Long, tall Ed now rests in peace

MANILA, Philippines - For 39 years, former Crispa center Ed Carvajal was bed-ridden and virtually immobilized living in his older brother Lito’s home in Alabang. He would’ve been a star in the PBA for sure but at the peak of his basketball career a month before the pro league opened in 1975, the 6-6 human beanpole underwent a nine-hour surgery to remove a tumor in the brain and despite surviving the operation, became paralyzed from the neck down.

Yesterday, Carvajal’s remains were interred at the St. James the Great Parish Church crypt in Ayala Alabang after a 4 p.m. Requiem Mass. He quietly passed away last Wednesday, a week after his granddaughter Alyssa visited from the US. Carvajal was 64.

There was no doubt Carvajal was destined to be a star in the pros. He was a dominant center in the mold of a Ramon Fernandez and had the good looks of a Spanish mestizo matinee idol. The youngest of four children, Carvajal anchored the Jose Rizal Heavy Bombers squad that won the 1972 NCAA championship. He was on the Philippine team that captured the 1972 Asian Youth crown with Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Joy Dionisio, Rey Franco, Miguel Bilbao, Fernandez, Rino Salazar, Jimmy Noblezada, Ompong Segura, Marcelino Diputado and Norby Rivera under coach Fely Fajardo.

In the amateur commercial leagues, Carvajal suited up for Yco and Crispa. It was with the Redmanizers where Carvajal’s star shone brightest, playing for coach Baby Dalupan on the Crispa teams that took the National Invitational, Palarong Pilipino and MICAA All-Filipino titles in 1974.

One of Carvajal’s best games with the Bombers was when he led the varsity to a 91-89 win over La Salle in a “dream game” between two NCAA champions at the Green Archers gym on Taft Avenue in 1973. La Salle won the collegiate title in 1971 and Jose Rizal in 1972. Carvajal scored 20 points and preserved the Bombers’ victory by blocking Bilbao’s layup in the dying seconds.

Carvajal went to Ateneo for grade school and an intramural teammate was Tito Panlilio, later a Blue Eagle standout, bank executive, Board of Investments chairman and Department of Trade and Industry undersecretary. “I recall we were teammates in our class team for basketball intrams from Grade 4 to 6,” said Panlilio. “Ed was already the tallest then. For high school, he went to San Beda where we competed in the NCAA junior season 1968. After high school, he disappeared from the basketball scene and spent time playing in a band where he was the bass guitarist. Then, suddenly, when I was in my senior varsity year, Ed reappeared in the NCAA with Jose Rizal.”

Panlilio remembered Carvajal playing with Cezar, Olimpio Santos and the Calilan brothers on the Jose Rizal squad that beat San Sebastian College for the NCAA championship in 1972. The Stags were bannered by Dave Supnet, Jimmy Otazu and Roberto de la Rosa who all played in the PBA later.

“I’m truly sad for his fate,” said Panlilio. “I had a chance to visit Ed in Lito’s home a few years ago. His wife Gina (Ongpauco) was my officemate at Far East Bank in the 1970s and I met up with Ed every time he fetched Gina to go home from work.”

It was during a Crispa practice when Carvajal fainted and was rushed to the UERM hospital for a checkup. He suffered what appeared to be an epileptic attack and a CT-Scan showed he had a tumor 3/4 the size of his brain. Without delay, he underwent surgery at the Medical Center Manila and a team of five neurologists, led by Dr. Victor Reyes, removed the tumor which was caused by a blood clot from a congenital blockage of an artery to the brain. Carvajal was comatose for two months then regained consciousness but lost all his motor senses. He was 24 and married less than two years. His daughter Jhoanna was only 10 months old.

About six years after the tragedy, Carvajal’s wife left to migrate to the US with their daughter. She has remarried and Jhoanna, now 39, has two children of her own – Alyssa, 23 and Megan, 18. Through the years, Carvajal survived countless near-death episodes but wouldn’t let go for some reason – he held on for the chance to see at least one of his grandchildren.

Carvajal’s brother Lito, a widower, took care of him until his death. Although bed-ridden, Carvajal could see with both eyes and murmur words that only his caregiver and brother could understand. He could raise his right arm slightly and with his right hand, kept a pillow shaped like a basketball close to him. His former Crispa teammates Bogs Adornado, Cezar, Abet Guidaben and Co came to visit on his birthday a few years ago. Co’s wife Monet is Carvajal’s niece.

“The article in The Philippine Star in 2010 about him initiated the first contact with his only daughter who was not even a year old when Ed was operated,” said Lito. “Alyssa came only last week for the first time ever. Ed had never seen her. After the story in The Star came out, Jhoanna would call but there was no contact with Gina since she left.”

 Carvajal’s granddaughter stayed with an aunt at Ayala Alabang during her visit and saw him thrice. “Ed’s last smiling happy moments were with Alyssa,” said Lito. “It was as if saying his goodbyes to his family. Megan, who’s still in school, could not come. Ed must have just lost his willingness to live after 39 years being bed-ridden. He only waited for the chance to see his granddaughter.” Carvajal was cremated on the day he died and is now at peace in heaven with his parents Carding and Laura and sister Carmeling.