Sporting Chance

Basketball brought former Northern Cement hotshot Arthur (Chip) Engelland and Filipino male nurse Roy Gonzales together in Chicago over three years ago.

Gonzales, 31, is a hoops fanatic. So is Engelland who's making a name for himself as Detroit Pistons star Grant Hill's shooting coach in the NBA. They met on the court of the East Bank Club, a sports complex on Hubbard and Orleans in downtown Chicago.

When Gonzales first saw Engelland at the Club, he couldn't believe his eyes. Filipinos - and Gonzales is no exception ---remember Engelland as the deadshot who lifted San Miguel Beer to a 108-100 overtime decision over the US at the 1985 Jones Cup final in Taipei. As soon as Gonzales introduced himself as a Filipino, Engelland's eyes lit up. They hit it off.

Engelland lived in Manila three years and returned to the US in 1986. He never suited up for the Philippine national team because his eligibility as a naturalized player took effect only in 1987. But Engelland played for Northern Cement and San Miguel Beer in several international competitions.

Gonzales, who was recently here for a week, said Engelland still craves for Filipino food. Before Engelland moved to Detroit to stay close to Hill, they used to drive 35 miles southwest of Chicago to eat in an authentic Filipino restaurant in Bowling Brook.

Now that Engelland gave up his Chicago apartment, he rarely sees Gonzales but they keep in touch by phone. Engelland travels the NBA circuit with Hill and the Pistons. When the Pistons played the Bulls at Chicago last month, Engelland and Gonzales had a reunion. Gonzales said he plans to join Engelland during Hill's Manila leg of an Asian tour this summer.

How close are they? Gonzales replied, "Put it this way, when I went down with an ACL injury, it was Chip who sat me on a wheelchair."

Gonzales finished his nursing studies at the University of Iloilo. During his college days, he recalled playing basketball against Boyet Fernandez in an inter-nursing school tournament in Bacolod. If he didn't pursue a nursing career, Gonzales said he would've surely played in the commercial leagues.

Gonzales, one of four children, comes from a landed family in Iloilo. His father Peter, a hacendero, died in 1990 at 49. His mother Nellie, 58, is a retired schoolteacher. After graduating in Iloilo, Gonzales went to Manila and worked two years at the Makati Medical Center. Then he went into private practice. He passed a grueling exam conducted by the Commission on Graduates for Foreign Nursing Schools here to qualify for work in the US. In 1994, Gonzales migrated to the US.

Gonzales passed the US State Board to qualify as an ICU nurse. He trained for six months at the UCLA Hospital in Los Angeles, had an interview at Cedar Sinai, and eventually landed a job at the Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. Gonzales said he was lucky that a family friend, obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Julian Archie, holds a lofty position at Rush Presbyterian.

Gonzales has made quite an impression at the transplant section of the Medical Center. He's known to be hard-working, friendly, competent and efficient. Gonzales is often tapped as the only nurse to join touring medical missions for liver and transplant operations overseas. So far, he has accompanied medical teams made up of surgeons and perfusionists in trips to Brazil, Australia, Germany and Mexico.

When he's not at the Medical Center, Gonzales is hanging out at the East Bank Club which has about 20,000 members. The Club's facilities include 18 tennis courts, two basketball courts, and eight swimming pools, including two Olympic-sized tanks. To join, a member pays a $3,000 one-time fee and monthly dues of $135. In the NBA offseason, pros like Ron Harper and Tim Hardaway sometimes play the Club.

A regular Club customer is Oprah Winfrey who works out in the gym at 5:30 each morning. The Club's hours are from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Gonzales can't forget his basketball gang in BF Homes where he used to live. Even as he's 10,000 miles away, Gonzales occasionally sends money to support BF basketball leagues for kids. And when he comes home for a visit, Gonzales never fails to organize a pick-up game with the boys.

What's his favorite Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team? "Purefoods is one because (former team manager) Monchito (Mossessgeld) is a friend and I used to send basketball books to Alvin (Patrimonio)," he said. "San Miguel is another because Hec (Calma) is a good friend, too."

Of course, the Bulls are Gonzales' favorite NBA team. He's a season's ticket holder at the United Center. His dream is for Chicago to go back to the top of the NBA -- perhaps, with Tim Duncan and Hill next year when they become free agents.

During the holidays, Gonzales hosted a dinner in his Chicago apartment for San Antonio Spurs guard Steve Kerr who hired Engelland as a shooting coach when he played for the Bulls.

"My friend Doug (Califaro) was Steve's roommate at Arizona," said Gonzales. "Since Steve was in town to play the Bulls and Doug is getting married to his girlfriend Christine, we decided to throw a party. Steve and his wife Margot came. Steve told me he doesn't miss Chicago's weather -- he prefers San Antonio's."

According to Gonzales, Kerr confided that he's frustrated at San Antonio because of his lack of playing time. But Kerr shouldn't complain -- he's got three more years in his fat contract.

As for the Spurs chances to repeat as NBA champions, Kerr said it's a 50-50 deal. "Sure, Duncan can score but Shaq (O'Neal) and Kobe (Bryant) can score, too," he added. "It'll be tough to make it back to the Finals. We'll have to get past the Lakers and Utah. I miss the (Michael) Jordan era -- it's no comparison playing with the man."