Moore advises Blatche to fit in

MANILA, Philippines - Jeff Moore, one of two naturalized players on the Philippine squad that qualified for the FIBA World Cup in 1986, said yesterday he’ll always cherish the memories of wearing the national colors and advised Andray Blatche to adapt to the Filipino lifestyle in relishing his experience with Gilas.

Moore, now 53 and living in Mexico, played on the Philippine team that won the FIBA Asia title in Kuala Lumpur in 1986. The victory earned for the Philippines a ticket to the FIBA World Cup in Spain that year. But the country forfeited its right to compete as the national team was disbanded five months before the competition. Moore was never invited back to play for the Philippines. Nearly 30 years later, the Philippines gets a chance to play at the FIBA World Cup in Spain on Aug. 30-Sept. 14 with Blatche, a 6-11 center with the Brooklyn Nets, as Gilas’ lone naturalized player.

During Moore’s time, FIBA allowed two naturalized players for each country with a three-year residency requirement. Moore and Dennis Still were the country’s naturalized players when the Philippines won the FIBA Asia crown in 1986. Today, FIBA allows only one naturalized player for each country but requires no residency only a valid passport.

“My advice to Andray is to be a part of Filipino lifestyle, to fit in with the community,” said Moore in an overseas phone interview. “Andray should treat his teammates like brothers. All for one, one for all. Don’t go out there trying to do it all like a big shot. He may be a natural scorer and he’ll be expected to score a lot of points but he should understand there’s more he can do on the court. He’s got to be ready to do the dirty work, rebound, run the floor, play defense, pass the ball off the double. He should understand his role, listen to the coach and respect the game. I’ve heard good things about Andray and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

Moore said when he was on the national team, coach Ron Jacobs defined the roles of every player clearly. “I was an all-purpose guy,” he said. “Dennis took care of the boards and interior defense. Samboy (Lim) was the flasher, Hector (Calma) our point guard and Allan (Caidic) our shooter. Dennis and I couldn’t do it by ourselves. We worked as a team. I learned a lot from coach Ron and I became a better player because of my experience with the national team. After the Philippines, I played in Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico. In my first 10 years in Mexico, I went to 10 finals with six different teams and won five championships. With my exposure to the international game, I was killing everybody in Mexico.”

Moore has lived in Mexico for over 20 years and is married to a Mexican, Cristina Montero, with two children Jibran, 18, and Anisah, 15. He has coached at the college level the last five years, runs a camp for kids and still plays the game. Three weeks ago, Moore piloted the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education varsity of Guadalajara to the Mexican collegiate Division II title.

“Playing for the Philippines was special,” said Moore. “With coach Ron and the guys, we put the Philippines on the basketball map. We made history by beating the US for the Jones Cup title in 1985. I lived five to six years in the Philippines. I played two seasons in the PBA with Northern Cement. Dennis and I gave up possible NBA careers for the Philippines. It’s sad the way everything ended. We wanted to return but nobody asked us back. We waited for a call that never came. We would’ve lived in the Philippines the rest of our lives, enjoyed long careers in the PBA and eventually gone into coaching. Our goal was to qualify the Philippines for the Olympics but we never got to finish the process.”

Moore said it’s gratifying to know that Filipino fans still remember him. “My brother runs a car dealership in Dallas and his Filipino customers from my generation still talk about our good, old days with the Philippine team,” he said. “I keep in touch with my teammates on facebook like Hector, Samboy and Yves (Dignadice). I remember the Pumaren brothers who’ve all been successful in the game and Alfie (Almario) who has passed on. The other night, I had a spiritual dream. It was coach Ron lifting me up and embracing me like he was giving me a message. I know he’s in the Philippines and hopefully, Dennis and I can come over to visit him. We’re all not getting any younger and maybe, it’s time for a last reunion. We really miss the Philippines and our Filipino friends. We’d like to say thank you and pay our respects to Ambassador (Danding) Cojuangco.”

Jacobs treated Moore like a son. “I played for coach Ron at El Camino junior college then he took me to Loyola Marymount where we made history by qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in our first year,” said Moore. “My mom didn’t want me living alone when I transferred to Loyola so coach Ron took me in to live with him and his family in Long Beach. Then, coach Ron went to the Philippines and invited me to join him. He was like a father to me so I left the US to move to the Philippines.”