Northern Alliance

First, a disclaimer. This has nothing to do with the anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Another kind of "Northern Alliance" surfaced during the opening of the 32nd Northern Cement Interdepartmental Athletic Tournament in Sison, Pangasinan, last Saturday.

Barangay Ginebra team manager Ira Maniquis assembled a cast of former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) stars, guests, and friends to form a team that played the Northern Cement plant selection in an exhibition game that was the highlight of the Athletic Tournament’s inaugural program.

Maniquis recruited Allan Caidic, Samboy Lim, and Hector Calma to head the visiting squad. The three stars wore the Northern Cement colors when coach Ron Jacobs piloted Ambassador Eduardo (Danding) Cojuangco’s team to the 1985 Jones Cup title and the PBA 1985 Third Conference crown.

To complete the cast, Maniquis drafted Ginebra guard Edward Naron, Ginebra assistant coach George Ella, former Letran center Miniong Perete (whose varsity teammates included Rino Salazar, the late Ricky Pineda, and Teddy Perez), Ginebra practice player Jeremy Aniciete, photographer Alexis Santiago, Ginebra’s PBA Board representative Jun Cabalan, comedian Jimmy Santos, and believe it or not, yours truly.

For a "retro" effect, Maniquis used the same Northern Cement uniform design of 15 years ago for the visitors.

The plant selection was made up of Julius Fabros, Virgilio Ferrer, Elvin Requintin, Armand Aquino, Reynante Facun, Armand Solar, Ronald de Guzman, Engelbert Domingo, Eduardo Valdez, Larry Flaviano Jr., and Wilson Iglesias.

The tallest player on the plant squad was the 6-3 Flaviano, whose late father Larry, Sr. was a former Oriental junior lightweight boxing champion and a model Northern Cement employes.

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The trip to the plant took about five hours from Manila. The visitors rode in a bus and practically laughed all the way to Sison, thanks to Santos who had everyone in stitches. It was also a good opportunity to catch up with old friends. Samboy, for instance, said he’s involved in Welcoat’s Philippine Basketball League (PBL) franchise as a consultant. His wife Lelen is a lawyer and they have one child, a 4-year-old daughter. Samboy’s in excellent shape—he’s 39 but because he sat out several years due to injuries, he’s a "young" 39 just like Michael Jordan’s a "young" 38 on account of his 2 1/2 year "retirement" from hoops to play baseball. A comeback for Samboy? Maybe—if Welcoat’s application for a PBA franchise is approved.

Incidentally, the trio—Samboy, Hector, and Allan—are playing for the San Miguel team in the STAR Friendship League that reels off at the Meralco gym tomorrow.

Before the tip-off, Maniquis as playing coach introduced his players, PBA-style. Santos, as expected, brought the house down. He tripped on the way to the middle of the court after he was introduced—raising a howl of laughter from some 1,000 employees, relatives, friends, and fans who packed the Northern gym.

Plant manager Bert Guarin welcomed the visitors.

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Then the fireworks began. Maniquis started his best five — Hector, Samboy, Allan at center, Ella, and Naron. The plant selection, however, was unfazed. Fabros, the oldest and shortest plant player at 37 and standing only 5-7, repeatedly hit from outside. Ferrer, Requintin, and Aquino knocked in jumpers from all angles.

Cabalan, who’s a plant icon as he worked several years in Sison as a corporate executive, was just as popular as Hector, Samboy, and Allan. When he checked in, Cabalan wasted no time showing his wares—he dribbled behind his back and drove in for a layup, just like his idol Robert Jaworski used to.

Hector was like the Director of old. He dished off precision passes, scored when he had to, rebounded, and played defense. Allan buried a couple of treys and wound up with 22 points. Samboy was unstoppable — it was like he was back in the pros. Samboy shot 25. The revelation was Aniciete, a 6-2 Fil-Am. He was all over the court and finished with 21.

But Santos stole the show. He danced the cha-cha while dribbling. He blocked an opponent’s free throw. Once, in between taking foul shots, a ballboy brought him a hard-boiled egg—half of which he gobbled up and the other half, he thrust into the mouth of a cooperative referee. When he faked a second free throw—that had the players waiting for the rebound all committing lane violations, the referee ruled a turnover.

As for my game, never mind. I was lost on the court, surrounded by stars. My consolation was I brought home a Northern jersey — surely, a collectors’ item. And of course, it was nice to visit the plant and meet old friends.

In the fourth quarter, the visitors employed a full-court press with a suffocating trap and raced to a 15-point lead. Then, the visitors held back as the plant selection scrambled to make it close in the end. The final count was Visitors, 90, Home, 88. It was a victory for both squads — the Sison version of the "Northern Alliance."