PBA chairman Patrick Gregorio will never forget his UP high school varsity basketball teammate Ramil Cruz and their moment at the Countryside Restaurant BBQ on Katipunan Avenue some years back.
Gregorio and Cruz played one UAAP season together with the UP juniors in 1983. “I was a point guard and Ramil was our center,” recalled Gregorio. “That was Ramil’s last year in the junior division. He went on to play in the seniors with another teammate of ours Primo Rodriguez who is now an economics professor. Obet Eugenio was another high school teammate. The opposition was tough that season. JV Gayoso was with Ateneo, Benet Palad with NU and Jerry Codinera with UE. We won only one game over FEU with Ramil and we celebrated for two days. We even had our own version of a bonfire among ourselves. Our neighbor was so happy for us that he told us to help ourselves to his chickens in the backyard. We cooked one of his chickens which turned out to be a fighting cock. We didn’t realize that his white chickens were for eating and his colored chickens were for fighting.”
That moment at the Countryside Restaurant BBQ will forever be etched on Gregorio’s mind. “Countryside Restaurant BBQ is a favorite hangout of PBA guys especially after a game at Araneta,” said Gregorio. “It’s where coaches, players and fans drop by before going home if they live around the area. One night, I thought of dropping by for a beer just to unwind after a game. I saw Ramil in one corner all the way at the back. So I walked over to join him since I was also alone. But Ramil suggested we not sit together. He was with the PBA as technical director and I was with Talk ‘N’ Text as PBA alternative governor. Ramil didn’t want people to misconstrue. So we ended up sitting down in two separate tables. That’s how Ramil was, always conscious of being beyond reproach, knowing how sensitive his position was in the PBA. To him, integrity was everything.”
* * * *
Last Sunday, Cruz died in his sleep at the Aziza Hotel in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. He was with the PBA group for the All-Star Weekend. The day before, he complained of stomach pain but refused to be brought to the hospital, not wanting to be fussed over.
“Gas pain, that’s what Ramil told us,” said PBA media bureau chief and assistant to the commissioner Willie Marcial. “We gave him medicine. We wanted to take him to the hospital but he didn’t want to bother anyone. Before going to sleep, he walked around the swimming pool and told us he was feeling better. The next morning at around 6:30, he was found dead in bed. His hotel room door was unlocked.”
Marcial had the tough task of phoning Cruz’ wife Monette and breaking the news. Monette, a sister and Cruz’ brother flew in from Manila and brought the remains back Monday evening.
“I broke the news slowly,” said Marcial. “She couldn’t believe Ramil was gone. She told me it was just a bad dream, that she wasn’t really talking to me. Ramil was a good man, very devoted to his wife and four children.”
Gregorio said Cruz was the unsung hero of UP’s title win in the UAAP seniors in 1986. Coach Joe Lipa piloted the squad that included Benjie Paras, Ronnie Magsanoc and Eric Altamirano.
* * * *
“Coach Joe himself described Ramil as our unsung hero,” continued Gregorio. “We played FEU for the right to face UE for the championship and we were down with eight seconds to go. Ramil stole the ball and sank the winning layup. Without Ramil, we wouldn’t have gone on to win the title.”
Gregorio said Cruz was the quiet type, never bringing attention to himself. During a playing day, he would sit alone in the stands taking down notes on the referees’ performance and the conduct of each contest.
“That’s always been Ramil’s style, unassuming, quietly hard-working,” said Gregorio. “That’s also how he left us, quietly, not wanting to bother anyone. That’s how he was at Countryside Restaurant BBQ on that unforgettable night. He was unwinding after another stressful day in the PBA and didn’t want to compromise the integrity of the league by being seen in public with someone affiliated with a team, even if that someone was a high school teammate and good friend. His attitude was commendable. He left us at a young age, only 48. But he left us with a legacy of integrity and an untarnished reputation. For a while, he went back to UP as an assistant coach but the PBA asked him back as technical director. The Board was all for Ramil to return. He was gone for two years with UP and came back more mature, more experienced and with his integrity intact. In fact, he was up for promotion in the PBA when he passed. All I can say is hats off to our soft-spoken, sincere and honest friend, my teammate and schoolmate. We’ll all miss Ramil, one of the best guys I’ve ever met.”
Cruz lies in state at the Loyola Funeral Homes on Commonwealth Avenue and will be interred on Saturday.