids, and finding the next phenom for his other alma mater, the University of the Visayas (UV). He’s not looking for talent, but attitude and desire, for the will to succeed.

“It’s not a question of whether you can afford to play basketball. Show me that you want to play basketball,” says Cabahug, who led his collegiate squad to the National Inter-Collegiate title in 1984 like his father (1956) and grandfather (1938) did before him. “If I see you really want to play, I will even buy you a ball and train you myself.”

Cabahug who, like grandfather and father received the award for outstanding Cebuano basketball player, was first trained by his father from a very young age, and discovered his passion for the game. Though he found the initial challenge difficult, he never turned his back on the game. In fact, he considers it an advantage to have something in common with previous generations of the Cabahug family.

“When I was born, basketball was the calling of my life,” he told this writer. “I feel very blessed to have been part of basketball. It has brought many good things to my life and my family.”

Cabahug first played basketball in Manila in high school, as part of a selection of outstanding high schoolers. He fondly recalls how happy he was when they defeated a San Beda Red Cubs team that included future UAAP champions and PBA coaches Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric Altamirano. That gave him the idea that, maybe, he could really stick it out in Manila. The only challenge was to adapt to the style of play.

“The Cebuano style as they call it, was bara-bara. If you had the ball and you could score, you did it,” he explains. “It was later on when the style changed and became more systematic, like it was in Manila. But if you got to play in Manila, it was because you deserved it. You earned the right to make it there.”

When the core of the Philippine team (Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, Jojo Lastimosa and Glenn Capacio) was allowed to enter the PBA draft, Cabahug was asked to stay behind so as not to totally deplete the roster. So, he ended up joining what is considered probably the strongest draft in PBA history in 1989, with Rookie of the Year-MVP Benjie Paras, Bong Alvarez, and many others. He never regretted the choice.

“I always tell players, if you have the choice to go to the Philippine team, go for it, serve the country,” Cabahug elaborates. “We really should have continuity, like they had before. National players should stick it out with the national team. The PBA should not give them offers or ask them to enter the draft until they have finished their commitment.”

Elmer Cabahug remolded his game to fit where he was playing. He went from an all-around scorer to a pure shooter, to a defensive stopper, guarding even seven-time Best Import Bobby Parks. He was saddened when he was traded by Alaska to Purefoods after two years in exchange for Jojo Lastimosa. But each of them delivered his team its first championship, so it all worked out.

Today, Boy Cabahug is never far from a basketball court, assuring us that it is time to pay back to the sport that has given him so much. As long as he can, this superstar will keep his feet on the ground, staying close to those who have just discovered the wonderful game of basketball.