Martinez to open House of Legends

MANILA, Philippines — Bahay Alamat will open its doors to the public at the Bahayang Pagasa Subdivision, Maysan, Valenzuela, on Sunday with House Committee on Youth and Sports Development chair Rep. Eric Martinez leading the inaugural ceremonies to pay tribute to the country’s greatest basketball teams, players and coaches.

The indoor court is the sixth of its kind in Valenzuela which Martinez said he hopes to be known as the basketball capital of the Philippines. Bahay Alamat, or House of Legends, sits on a 1,500-square meter property and will be free to the public for use. Last January, Martinez inaugurated the House of Kobe at the Tomas Manuel Subdivision, Karuhatan, Valenzuela to mark another milestone in the city’s history as a basketball haven. There are also courts honoring Michael Jordan and the Boston Celtics, among others, a Samboy Lim statue and murals of June Mar Fajardo, Gabe Norwood, Jimmy Alapag, Mark Caguioa, JayJay Helterbrand, Robert Bolick and C. J. Perez on walls of buildings and playgrounds.

Martinez’ latest court honors the Philippine national basketball teams of 1936, 1954, 1973 and 2014. The 1936 squad, led by Ambrosio Padilla, took fifth place in the Berlin Olympics, the highest finish ever by an Asian basketball team in the quadrennial event. The 1954 team, headed by Caloy Loyzaga and Tony Genato, finished third at the FIBA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, also the highest finish ever by an Asian squad in the competition. The 1973 team won the FIBA Asia Cup in Manila with a cast that included Robert Jaworski and Ramon Fernandez. The 2014 team represented the country at the FIBA World Cup in Spain and signaled the Philippines’ return to the global stage after a 36-year absence.

On one end of the gym is a tarp which Martinez described as Valenzuela’s version of Mount Rushmore. It’s a mural of Loyzaga, Jaworski, Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio – four Filipino hoop heroes. Martinez said he calls it Mount Apo. On either side of the mural are two other tributes. One shows the PBA’s top five coaches of all time – Baby Dalupan, Tommy Manotoc, Norman Black, Chot Reyes and Tim Cone. The other is a collage of pictures of Toyota and Crispa players with their team logos to recognize two of the PBA’s legendary franchises. On top of the tribute to the historic teams is a collage of pictures of some of greatest players in Philippine basketball history. The façade of the building shows three stars and a sun in yellow against a blue backdrop identifying Bahay Alamat, House of Legends.

“I plan to hang Mr. Genato’s jersey up the rafters,” said Martinez, referring to the only living survivor of the 1954 team. “We could do a jersey retirement ceremony after the ribbon-cutting on Sunday. There will be games in a community tournament to be played that day.”