Coming home

I was on a Northwest Airlines flight from the US back to Manila when three major sporting events happened at home last Sunday. I couldn’t believe my rotten luck.

First was the Manny Pacquiao-Oscar Larios fight at the Araneta Coliseum. Second was the PBA doubleheader at the Cuneta Astrodome where two semifinal series were decided in dramatic fashion. And third was La Salle’s come-from-behind thriller over San Sebastian for the Shakey’s V-League volleyball title at the Blue Eagle Gym.

I left Manila to cover the NBA Finals three weeks ago. The championship series went to six games and finished with Miami clinching in Dallas. Then, I took a one-week break to visit relatives and returned late Sunday night.

While I was up in the air, Andre Agassi was eliminated at Wimbledon and Brazil and England were kicked out of contention in the World Cup.

When I got off the plane, the airport attendants knew I’d missed the Pacquiao-Larios fight and showered me with details of the blockbuster. Manny was almost knocked down in the third round, someone said. Larios was tougher than expected, another mentioned. But Manny proved he’s still the best in his weight class and nobody comes close, the immigration officer who checked my passport said.

The consensus was Pacquiao gave the fans a huge treat and the entire nation is ecstatic.

Manny’s fight began Sunday morning while the PBA twinbill started at 4 p.m. You could just imagine the crowd at the Astrodome. A pair of Game 7s to decide which two teams would advance to the Finals was on the bill.

In the first game, Purefoods upset Alaska by a point and in the second, Red Bull beat San Miguel Beer by two.

That La Salle win was exciting, too. The Lady Archers came back from a first set slump to beat San Sebastian, 18-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-20, for their third straight V-League crown.

What a Sunday that was.

On the flight, I sat across the aisle from Alex Compton’s brother Ben during the Seattle to Tokyo leg. I flew to Seattle from Dallas to visit my wife Menchu’s brother Robert and his family for a week.

I’d never met Alex’ brother before. When I got to my seat, I overheard this passenger, an American, telling the flight attendant he was on the way to Manila to stay after living two years in Shanghai. I noticed he had a stack of sports magazines and sports pages from newspapers on his lap and bore a striking resemblance to Alex.

So I asked from across the aisle, are you Alex Compton’s brother? Yeah, he replied. And then we spoke until it was time to eat and sleep.

Ben, 37, is the oldest of three boys. Alex, 32, is the youngest. Both are bachelors but for how long is a mystery. The middle boy Kevin is married with two children and lives in Madison, Wisconsin, which is the Comptons’ hometown. All three are involved in basketball, thanks to Ben’s influence.

Ben played in New York, Ohio and Wisconsin and got his brothers hooked to the game. Kevin is a coach and Alex is still making up his mind what to do next after finishing a storybook career in the PBL.

Ben worked three years for Brent in Mamplasan, Laguna, before taking a job as a counselor and varsity coach for an international school in Shanghai. He worked two years in Shanghai and missed Manila terribly. While in Shanghai, he piloted a once-lowly high school basketball team to a 25-1 record with four sophomore starters. One of his players, a 6-2 shooting guard from Washington, D. C., has a legitimate shot at playing for a US division I school and Ben has sent out tapes to recruiters.

Ben is returning to Brent to coach the high school basketball team.

From our conversation, it was clear to me Ben has fallen in love with the Philippines, like his brother. They live together in a house at Magallanes Village.

Ben wears a necklace with a silver pendant in the shape of Boracay island.

"I love Boracay," he said. "Al and I have a house there. It just got finished and I still haven’t seen it. I’m really excited to see it."

Ben said he’s looking forward to hanging out with friends like Eric Menk and Andy Seigle.

Ben’s parents were the first Peace Corps volunteers in Thailand. They’ve traveled with their sons in over 15 countries doing social development work. His father is a forestry expert, an agricultural development consultant and a social worker with a specialization in rural reconstruction.

Ben was five when the Comptons moved to the Philippines on assignment in Cavite. And Alex was born in Makati.

Of course, we talked about the recent NBA Finals. Ben said he cheered for Miami and gave a lot of credit to Shaquille O’Neal despite Dwayne Wade’s MVP effort.

"When you’ve got a Shaq who draws double teams, it makes it easier for a Wade to score, " he said.

Ben said Miami’s zone defense took away Dallas’ screen-roll plays for Dirk Nowitzki and pointed to Game 3 as the turning point of the series. If Dallas won Game 3, the Mavericks would’ve probably won the title instead because it would’ve meant a 3-0 lead. He cited Dallas guard Devin Harris’ development as a quick defensive player who made it a little more difficult for Wade to score.

As for Alex, Ben said he’s resigned to his fate of not being able to play in the PBA.

"It looks like the PBA decision not allowing Alex to play as a local is final," said Ben. "Welcoat has talked to him about getting him as an import when they start playing in the PBA but Alex is way too short for an import especially if the limit is 6-8. It would’ve been nice for Alex to play in the PBA. He was born in the Philippines, has lived in the country for years and talks Tagalog. But we respect the PBA’s decision and we’re sure there was a solid basis for it."

Ben said Alex may join a Campus Crusade for Christ basketball tour with former NBA players David Wood and Dave Jamerson in Colombia in a few weeks then decide what to do next.

You can bet Ben and I would’ve preferred to be in Manila last Sunday, watching sports on TV, instead of sitting in a plane. But it was a pleasant flight anyway and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation.

And yes, it’s good to be back home.