Hear him roar!
With the lull that followed the ending of UAAP Season 74, I turned my attention to the other league – the oldest one there is in the Philippines: the NCAA. More specifically, I turned my attention to the San Beda Red Lions. Apart from Ateneo, this was that one other collegiate basketball team I followed. It cannot be helped since San Beda and Ateneo were the truest rivals in the sense of the word. Even before De La Salle University dumped a truckload of fried chicken at Ateneo’s past campus in Padre Faura, the Blue and White constantly battled for basketball supremacy against the Red and White of Mendiola. They have to thank one man this season though. And he may not be who you’re thinking, just a hint.
Even if I’m still young, I know of the glory days of the Big Difference, Caloy Loyzaga donning the red and white and the title of Lion King among his teammates. Of course it would be senseless to dwell in the past at the moment since the Red Lion, like the Blue Eagle, is king of its own respective throne in recent years. But this would not be possible perhaps, if one guy did not pan out in all his years of stay. Yes, as much as the program has done so well in the recruitment ground hauling in the likes of the Semerads, homegrown Amer, Superman Su, Big Daddy Dave, the Pascual and Pascual law firm, Dela Rosa, it still ends up to a gunner. The Gunner as a matter of fact. I’m pretty sure the Bedans who are reading this know the guy I am talking about. But for the others, I’ll share some memories to help you with.
Four years ago, turning the channel to watch some basketball, I came upon an NCAA match that featured San Beda. I have long forgotten who their opponent is but I am aware that they were the champions, it was Sam Ekwe’s second playing year as well as Borgie Hermida. It was the last tour of duty for Pong Escobal and Yousif Aljamal and I was wondering who will replace them at that time. Ogie Menor was a potent thrid option and there was a rather lanky rookie who could shoot the ball.
The rookie wasn’t reed-thin to begin with, as most rookies are. He already had the build for a rugged guard-forward. He also had a familiar last name. It was before I found out that his older brother was a PBL MVP and starred for the Lyceum Pirates in his college heydays, like Gary David. As I watched him play spot minutes at first, I already saw what he can be, make no mistake. I told myself, this guy is going to be big for the Red Lions in the years to come. Other colleges would be drawing up plans to stop him, not the foreign student athletes they will be able to recruit. Coaches would have a single name chalked up on that dugout board, written in bold capital letters to emphasize what their team have to do. The name? Garvo Lanete.
Call it falling in love with his game as it may. For it surely is. And I cannot describe it any further as it is tough to do. Rookie mistakes aside, he provided the shooting the Red Lions need from their bench in his first year. He showed flashes of brilliance that may well have escaped “analysts”. He rebounded the ball better than any guard I saw at his level. He knows when to pull the trigger, or stave it off and save it for later. He was a diamond in the rough so to speak. And boy what a diamond it has turned out after four years.
Fast forward to now, Garvo Lanete is in his fifth and final year playing as a Red Lion. For all I know, he hasn’t been suspended or played dirty. A true gentleman. I would have the pleasure of sitting down with him for an interview, but that would have to wait for a few years, when he’s making a name for himself in the professional ranks that is. Not only that, other teams boast of big guns. There’s San Sebastian with their Pinatubo Trio, St. Benilde with Carlo Lastimosa, Letran’s Kevin Alas, Jam Cortes and Mark Cruz, and so on. But no team can boast of a Big Gun. As Tony Stark said to James Rhodes in Iron Man 2, “You may have the big gun, but you are not THE Big Gun.” And hark, San Beda haters and fans alike, San Beda boasts of a Big Gun. A surefire superstar who wills them to victory in close games, leads by example and still has a humble demeanor.
Much has changed in the years since that fateful match I got to witness. As much as the defense of the team hinged on Sam Ekwe, Sudan Daniel, Dave Marcelo and the Pascuals, the offense has been coming from a consistent source since the graduation of Aljamal, Escobal and Menor. Gabo, as they like to call him, had his numbers rocket to a point where the sole purpose of having a Sam or a Sudan is to get the rebounds and turn trash into gold. The offense runs through Lanete however you look at it. This team just passes first into the post before eventually having the ball in the hands of the guy wearing 13 since ladies and gentlemen who love basketball, that is a basic part of the game. I’ve said long ago, when the game is close and San Beda has the leather, Sudan would not ask for the ball to score. Or Sam for that matter in his last year. They would ask the ball to set up the Big Gun. They both know that wherever Garvo Lanete goes, so does San Beda. As much as Borgie Hermida was heralded for running things perfectly, he also knew that the big shot would come from Lanete, without a doubt.
People should open their eyes. Gabo has been killing the other teams because they whine too much about foreign student athletes who do the dirty work their stars and other role players do not like to do. Take the two games with San Sebastian this past week. He tallied 20 points and 27 points, respectively. And that big three last Friday? That was the killer. That was the statement. There’s no other guard-forward better in the nation right now than Gabo. Ronald Pascual? He got locked down. Who locked him down? Oh the one tasked to do that was Gabo as far as I know. But wait, Gabo also scored 27 and the game-winner. Whether he came off screens, posted his man up and faded away, that sweet looking J did not fail. Manny Pangilinan, please hand him a Gilas jersey already. I would be greatly disappointed if he doesn’t.
The mighty Red Lion King feasted on venison and wants more. He wants to graduate with another ring on his finger. I’m sure he wants to give back to a community who has welcomed him as a rookie. And as much as the other Lions have roared throughout that game last Friday, when Gabo hit that quarter court three, the roar of the Red Lion King was the loudest of them all. A mighty roar of defiance that the championship will still be theirs.
And Gabo, if you are reading this, make me a prophet. Heck, make me look like a genius for sticking it out with you.
