BEFORE the “basket brawl” that marred the July 1 game between Gilas and Australia (the Aussies won the riot-shortened match 89-53 with mere ticks left in the third quarter) was the exceedingly heartwarming news authored amazingly by Ramon S. Ang, a.k.a. RSA, last week.
Twenty million pesos would have been more than enough to shore up the sagging funds of the Philippine Olympic Committee. Not to RSA. So he gave P50 million, easily toppling the P20 million earlier donated to the POC by Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP).
MVP like RSA, is also a three-team owner in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). MVP owns Meralco, TNT KaTropa and NLEx. RSA controls Magnolia, Barangay Ginebra and powerhouse San Miguel Beer.
Ricky Vargas, the POC president, almost couldn’t believe what RSA had done, praising the San Miguel Corp. president/COO to high heavens.
The grapevine now teems with talk bordering chiefly on MVP returning the favor by upping his P20-million donation to match RSA’s P50 million.
“Or, better yet,” said Valentin Dakuykoy, my unretirable legman, “surpassing RSA’s P50 million.”
Well, why not, indeed?
For one, MVP is as wealthy as RSA. An additional P30 million would be chicken feed. And MVP even giving more than P50 million would definitely redound to the improvement of Philippine sports in the long run.
For another, Vargas is a trusted MVP lieutenant for the longest time. And, speaking of loyalty, MVP having Vargas under his wings to the ends of the Earth is like President Duterte having Bong Go by his side till the seas stop rushing to the shore. Definitely, MVP’s extra-generous gesture would be a camouflaged appreciation of Vargas any time.
But RSA’s generosity has become legend, in case you still don’t know. Some time ago, he donated P500 million to typhoon victims in Cagayan de Oro, setting a record as the single-biggest donor to a calamity fund of all time.
Now as to that “Rumble in Bocaue” that shook the very foundations of the Philippine Arena, it sure left a nasty black eye to Philippine basketball in particular and to world hoopsdom in general.
But amid the rubble of the rumble stood out three men who embraced civilization over being instant cavemen: Gabe Norwood of Rain or Shine, Baser Amer of Meralco and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer. The three rejected violence but not their nine teammates—with the nine cavemen getting eventually punished with ejection out of the court.
If RSA would decide to reward Fajardo with another more than generous kitty for sportsmanlike conduct, no surprise there.
When it happens, will the bosses of Norwood and Amer do the same? Go figure.
THAT’S IT Happy birthday today, July 4, to Ate Buhay Ferro Guevara, who turns 96 but who is still as lucid as a 46-year-old matron. If there’s one person who has absolutely defied Father Time (is there such a thing as Mother Time?), Ate Buhay it is. Amazingly, Ate Buhay has never been slowed down by age, as she still walks and moves around with the gait and spring of a typical middle ager. Never been sick seriously. Incredibly, she is God’s wondrous marvel of creation; she doesn’t even wear eyeglasses up to now. She speaks clearly and converses with undiminished articulation, as well. Her secret to long life, a sound mind and a healthy body? “A bottle of Coke everyday,” she says, delivered with conviction. Now, who can top that?… The remains of Justine Baldivia will be laid to rest today. The 6-year-old daughter of Gene, a Probinsiyano mainstay, was another sad victim of dengue. Justine was the niece of versatile actor Dennis Padilla. Our deepest condolences…