Sporting Chance

SAN FRANCISCO -- For Roland (Prince) Kua Jr., watching the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game -- live and in the flesh -- is a fantasy come true. He's scared to pinch himself -- he'd hate to wake up and find out being here is just a dream.

Kua, 21, bought 40 copies of The STAR and sent in as many entries to the 5-week NBA contest that picked a winner to attend the All-Star Weekend in the Bay Area. Thousands of coupons flooded The STAR's dropbox. Kua's entry for Week Three (Question: Who was the first NBA rookie to start in an All-Star Game? Answer: Kobe Bryant) was picked.

Kua's prize was a king's ransom. Round-trip plane tickets from Manila to San Francisco and back for two. Four-night accommodations for two at the five-star Renaissance Parc 55 Hotel in downtown San Francisco. $250 pocket money. Tickets for two to the All-Star Weekend events. And loads of NBA merchandise to take home.

Kua, the eldest of four children, didn't think twice in choosing his father Roland Sr., 44, to accompany him in his first trip to the US. Kua, a Perpetual Help student, helps out in the family's 20-year-old glass and aluminum business. The Kuas are from Bacoor. Father and son got their US visas last Wednesday. They left for the US that same day.

When Prince read in The STAR his entry was picked, he was flabbergasted. It was like a dream come true. Prince estimated he's invested over P50,000 in NBA merchandise like trading cards, books, and apparel. On the wall of his room is a 4 by 5 foot montage of Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman trading cards. He likes playing the game but it's been difficult running up and down the court lately. Prince, who's a 5-7 bleached blond, has ballooned to 325 pounds -- he said his first hobby is eating.

On their first day here, the Kuas went on a shopping spree, spending some P50,000. Prince got himself a pair of Reebok's Allen Iverson signature sneakers.

The NBA brought in 50 winners and their companions from 20 countries.

I took a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to San Francisco last Thursday. As usual, the ride was smooth and the service was excellent. You can't go wrong with PAL. Also on the flight were sports agent Bobby Rius, the Seigle brothers (they were headed to Pennsylvania to attend their sister Merly's wedding this weekend -- Andy and Danny will be back in Manila on Tuesday), and former La Salle cager Arnel Manosca who migrated to the US in 1984.

Manosca, 36, played on three Ateneo junior NCAA title teams. At La Salle, he saw action on five championship squads and was once an MVP. The stocky 5-10 swingman was hailed as a future Robert Jaworski -- he played like his idol -- until an ACL tear in his right knee ended his career in college. Among his La Salle teammates were Tonichi Yturri, Alfie Almario, Franz Pumaren, Richard Mendoza, and Jun Tan.

Andy said the morning he left, Purefoods was blown out by Tanduay in a practice game. "They ran us to the ground," said the older Seigle. "Tanduay's tough -- they've got Eric (Menk) and Sonny (Alvarado) plus Rudy (Hatfield) and Jeff (Cariaso). And they didn't even play Dondon (Hontiveros). Their management's done a great job at building the team."

Capt. Cesar Aguilar was in charge of the flight. The purser was Jose Mari Ojeda, a good friend and a certified boxing buff. Ojeda's father was a former boxing promoter who staged fights of Leo Espinosa and Roberto Cruz in the 1960s. Believe it or not, Ojeda -- who's been with PAL for 36 years -- was once a fight judge. He's a virtual boxing trivia memory bank.