Brothers in battle

A few months ago, I accepted the invitation of my brother Luis to join his batch team in the Ateneo Basketball League, a tournament run by and participated in by alumni of the Ateneo de Manila. What made our team unique was that they decided to fill the line-up with brothers.

Of the 15 players on our roster, there were six pairs of brothers. It was fun to play, and the chemistry and familiarity of the brothers with each other took us all the way to the finals in our division. The only problem was that we couldn’t all play at the same time, due to conflict of schedules and of course, only five players are allowed on court at any time. Little did I know that we would soon be outdone by a Philippine national team.

The recent Asian Five Nations (A5N) Rugby Union series not only gave the Philippines the impetus to climb up among the elite teams in Asia, it undeniably showcased the strong family ties that Filipinos carry with them, no matter where in the world they may go. It may even qualify as a record of sorts.

Believe it or not, there are four sets of brothers on the Philippine men’s national 15’s Team, and they’re Fil-foreigners from different parts of the world. They are: Rupert and Raf Zappia, Jake and Mike Letts, Harry and Freddy Morris, and Oliver, Matt and Ben Saunders. The Saunders combine made history against Guam in the final of the A5N by all playing at the same time in the winning Philippine team’s backline. Twenty-three year old Oliver played stand-off, 21-year old Matt was at outside center and their youngest brother, 17-year old Ben was on the wing. The Saunders brothers were supported in the stands by their father Nigel, mother Maria (who is originally from Pangasinan) and their sister Abbie. The whole family has a love for Rugby Union.

The Saunders clan currently lives in Sydney. Not only did the family enjoy a chance to visit the Philippines and watch the boys win the A5N series, they were also able to visit the Philippine Sports Commission and thank commissioner Eric Loretizo and PSC chairman Harry Angping for the commission’s financial assistance and support.

“It is really amazing to see such family spirit,” said an excited Matt Cullen, head coach of the Philippine team. “It’s very rare that you see so many siblings on one team. I don’t think you could match that anywhere. And the closeness really helped the team. They were all there for each other to the very end.”

True, there have been notable siblings in other sports, most notably the Pacquiao and Donaire brothers in boxing. In the PBA, there have been a handful of brothers, as well, such as the De Guzmans back in the 1980’s, the de Ocampo brothers today. In the NBA, Caldwell Jones and four of his brothers all saw action in the mid-1980’s, and eventually, Michael Jordan’s sons are expected to play professionally, as well. But I don’t think there have ever been four sets of brothers on one national team in any sport anywhere.

Nita Zappia traveled all the way from Riverview in Sydney to watch her boys Rupert and Raf score tries against Guam in the final. What made the moment even sweeter was when both boys stepped up to convert their own tries, with Rupert kicking his conversion in front of the screaming crowd from the sideline. Mrs. Zappia was elated when youngest son Rupert scored a try in the last minute to seal victory against Guam. Her eldest son Raf was named the Philippine Player of the A5N Series for 2009.

From Wales, Fred and Harry Morris took the field in both A5N games this year. The brothers last played together for the Philippines in 2007. Fred has spent the last two years in the British Army and travelled to Afghanistan. Harry, meanwhile, has continuously represented the Philippines in both 15’s and 7’s tournaments, and was part of the squad that won the silver medal at the Southeast Asian Games. Fred and Harry both learned to play Rugby Union in Wales and consistently travel to the Philippines to represent their mother’s country.

Finally, there are the Letts brothers, who have both captained Philippine National Rugby Union teams. Mike is the current captain of the A5N Men’s 15’s team, and Jake was the captain of the Under 19 team that flew to Taiwan and won the Division 2 Championships. The brothers hail from the Northern Beaches of Sydney and currently play for Warringah, with Mike playing in A-Division and Jake playing in reserve grade.

Not to be outdone, there are pure Filipino brothers who have also suited up for the country in Rugby Union. This year’s Vice-Captain, Michael Duhig played for the men’s national team while his younger brother Francis played for the Under 19’s Team that won the Asian Underage Championship in 2006.

“It is fantastic to see strong family ties playing a vital role in the Philippine National Men’s Rugby Union Team,” Cullen gushed. “This is a direct result of their Filipino heritage. As everyone knows, the Filipino culture has extremely strong and committed family values and this is being reflected in the Philippine Rugby Union. We are so lucky to have players brought up in this kind of environment.”

Harnessing that kind of uniquely Filipino energy has brought Philippine Rugby Union talent up three levels in the last three years.