The return of Bartholomew

“Pacific Rims” author Rafe Bartholomew is back in the Philippines, to continue his love affair with Philippine basketball, and once again ask the question: why do Filipinos love the sport so much?

Bartholomew’s book on Pinoy hoops has generated such buzz for the phenomenon that he has been tapped to make his serious television debut for no less than the National Geographic Channel’s documentary on the unusual love affair. His outsider’s view and tongue-in-cheek prose has caught the fancy of Fox Channels production executives.

Saturday night, Bartholomew flew into Manila from New York to begin shooting the project, which is being handled by Caelestis Productions. Bartholomew’s previous television exposure here was a bit role in a GMA-7 telenovela, bits of which became something of a cult hit on YouTube.

After three years in the Philippines passionately following the basketball scene, the Fulbright scholar returned to the East Coast and took a job as a section editor of a national magazine there. He also helped his father run their bar, the oldest in New York City. But his urge to return to Philippines never waned. After a year of negotiating with Fox, Caelestis and this writer found the ideal opportunity.

“I’m really excited to be back and start on the project,” Bartholomew told The STAR. “I’ve been looking forward to the chance to come back and continue what we started for an even bigger audience.”

The four-part series will be shot all throughout May, and one of the centerpieces will be the ongoing finals series between Barangay Ginebra and Talk ‘N Text. Bartholomew will follow both teams for the remainder of the series upon their return from Game 3 in Palawan, and include prominent individuals like TNT head coach Chot Reyes and point guard Jimmy Alapag in profile segments.

The first episode will be an overview of Philippine hoops, in much the same way as Bartholomew got his introduction to the local passion for roundball when he first came to the country five years ago. Episodes 2 and 3 will focus on the inner workings and history of the PBA, as well as its most colorful personalities. Part 4 will take an intimate look at the “invisible” people, fans who have anonymously but inextricable become part of the basketball landscape. Along the way, Rafe will be asking everyone to answer why we love basketball so much.

There are just so many stories to tell that the producers are constantly discovering more and more unusual and dramatic facts about basketball in the country. It has been an amazing, eye-opening, emotional journey that started a year and a half ago. Thankfully, the National Geographic Channel has acknowledged how compelling the stories can be if handled properly, and how universal their appeal is.

For Bartholomew, his work on the book has also opened other doors. A major international sports channel has offered him an editor’s position for a new website centered around one of the most famous sportswriters in the US today. Though he can’t discuss details, Bartholomew does admit he is excited about the prospect of this dream job.

“There has been a lot of buzz about this project here (in the US). It’s very high-profile and it’s an honor even to be considered. They have their pick of the entire sports journalism community,” Bartholomew says. “It also pays very well.”

Rafe Bartholomew’s pure innocent love for the game amid a race that loves it in the extreme has opened many doors. He started out as an outsider who became the toast of the country’s basketball community. His passion, wit and bare-faced look at a country’s illogical romance with a sport that may never fully reward its love has opened the world’s eyes to us, and to his own remarkable talent as a chronicler of great sports stories.

Welcome home, Rafe.