Last Friday, Smart-Gilas import and naturalization candidate C. J. (Chester Jarrel) Giles had his baptism of fire in Philippine-style basketball when he was mauled during a practice game with Talk ‘N’ Text at the Moro Lorenzo Gym in Quezon City.
It wasn’t as if the 6-10 Giles, 24, asked for the beating. He played his usual physical game but things got rougher than usual. Tempers began to rise in the first half when Giles tripped Ranidel de Ocampo and drew a technical foul. De Ocampo didn’t retaliate but surely, kept it in mind.
In the third period, Giles – who played briefly for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA preseason last October after attending Oregon State and the University of Kansas – continued to dominate the paint on both ends. De Ocampo drove the lane and threw up a floater which Giles easily swatted away. Witnesses said it was Giles’ fourth block on De Ocampo and the Tropang Texters frontliner’s frustration reached a boiling point.
After the block, De Ocampo got the ball back and instead of taking it outside in the face of Giles’ intimidating interior presence, decided to charge in. What happened next was ugly. De Ocampo clamped a headlock on Giles and wrestled him down to the floor. In an instance, a horde of Talk ‘N’ Text players joined the fray. A source said at least five Texters, including three Fil-Ams, put in their licks. One player not involved in the altercation was seen repeatedly kicking Giles who emerged from the fracas with a cut on the back of his neck, a scratch on his shoulder, a bloody nose and bruises on his body.
None of Giles’ teammates came to his rescue because Smart-Gilas coach Rajko Toroman has a strict rule prohibiting anyone from leaving the bench or on the floor to join a brawl. Besides, SBP executive director Noli Eala, sitting beside Toroman, made sure nobody from Smart-Gilas jumped into the frying pan.
Eventually, the brawl was broken up. Someone said Giles’ brother Malcolm, who is in town, charged in to pacify the hotheads. When it was evident that the referees had lost control, everyone else – including Giles’ teammates – entered the court to end the rumble.
The game was called off with Smart-Gilas on top, 53-43. Japeth Aguilar, by the way, showed his mettle by scoring his team’s first 10 points.
De Ocampo reportedly insisted Giles started it all by throwing a punch. But some witnesses wouldn’t corroborate De Ocampo’s story.
“If Giles threw a punch, we didn’t see it,” said the witnesses. Giles later said he never threw punch but admitted swinging his elbows in close-quarter rebounding situations. If a wayward elbow hit somebody, Giles said it was an accident and he didn’t mean to hurt.
“Ranidel never fell down so it’s hard to imagine Giles hitting him with a punch,” said a witness. “Giles weighs 220 pounds and he’s big.”
Even if Smart-Gilas and Talk ‘N’ Text are supposed to be “sister” teams, it looks like there’s no love lost between them. But that’s the way the game should be played – passionately without holding back even if the opposing teams share a common ownership.
If the mauling was an indication, Giles may be in for harsher treatment when Smart-Gilas plays in the coming PBA All-Filipino conference. While Smart-Gilas isn’t figuring in the run-up to the playoffs, the results of its games in the eliminations will count for or against the PBA teams. So Smart-Gilas’ first 10 games will be “bearing.” The team is also listed for 10 more “no-bearing” games after the eliminations.
Toroman said Giles has put the past behind him and is just looking forward to playing. The incident won’t be a distraction but you can bet when Smart-Gilas plays Talk ‘N’ Text in the All-Filipino conference, all eyes will be on De Ocampo and Giles.
* * * *
Here’s another version of what happened to former PBA chairman Tony Chua who died tragically at the height of typhoon Ondoy last Sept. 26. This version came from a reliable source who said he interviewed Tony’s driver Grimmer, an eyewitness.
The source said it’s not true that Tony had a bag containing cash and checks amounting to P1 million. He also said that Tony never got hit by a wayward piece of lumber, that Tony never bled from the ears or nose and that Tony wasn’t mauled by robbers although he did lose his Rolex watch.
According to the source, Tony started to make his way home to Filinvest as early as 10 in the morning after his breakfast meeting in Greenhills. But rising flood waters on Marcos Highway held up his car. Stranded for hours without taking lunch, Tony got down from his car to walk in the water with aide Joenari Pedal and Grimmer. They walked for two hours then stopped by a small store to share a bottle of Mountain Dew, the only drink available. The water kept rising and it became more difficult to traverse the route.
At about 6 p.m., Tony and his companions decided to hold on to a tree as the current got stronger. Grimmer tried to keep Tony warm by wrapping his arms around him while he clung to the tree. He noticed that Tony began to shiver from the cold of the water. A big truck passed and caused waves that propelled a plank of wood to hit Grimmer on the back while he embraced Tony. The plank never struck Tony. Then, someone from across the highway threw a rope so those who were trapped near the tree could move over to the other side where the flood waters weren’t as deep. Tony let others cross ahead but when he took his turn, Grimmer saw his head go under. Pedal was swept by the current, lost his grip on the rope and his body floated away. Grimmer also went under and thought he would drown until his feet found the hood of a submerged car and it saved him. Pedal was found dead a day later.
As Tony went under, he grabbed Grimmer’s collar. It was like he suffered a heart attack or was just too exhausted to go on. Tony hadn’t had a bite to eat for hours. Grimmer managed to take Tony to the other side where he found a clearing to lay him down. It was close to 9 p.m. Grimmer applied mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to revive Tony but it was to no avail. Some water trickled out of Tony’s nose and ears. Grimmer went back to the tree where Tony had hung his clutch bag. Tony’s cell phones were in the bag, nothing much else. When Grimmer returned to Tony’s side, he saw the Rolex watch gone.
Grimmer used Tony’s phone to try to contact some of his friends, like former PBA chairman Ricky Vargas who noticed a missed call in his log at about 3:30 a.m. Tony’s family wasn’t able to reach him until 9 a.m. A firetruck reportedly fetched Tony’s body to bring him to the funeral parlor. Grimmer was with Tony, already lifeless, for over six hours until the firetruck came. An autopsy later revealed that Tony had succumbed to cardiac arrest.
The source said there was definitely no foul play in the tragic accident. He confirmed that in his final moments, Tony’s concern was for his family, that he wanted to rush home to be with his wife and their three daughters.