National U veteran never lost hope

MANILA, Philippines - Mario Panlilio will always cherish the memory of playing four years for the NU senior men’s basketball team in the UAAP from 1957 to 1960 under coach Ting Sta. Rosa. The Bulldogs never got to win a title during his stint as the closest they got to the top of the ladder was third place.

But Panlilio, 74, waited patiently for NU’s return to the throne. The other night, the Bulldogs fulfilled Panlilio’s dream after a 60-year drought, beating FEU, 75-59, in the title-clinching Game 3 of the UAAP Finals before a record crowd of 25,138 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Panlilio was invited to attend the decider by the late Mommy Paguia’s daughter Arlene Royo whose family used to own NU. Feeling under the weather, he watched on TV instead and cried tears of joy when it was all over.

Panlilio was one of two rookies recruited by NU for the 1957 season. The other was future star Narciso Bernardo. “I came from Malate Catholic School and Ciso from Mandaluyong,” said Panlilio whose nephew Al is a Meralco senior vice president and the Bolts’ Governor in the PBA Board. “The game was so different then. I was 6-3 and one of the tallest centers in the league. Today, if you’re 6-3, you’re probably a guard. Basketball is a lot more physical today. When we used to play, we didn’t do weights because we were told it would affect our shooting. UE was the dominant team during my time with Roehl Nadurata and Jun Ortiz. Others playing then were Bert Payumo and Nic Jorge of UP. Over in the NCAA, my brother Manny, who is Al’s father, played for Letran with Freddie Webb and Gene Salgado.”

One of Panlilio’s varsity teammates Nestor Sapida was at the Big Dome for Game 3. “Nestor was a rookie when NU won the title in 1954 and a senior when I joined the team in 1957,” said Panlilio. “After I left NU, I played for 7-Up in the MICAA with Tiny Literal and Mike Tanquintic. But I stayed loyal to NU. I’ve always been close to the Jhocson and Paguia families. Even when NU wasn’t winning, I would do my part to support the team.”

In 1970, NU was back in the Finals. There were only six teams in the UAAP that season – NU, UE, UST, FEU, Adamson and UP. The Bulldogs beat FEU, 107-90, to finish second in the eliminations with a 7-3 record and went up against unbeaten UE with a twice-to-beat disadvantage in the Finals. Rey Sigua scored 32 points, Oscar Castaneda 25 and Rafael Altamirano 14 to lead the Bulldogs but UE wouldn’t be denied another crown in a 106-95 win with Rudy Soriano, Rudy Kutch, Johnny Revilla and Rey Franco showing the way for coach Baby Dalupan. That was NU’s last Finals appearance until this season. Curiously, Rafael Altamirano is Bulldogs coach Eric Altamirano’s uncle, the brother of his father Ninoy. So there’s a connection between this year’s champion squad and the 1970 team.

Panlilio said he watched only one NU game live this season and it was the Bulldogs’ 75-70 loss to FEU in Game 1 of the Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena. “The traffic was so bad and it rained so hard that day,” he said. “I got to the Arena with two minutes left in the game. I never got to my seat and watched standing up, close to the dugout, beside (SM Prime Holdings president) Mr. (Hans) Sy. I’ve never been introduced to Mr. Sy although, of course, I know of him and the NU community is very grateful for his support. I saw (NU campus management director and the Bulldogs representative to the UAAP Board) Nilo Ocampo and introduced myself. Nilo’s mother is a Jhocson. Anyway, we lost that game but in my heart, I knew we would come back and win the championship. It was my gut-feel. I just felt we had a deeper bench and played tougher defense with better teamwork.”

Panlilio said if there’s a campus celebration, he’ll make sure to attend. “I never lost hope that we would win the championship again,” he continued. “I know coach Eric to be a modest, soft-spoken man with a strong Christian faith. I prefer a coach who is humble. I think his Christian faith had a bearing in making our team stronger.”

Panlilio said he’s praying for more titles in the coming seasons. “We’re a young team,” he went on. “We’re losing (Glenn) Khobuntin and (Troy) Rosario but (Alfred) Aroga, J-Jay Alejandro and the others have a lot of playing years left. It will be tough next year because Ateneo and La Salle are expected to bounce back strong. But I’ll never lose hope for NU.”

Panlilio’s son Mario Jr. followed in his footsteps and played varsity basketball only it wasn’t for NU. “My son played with Dindo Pumaren and Joey Santamaria for La Salle under coach Derick Pumaren,” said Panlilio who has six children and eight grandchildren. “But my family cheers for NU. My son is now working in New York and living in New Jersey. My other son watched Game 3 with me on TV and we were so happy when NU won.”  

From the start of the Finals, Altamirano often referred to the Promised Land as NU’s destination. Before the season, he had no clue as to how far the Bulldogs would go particularly as the team lost five key players including Bobby Ray Parks, Sean Mbe and Robin Rono. But Altamirano, in his fourth year on the job, kept the faith.  “We did a lot of teaching, getting the players to embrace the new system without Ray and Sean,” he said. “Down the stretch, it came down to stops. We’re not gifted with a lot of offensive weapons like FEU but we play together, we share the ball, we find who’s open and who’s hot and get him the ball. I’m truly grateful for this wonderful opportunity to win the historic championship for NU.”