Northern reunion - SPORTING CHANCE By Joaquin M. Henson

It was like the good, old days for Hector Calma and Avelino (Samboy) Lim as the former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) greats treated employees, relatives, and friends of Northern Cement Corp. to a glory ride down memory lane in Sison, Pangasinan, last Saturday.

Calma and Lim were back in uniform only this time, they wore the Purok Ginebra colors. Why Purok? Because it’s a segment of the larger Barangay Ginebra, explained Purok coach Ira Maniquis who’s also the newly-appointed manager of Ginebra’s PBA team.

Calma and Lim took a bus ride at 7:30 a.m. from the San Miguel complex in Mandaluyong to the Northern plant in Sison. The trip took over six hours, including stopovers. Joining the stars on the Purok squad were PBA veterans Naning Valenciano and Jimmy Santos, former La Salle player Wilton Roxas (who worked several years in Purchasing for Northern), Ginebra’s PBA Board representative Casiano (Jun) Cabalan, Northern Assistant Vice President Chito Capistrano, and a handful of youthful reinforcements from Paniqui, Tarlac — San Miguel Corp. and Northern Chairman Eduardo (Danding) Cojuangco’s hometown. Ginebra’s heavyweight diehard Peter Say also made the trip to backstop Maniquis on the bench.

Purok played the Northern All-Stars in an exhibition game highlighting the opening ceremonies of the company’s 31st Interdepartmental Athletic League. Over 1,000 spectators jammed the Northern gym to watch their heroes relive their halcyon days.

For Calma, Lim, and Valenciano, it was their way of giving back to the fans who supported them throughout their pro careers. They played on the Northern amateur guest squad that bagged the PBA Third Conference crown in 1985. It was also to show their gratitude to Ambassador Cojuangco and his brother Henry.

Maniquis said Calma, Lim, and Valenciano played like they hadn’t retired. "Hector made excellent passes — no one in the PBA today can pass like him," gushed Maniquis. "Samboy’s in perfect shape. He had at least five blocked shots. I think Samboy can still play in the PBA. Naning hit over six three-point shots — he’s a little heavy but the touch is still there."

Ginebra coach Allan Caidic couldn’t make the trip because of a team practice.

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Despite the presence of the ex-PBA stars, Santos stole the show. He prepared his own introduction before the game and called himself the "All-Time Benchwarmer." Santos, who turned 49 the week before, played on the Jose Rizal NCAA title team with the Cezar brothers — David and Philip — and Ed Carvajal. He also played in 13 games for 7-Up during the PBA’s inaugural season in 1975 before entering showbiz as a comedian.

Santos had everyone, including his teammates, in stitches with his antics. He tripped when he was introduced on the floor. He threw up several triples — even measuring the arc with his foot — but couldn’t buy a basket. And he had the fans screaming after scoring a reverse layup on a feed from Calma — it was the play of the game. Here’s what happened. During a timeout, a fan gave Santos a piece of mamon which he tucked inside his pants. Santos munched on the mamon while inside the court. Then, Calma, holding the ball, spotted Santos open under the hoop only the mamon was in his hands. Quickly, Santos threw the mamon to Calma as he grabbed the ball. As Santos scored on the reverse layup, Calma shot the mamon into the goal. Maniquis said he never laughed harder.

"It was great seeing the employees so happy," noted Maniquis. "The guys played quality basketball and there was comedy, too. Hector, Samboy and Naning sweated it out. The Paniqui players, particularly Batitis and Farin, also did well. We’re thankful to Congressman (Gilbert) Teodoro for taking time out to be with us."

The Northern All-Stars were coached by Bert Mosquito. The players were Julius Fabros, Elvin Requintin, Arman Aquino, Engelbert Domingo, Reynante Facun, Virgilio Ferrer, Ronald de Guzman, Wilson Iglesias, Roger Requintin, Arnaldo Solar, Greg Torio, and Eduardo Valdez.

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Maniquis sent in Calma, Lim, and Valenciano to start the game. Santos was included in the first five, by his request. When the lead ballooned to 34, Maniquis sat down his top guns. The Northern All-Stars were all business and as the Purok visitors clowned around, the hosts razed the gap to four in the third period. Maniquis then brought his stars back and behind a trapping defense, Purok brought the margin up to 20. In the end, the final score was Purok 106, Northern All-Stars 90. Valenciano shot 24 points, Lim 20, Calma 13, Santos 6, and Cabalan 4. Elvin Requintin led the All-Stars with 31. Aquino chipped in 16, Fabros 13, and Valdez 12.

After the game, fans mobbed the Purok players for autographs. Cabalan, who wore No. 7 in honor of Sen. Robert Jaworski, gave up his jersey to fans begging for a souvenir.

Northern’s Interdepartmental Athletic League has been an annual affair since 1969. This year’s sports program includes a bikathon, marathon, chess, table tennis, darts, dama, a basketball tournament for seven teams, and a volleyball competition for four teams. Northern Administrative Manager Ned Francisco said Plant Manager Bert Guarin and Hermogenes Lanuza, Chairman of the Sports Coordinating Committee, were instrumental in making the opening of the 31st league a success.