A FEW days ago, I wrote an op-ed piece about why it was best for Kai Sotto to pursue his National Basketball Association (NBA) dream. In that op-ed piece, I mentioned the late Ric-Ric Marata as one of those first Filipinos to pave the way for overseas basketball.
The day after that op-ed piece, Ric-Ric’s wife, Chatt, and eldest son, RJ, got in touch with me to thank me. Said Chatt, “It was nice of someone to remember that he played overseas.” I had met Chatt all those years ago when they were still dating. Of course, we had fallen out of touch.
Had I known that we were all living in New York City, I would have certainly met up with him there.
I was in third year college and writing for the Journal group of which my late aunt, Nena Barretto-Olivares was a co-owner and publisher. My first-ever sports assignment was the now-defunct Philippine Amateur Basketball League and it was an invitational tourney with teams from Thailand, Japan and Canada participating. Swift’s—under first-time Head Coach Yeng Guiao—beat Philip’s Sardines as piloted by Joe Lipa who had just left University of the Philippines (UP).
Now, that was a powerhouse Swift’s team—Alvin Patrimonio, Zaldy Realubit, Peter Aguilar, Cris Bolado, Elmer Cabahug and this Vinnie Johnson-type of player in Ato Agustin. And of course, Marata who was a spitfire of a point guard.
I befriended Marata who was one of the tourney’s outstanding players. As a result of that, some of the coaches from the University of British Columbia recruited him to play in Canada.
Before Marata left, I handed over my phone number (landline in today’s parlance) through Swift’s trainer—the late Chris Monfort who was my football coach in Ateneo and Guiao’s classmate in UP—to give to Marata. We had struck up a friendship and since we shared similar names, we called each other tokayo.
When Ric-Ric arrived in Canada, he suited up for the Vancouver Nighthawks that was playing in some local tourney and the World Basketball League. And it was tough for him to adapt to the cold and the environment. There were far fewer Filipinos living abroad and the change saw Ric-Ric struggle. But he was excited. I recall him telling me before he left that he wanted to pave the way for Filipinos to ply their trade abroad.
I was surprised when he called my landline—via long distance! How much was a minute’s worth then anywhere from P7 to P21 if I remember it right. But he did call. Three or four times? When he spoke of basketball, he talked about his not being fluent in English. The game was easy enough. But he found it hard with new teammates. Plus, the loneliness didn’t help. One time, I listened to him cry the entire five minutes. I just let him vent. I understood. But how do you write all of that? At this time, I was writing straight up game recaps and not feature articles or columns where I had more latitude.
The last time he called, he said he was coming home. He found out that Chatt was pregnant and he wanted to come home.
He was there for what—three months? When I next saw him, he was now in the Philippine Basketball Association. I remember seeing him again after he returned. It was at the Ultra. “Tokayo…I am back,” he beamed. “’Yun lang ang itinuro mo na Ingles sa akin kasi.” And we laughed as we bought hotdogs at Mang Edwin’s behind the stands.
While he didn’t succeed in paving the way, he thought that the short experience turned him into a better man. “Family ang priority,” he said.
I covered his team’s fortunes a few more times then I switched into advertising. I lost touch until a few days ago when that op-ed piece reconnected me to his family.
When I think of Kai Sotto, I think of the others who tried their luck abroad—Japeth Aguilar, Ray Parks, Kiefer Ravena and Kobe Paras. Kai represents the best chance for a homegrown Pinoy to make it to the NBA. Once that happens, you can bet eyes will be on others.
Ric-Ric Marata might be a footnote to all that. But I am certainly proud nonetheless. He chose his family all of who are doing very well now (both Chatt and their only daughter, Janika, are frontliners in this pandemic). And sometimes, that is all that matters.