Secrets of PBA greats (Part 2)

Read Part I here

What does the Philippine Basketball Association mean to the people who helped shape it over the past four decades? Why has it been so enduring and successful despite the proliferation of different entertainment platforms, the access to the Worldwide Web, and the eventual retirement of succeeding generations of its heroes? The STAR asked those who have been part of its inevitable triumph over all forms of adversity, within the playing court, and beyond it. Their answers have been emotional, thought-provoking and affirming.

“The PBA for the Filipino people for the past 40 years, this is for them breakfast, lunch and dinner,” says Abe King, founder of the PBA Legends Foundation and now living in Washington state. This is a part of their lives, you know. Part of their daily conversations inside the home. If the PBA would disappear, it would really add to the sadness in their lives. It takes them away from their troubles and makes so many Filipino citizens happy.

“I think it’s a venue or an avenue for the Filipino people to escape what’s going on around them you know,” adds King’s former teammate and league pioneer Francis Arnaiz. “It’s two hours that they can lose themselves, put their selves in the game. I’m truly grateful that, for the sport, that short span of time I was able to do something I really loved and give joy and happiness.”

For many of those involved with the PBA, it represents the daily battle for survival, and how even a small vicarious taste of winning can fire people up to go on.

“Basketball to me is a struggle,” says Air21 owner Bert Lina. “You keep on, you have to keep on dreaming to attain what we want to.”

“To fight back is what the Filipinos like,” adds Globalport team owner Mikee Romero. “Their ability to come back from being beaten.”

For the most part, everyone lays tribute to the fans, who are the league’s lifeblood. The cover of this year’s PBA annual is, in fact, a wide shot of the record-setting PBA crowd from last season, a fitting accolade to those who have been loyal to the league.

“When the players go out and play, they must give their all, because that’s what the fans want to see,” says champion player and coach Norman Black, one of the few individuals who have been involved with the PBA for over 30 years.

“I think if our fane weren’t there, the PBA wouldn’t be here,” says Hector Calma, who played with and for Black at San Miguel Beer. “I think if you want to watch the best basketball in the world, it’s here in the PBA.”

And because of all that support, many players have been able to better their lives, fulfill their passions and earn a good living.

“That is what has been big help in my life,” says Cebuano Ironman Manny Paner, who played center in the league’s early days at a mere 6’2”. “I was able to raise my children, I was able to send my children to school.”

“It became my passion, became my hobby, became my sport,” declares two-time MVP Benjie Paras, who himself battled giant Fil-Ams in winning his second trophy in 1999. “So I guess it’s everything to me, basketball.”

And because of the richness of that experience, many retired players look back with fondness on their years in the league.

“So that is the most memorable and most historic thing that you can tell your children when time passes,” shares 1996 MVP Johnny Abarrientos, who fought stereotypes against shortness his entire life. “Once, you were part of the PBA and left some memories.”

“I think the PBA is a blessing to the Filipino people because it has given a lot of life lessons to people,” sums up fellow STAR columnist Quinito Henson, who has been covering PBA games for decades. “I think it has given a lot of enjoyment and excitement to the fans. And I think it has earned its rightful place in the history not only of Philippine sports but in the history of our country.”

Lastly, the values that being in the league teach are indelible and lasting, as the Living Legend himself confirms.

“It’s because of basketall that I am, you know, fortunately what I am, and for that I will be forever grateful,” says former senator Robert Jaworski. “Hopefully this will rub off with the citizenry, where they say yes, I can also do it. Yes, I lost yesterday, but today I’m gonna do better. If you make that a motto in life, then ... H.O.P.E. will continue to burn. And that is the very essence of life.”

Amen to that.