Only Ricardo Brown, Abet Guidaben, Bernie Fabiosa, Francis Arnaiz and Danny Florencio failed to make it. Brown begged off because he couldn’t take a leave from work as Assistant Principal at Laguna Hills High School in Orange County. Guidaben and Fabiosa are in the US, too, and couldn’t fly back. Arnaiz and Florencio initially said to count them in.
But Arnaiz just got a government job in Sacramento and changed his mind about coming over. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, also known as the Terminator, probably wouldn’t relish the thought of a newly-hired state employee taking off from work to play basketball.
As for Dancing Danny, he was all set to leave until he became immobilized by gout. He was packed up and ready to leave home for the airport when the attack caught him flat-footed, literally. Poor Danny never got to put on his dancing shoes.
But the rest of the gang showed up for the festivities. Even Ramon Fernandez, now living in Cebu, came. El Presidente didn’t bother to color his hair which is now almost all white. He looked good anyway, not an ounce of fat added to his reed-thin frame.
In all, there were 13 former MVPs among the 20 stars and eight were at least 50 years old. Four are still active in the PBA, namely, Johnny Abarrientos, Kenneth Duremdes, Vergel Meneses and Jerry Codinera. The youngest was Duremdes, 31, and the oldest was Robert Jaworski, 59.
The stars were split into two teams of 10 each. The Greats Hataw was composed of Jaworski as playing coach, Abarrientos, Duremdes, Samboy Lim, Ato Agustin, Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc, Manny Paner, Lim Eng Beng and Fernandez. The Legends Laban was made up of Atoy Co, Freddie Hubalde, Alvin Patrimonio, Hector Calma, Meneses, Jojo Lastimosa, Codinera, Philip Cezar, Bogs Adornado and Allan Caidic.
Paner, 56, looked the chunkiest of them all. Both his knees were covered by protective wraps. Manny’s boyish looks, accentuated by his dimples, were still evident. I wonder if much younger teammates–with receding hairlines–begged Manny, once the PBA’s highest-salaried player, to reveal how he has managed to keep a full shock of hair after all these years. Did Manny say his secret is wife Daisy Romualdez?
Incidentally, Paner and Philip Cezar were the only two stars who played and didn’t score. They were a combined 0-of-6.
The Greats got off to a rousing start, scoring repeatedly on fastbreaks. The Big J’s starting five of Lim, Paras, Duremdes, Magsanoc and Fernandez was a picture of balance. Lim hit 16 of his 29 points in the first period which ended with the Greats on top, 32-24. But coach Baby Dalupan’s Legends stormed back behind Caidic’s four triples in the second quarter and a choking man-to-man defense to even the count, 54-all, at the half.
Dalupan worked his magic like a wizard in the fourth period.
There were five distinct things that the Legends executed in the homestretch. First, Lastimosa hounded Lim to ground the Skywalker in the closing minutes with the game on the line. Lim was scoreless and Jolas hit six, including a clutch triple, in the last quarter. Second, Codinera concentrated on the boards and wound up with a game-high 18 rebounds. He didn’t look to score. His job was to control the boards and anchor the Legends’ interior defense. Third, Calma settled things down and was, as usual, a calming presence. The Director knocked in four of his eight points in the payoff period and logged a team-high 37 minutes. Incidentally, Calma’s three children–Danielle, Andres and Claudia–watched him play in the flesh for the first time. His wife Ines and their children beamed with pride at courtside. Fourth, Meneses was matched up with Duremdes to keep Captain Marbel from exploding in the final few minutes. Duremdes was 6-of-16 from the floor on the night. And finally, Caidic drove in, fished for fouls and went for the high percentage shots instead of throwing up triples as the contest reached its climax.
Those were the keys to the Legends’ 96-92 win. Although the Greats had a huge 30-9 advantage in fastbreak points, the Legends were more accurate from the field, hitting .500 to the losers’ .430.
Jaworski didn’t check in. With about five minutes to go, the big crowd began to chant his name. The fans wanted the Big J on the court. But Jaworski opted to sit the game out. He later joked he wanted to give the Legends a chance to win. The Big J had practiced for the game but maybe, reserved his comeback when Arnaiz can rejoin him on the floor.
Caidic, 41, walked away with MVP honors for compiling 30 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in 32 minutes. Lim scored 29 in 38 minutes and reportedly played hurt. The word is he’ll be undergoing arthroscopic surgery in his left knee. That’s Samboy for you. He didn’t want to let the fans down even if it meant sacrificing his body.
Co, 53, was an early casualty. He knocked down a jumper but after only six minutes, limped back to the bench and never returned to play. Lim Eng Beng, 53, showed his touch when he buried a trey in the second period. Adornado, 54, displayed his classic shooting form in hitting two of his three field goals on jumpers. Hubalde, 51, never attempted his patented bank shot but still canned three baskets, including a long set shot. Patrimonio, 38, had eight points and six rebounds in 25 minutes.
Fernandez’ only field goal was a sweeping hook shot. He made his presence felt under the glass with 11 rebounds. Agustin, 41, was scoreless in the first half then pumped in six points in the second. Magsanoc, 39, shot 2-of-4 treys and compiled eight points to go with eight assists in 28 minutes. Paras, 36, sizzled for 19 points and the Flying A chipped in 11.
Seven of Jaworski’s nine players logged at least 20 minutes so it was clear the Big J wanted to give everyone a chance to perform. In contrast, only six of the Legends’ 10 stars played at least 20 minutes.
The whistle-blowers included retro referees Bay Ledesma and Tom Urbano. Active referees Franco Ilagan, Mario Montiel and Luisito Cruz took turns to complete the three-man cast. They enforced the game’s modified rules, including 10 seconds to cross the timeline, first two minutes of each quarter to clock as running time and any defense allowed. The timeouts were also longer than usual to allow the Greats and Legends to catch their breath.
It was a fun game for the ages–a testament to the league’s durability as an institution that is a way of life for millions of Filipino sports fans. The "Greatest Game" wasn’t just a celebration of the past in the present but also a reminder that the PBA has come a long way, baby.