We are one

He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination. – Jose Rizal

The “Basketball Balik-Tanaw” summit organized by Dr. Michael Rico Mesina attracted pillars from many facets of Philippine basketball and culture. The intimate gathering emphasized the value of the sports in defining who we are as a people, even for those who are not hardcore fans or don’t play the sport.

“I think Filipinos love basketball out of a sense of belonging,” said Mesina, an authority on basketball history and memorabilia. “We also love the creativity of team sports.”

The morning began with Doc Rico bringing in John Silva, executive director of the Ortigas Foundation Library, where the event was held. He was followed by Melvin Lam, president of the Bayanihan Collectors Club. The meeting room was filled and surrounded with incomparable mementos and merchandise from more than 125 years of basketball in the Philippines, from the time when women were the first ones to play it, to the international flavor of today. We felt like kids in a candy store.

The substantive talks began with Gil Cortez, chairman of the United Central Luzon Athletic Association and the PBA’s first Rookie of the Year in 1976. He was followed by Sev Sarmenta, who has been a sports broadcaster and communications professor for decades, on why the basketball has become a touchstone of Philippine history. Historian Xiao Chua, PhD explored the value of history and the power of memorabilia. It was enlightening, as it is part of us that we don’t think much of.

“We need to help this group,” said Cortez, a starter for Toyota in the PBA’s first years. “They are preserving treasures and valuable memories for us. Nobody else is doing this.”

“Basketball has helped the mental health of so many Filipinos,” Chua explained. “The core of being a Filipino is kapwa. There is no English equivalent: seeing yourself in one another. Basketball is a mirror of who we are.”

The afternoon session opened with Prof. Jose Maria Escoda on the evolution and the Golden Age of Philippine basketball, a time that has gradually been fading from memory. Young people today hardly recognize the names of basketball luminaries from the 1970’s or earlier. A panel discussion on the unrequited love of Filipinos for Olympic basketball followed, abundant with stories and insights on the (hopefully) imminent return to the world’s greatest stage.

When you think about it, it is ironic that something as ubiquitous as Philippine basketball is taken for granted. But, as Rizal said, if we don’t acknowledge our starting point, how will we know if we’ve arrived at the future we truly desire?