Playing with Wesley

Wesley Gonzales is an interviewer’s dream. Or nightmare, depending on your state of mind and frame of reference. He’ll answer every question you throw at him, no matter how personal, profound or profane, but his answers are not necessarily printable, or believable. The proverbial grain of salt comes up to a dash and a half with Wesley, but you don’t really mind, because he’ll crack you up every 15 seconds, and he is one of the nicest guys around.

A change in schedule necessitated urgent late night text messages asking Wesley to please find time in his schedule to squeeze in the taping session the next day for the new culture magazine show "Trip Ni John", which premieres on ABC-5 on Sunday, April 18 at 11 p.m. Expectedly, he does not answer, since he keeps a very strict schedule, including early bedtimes.

By the next afternoon with still no word from Wesley, show host John Silva, director Maan Hontiveros and the rest of the crew are already on panic mode, setting up Plan B (a special taping the following week) when Wesley sends a message that he is on his way, straight from his weight lifting work-out ("I didn’t take a bath, is that okay" is the other part of his message). You can’t help but love the guy.

The show matches up basketball and ballet, to find out the similarities and differences between two seemingly disparate disciplines. Six-foot-four Wesley is paired up against five-foot-two Ruben de Dios of Ballet Philippines; they go through a series of warm-up stretches and exercises that are, it turns out, the same preparatory steps for both.

Next comes the showdown: across the length of the rehearsal studio at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Wesley, ball in hand, executes a basketball routine: dribble, fake, pivot, drive. Ruben follows with a dancer’s take on the basketball sequence: pointed feet, perfect turn-out, but the ball would have fallen out of bounds for sure.

On the run back, Ruben does a sequence of steps: leaps, turns, a mid-air spin. Wesley interprets the moves in hardcourt language: Baryshnikov he’s not, but he keeps the ball in play.

The showdown goes on for several turns, the moves of both participants getting more and more complicated as one tries to show the other up. At one point, Ruben executes a powerful jump with a turn, legs opening up into a perfect split. For a moment Wesley is stunned, then he makes his winning move: he turns to the audience, flashes a boyish grin, scratches his head and asks, "Ha? Paano ba yun?" Everybody loves Wesley.

He was the darling of the college crowd, part of the team that won for Ateneo the UAAP championship after a long, long wait. His boyish good looks and easy charm also make him the darling of colegialas and giggling high school girls–and even doting mothers.

An Ateneo boy since prep (he’ll throw you off by saying he studied in Assumption, and wait for your jaw to drop before he says, "Just kidding!"), Wesley finished a Management Information Systems course (although–again–he’ll first tell you it’s Pre-divinity he studied).

Basketball came into play in the later grade school years, where he showed enough promise to attract the attention of the high school coach. He says his growth spurt happened around high school, so varsity basketball was almost inevitable. With the likes of Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez, Jec Chia and Larry Fonacier on the team, the championship trophy was destined to be theirs. Wesley readily admits that that victory is the high point of his hardcourt career–so far.

He committed his life to basketball when he submitted his name for the professional draft early this year. Despite his credentials, Wesley admits that "I didn’t know if I was going to be drafted by any team, or if ever I was going to get drafted, who would get me." He was picked up by FedEx in the much-publicized draft, and made a delayed entrance to the pro PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) league with a championship in the PBL (Philippine Basketball League), again teaming up with his fellow Ateneo players to pull a come-from-behind win.

The fellowship of the eagles is now scattered, the boys now playing with different teams and in different leagues. Our interview takes place on the eve of the much-awaited encounter between Wesley, playing for FedEx, and bosom buddy Rich Alvarez, playing for Shell. We ask if he would be guarding his friend. "Most probably," he answers.

"Pagbibigyan mo ba (Will you cut him some slack)?" we ask.

"No," he laughs, then adds, "That’s not the question. Ang tanong, pagbibigyan ba n’ya ako (The question is, will he cut me some slack)?" The two friends did not face off in action on the court that day. FedEx won the game.

Wesley readily admits that the PBA is–pardon the pun–quite a different ball game. "The guys are bigger. They’re taller. You go up against 6’8" guys, 6’9" guys. They’re really big. Strong. Very experienced," he says. "They’re not that fast actually, but they’re really strong... I’m fast for my height, but they can easily bump me and get me off balance. That’s the technique to offset a fast guy."

A hyper-thyroid condition is the reason for his lanky frame, but Wesley is bulking up with a serious regime of diet and exercise, particularly weights. He keeps to a very tight schedule of daily morning practise, work-out, a game on some days and more practise on others. He candidly describes his routine as "play basketball, go home, rest, sleep early". He adds, without complaining, "We’re not allowed to go out..." But he does get to hang out with his girlfriend–yes, ladies, he deos have a girlfriend–and watch movies or even go to the mall.

This jock pulls quite a few surprises. He admits he "likes shoes", explaining, "Basketball shoes I only have five. I used to have eleven pairs. I have five black shoes, leather shoes. Then I have four originals...Adidas originals, old style. Yesterday I bought shoes; they were on sale eh. Ang ganda."

An enormous team-issued sports bag contains, among other things, what he calls his "kikay kit" of toiletries, including an assortment of powder and a Johnson’s Kids Top-to-Toe body wash. He also carries around a turbo-inhaler in case one of his friends gets an asthma attack. Today his bag is weighted down with two large tubs of nutritional supplements, part of his bulking up regimen. He explains that he got the sales clerk to give him a P30 discount on them because he didn’t have enough money–which also means, he sheepishly admits, he didn’t have money to pay the parking fee either.

The interview ends with Wesley chowing down on pizza and showing off pink painted toenails, the reason for which, he tells you with a straight face, is that he got his car washed. When he obliged by pointing his feet like a dancer, showing off a nicely arched foot, everyone in the artistic office cheered. Wesley has very obviously won everyone over, hands–and feet–down.