Ali says EASL will enhance PBA

Former PBA star Ali Peek welcomed the other day the pro league’s participation as a partner in the East Asia Super League (EASL) which is launching its inaugural season with eight teams from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Greater China vying for a $1 million first prize in October next year. “It will open opportunities for our players to showcase their skills not just in one league and in one country but globally and make the leagues in East Asia closer,” said the 17-year PBA pro during the EASL Clubhouse Room chat. “Teams will improve with the level of competition.”

Peek, 46, was introduced to Asian basketball while playing for his alma mater St. Mary’s College as the US entry in the 1994 Jones Cup. “I was curious and wanted to know what it was like playing in another country,” he said. “Taipei wasn’t as developed as it is today. I wanted to experience the culture but our main thing was to play and win the championship which we did.”

Peek said he’d heard about the PBA in 1987 when he was 12 playing junior high school. “I was told by my grandfather’s friends there was this PBA star regarded like a god, (Robert) Jaworski,” he recalled. “My family from my Filipina mom’s side knew all about the PBA, that it was a physical league, that sometimes coins were thrown into the court if the fans didn’t like the calls. Like every kid growing up, my dream was to play in the NBA. I loved Magic Johnson and in the early 1980s, we were a Laker family. I used to wear out VHS tapes of NBA games, watching film over and over. At 13, I played basketball everywhere, biking to different parks. Then, I tried out for my high school team and I realized the organized game was not like the park game. My Hart high school coach was Greg Herrick and I had grown to 6-3, 6-4, 250 to 260 pounds. USC even tried to recruit me for football but I went to St. Mary’s for college, the first D-1 recruit from Hart. I played three years at St. Mary’s but didn’t get along with my coach Ernie Kent. When I was the big man’s coach at St. Benilde, I told myself I’d never be like coach Kent. I’d never scream at my players because on the court, they’d be thinking of not getting embarrassed instead of staying focused on improving.”

In his senior year, Peek suffered a microfracture in his knee and doctors said he had a 50-50 chance of playing like he used to. “I thought of joining the military but I wanted to play so I worked on rehabbing my knee,” he said. “Then my high school coach’s friend Maury Hanks put me in touch with Filipino player agent Bobby Rius who told me I could play in the PBA as a local if I got well. So I went over, played in the PBL and was later drafted by Pop Cola in the first round in 1998 behind Danny Ildefonso and Noy Castillo. I was tested as a rookie. I took elbows to the jaw, my head, they grabbed my arms and crotch. Jay Mendoza, Terry Saldaña and Benny Cheng put me to the test. I never backed off but I never retaliated. I learned how to take it and just played my game, We’re all friends now and I’m grateful that they pushed me hard, Giving up was never an option for me. My dad was my biggest critic and I remember in high school, when I scored 40 points, he’d tell me why didn’t I score 50, when I had three dunks, he’d tell me why not 10? It’s how I got better.”

Peek admitted in his early PBA years, he was a wild party-goer. Then his life was transformed in 2011. “I had poison in my system and I paid for it,” he said. “I betrayed my career. I began to get heart palpitations, I had three knee operations and strained my calf muscle. I didn’t take care of my body. I eventually found myself, God gave me a wake-up call and I told myself if I didn’t shape up, if I didn’t live up to expectations, I wouldn't last long in the PBA. My transformation came with TNT when I worked with Harvey Carey, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag and Jared Dillinger. I did extra work, went to the weight room and knew if I didn’t keep up, I’d get left behind, that this wasn’t a cakewalk. It’s what I advise Fil-foreigners when they come, to adapt and adjust, learn the culture, respect the people, open up to fans, know the language and come prepared to work hard.”

Peek retired in 2014 with six PBA championships, a Sportsmanship award and a Best Player of the Conference trophy. He lives in Manila with his girlfriend and their four children, a goddaughter who’s 16, a stepdaughter who’s 15, a son who’s three and a daughter who’s one. He’s weighing options whether to stay in town or move to the US but for now, he’s enjoying work as a TV basketball analyst, a job which he said is “intimidating” because he’s making mistakes, learning on the job and aware there are so many articulate and knowledgeable commentators out there.