Not so secret agent

Mike Gonzalez never imagined being a basketball player agent as a full-time job. He lived a simple, happy and comfortable life with his wife Jojo and their two children in Los Angeles.

Mike earned a commerce degree at La Salle in 1972. Since he was in Grade 2, Mike watched the Archers play game after game with buddy Herman Jugo. Mike and Herman lived near the Taft campus so walking over to the Rizal Memorial was easy.

After graduation, Mike worked for Philippine Airlines and an insurance company before moving to L.A. with Jojo to start a new life. His mother and two sisters were in L.A. so adjusting to the relocation wasn’t difficult.

Jojo eventually became a vice president at First Interstate Bank. Mike tried his luck in insurance adjusting before finding a niche in mortgage banking. He worked for General Motors’ mortgage finance house before plunging into the business of basketball.

About five years ago, Mike was contacted by former classmates to search for Fil-Ams interested to enroll at La Salle and play for the Archers. His first discovery was Alvin Castro. Then came Willy Wilson and a long line of hotshots up to Mike Cortez.

"I’ve always been a basketball fan," said Mike. "When I got lucky in recruiting Alvin and the other guys, Manong (Derick Pumaren) asked if I could scout for imports, too. One thing led to another and I found myself sourcing imports for other teams."

Mike, 53, is now semi-retired and placing players all over the world. Last season, he provided imports for eight Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams. "I got tired of mortgage banking," he said. "I’ve always been entrepreneurial. I like being independent and self-employed. I enjoy basketball–it’s exciting and it’s fun. I’m now a full-time agent. It won’t make me rich but it pays the bills and feeds my family."

Mike painstakingly built a global network of 25 collaborating agents and has the exclusive rights to represent over 200 players in the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China and Lebanon. He’s now working on an exclusivity arrangement for the Middle East.

"The US agents call me Mr. Plan B because I offer an alternative outside of the NBA (National Basketball Association)," explained Mike. "NBA agents focus on NBA players. I’m not interested in the NBA. I don’t like to babysit players. I don’t need the headache. NBA players are spoiled–kailangan himasin. US agents take care of placing players in the NBA and other US leagues. I take care of placing players overseas–that’s my selling point."

His collaborating agents come from all over the world–Croatia, Greece, Italy, Israel, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Argentina, Turkey, Finland, Australia and France. Among his American players are Chris Carrawell, Lenny Cooke, Sherell Ford, Kwan Johnson, Tony Lang, Terquin Mott, and Ray Tutt. His PBA players include Sonny Thoss, Carlo Sharma, Bern Franco, Paolo Mendoza, Wynne Arboleda, Bitoy Omolon, Marvin Ortiguerra and Adonis Sta. Maria. Others he represents are the Pumaren brothers, Norman Black, Noynoy Falcasantos, Dominic Uy and Bonel Balingit.

Mike said he earns 10 percent of the salaries he negotiates for his players. "There are no guaranteed contracts in the PBA," noted Mike. "If an import is sent home, I take 10 percent only of what he earned. I get paid by the team at the end of a player’s term. It’s really not much but money isn’t the motivation. I just love the game and it’s exciting to be able to get the right kind of player for a team. If I do something, I do it to the best of my ability–that’s my passion in life."

Not too many know that Mike is Hollywood actor Marlon Brando’s brother-in-law, sort of. His half-sister Marie Cui, a former ballet dancer and commercial model, gave birth to Brando’s love child, a daughter named Maya who now lives in France.

Mike’s father died when he was only four years old and his mother Amparo Luz Katigbak remarried and bore three children, Serafin or Sluggo (who died of a heart attack at the age of 43 over 10 years ago), Marie Ross and Lou Garcia.

Mike’s son Jomike, 27, used to be a champion pistol shooter and now works as an assistant movie producer. His daughter Marianne, 11, is a budding basketball star at her L.A. private Catholic high school.

Half the year, Mike is in the Philippines looking after his players. He also travels to China and South Korea to look for job openings.

Australia isn’t a strong market, said Mike. "I try to get my players a monthly salary ranging from $10,000 to $20,000," he explained. "Australia pays only about $5,000 to $6,000 although there are exceptions like Kevin Freeman who earns $13,000. I placed Chris (Carrawell) in Australia this season because he just needed to get back on track. He didn’t play well for Alaska last season. He was cut in China. His team in Germany went bankrupt. And he had personal problems. Fortunately, I found an opening in Australia and he’s been playing well. Sometimes, you just get lucky and find the perfect job for a player."

Mike said he often stays up at night trying to make deals, a hazard of the trade. But that’s par for the course. Living like a Jerry Maguire has its ups and downs. And for Mike, being a player agent is the next best thing to playing like Mike.