Virtual basketball

I learned to watch basketball games live very early.

My father who was actively involved with the UV Lancers, first as a player, and later as a coach, always brought my brother and I to the Sunday games of the CAAA, the Zoning Tournament, and the PRISAA Games.

Alternately, we were even brought to Manila whenever the Green Lancers made it to the National Intercollegiate Finals.

As an undergrad student in UP Diliman, we were required by our PE teachers to attend the games of the UP Maroons at the murky Rizal Memorial Coliseum at Vito Cruz.

It was a long trip, but we were given a free ride on the UP School Bus which was a better trip than taking a JD Line or Yujuico Transit to Quiapo and then take another ride to Taft. The bus was supposed to take us back to Diliman, but I always stayed for the rest of the day’s schedule, no matter who was playing.

The last game was usually a star studded game because it was always reserved for the best match of the day, involving the top ranked teams.

Robert Jaworski, Danilo Florencio, Jimmy Mariano and Adriano Papa were just a few of the big time players to emerge from the collegiate ranks at the time.

I could not remember however how many times the Rizal Memorial Coliseum was filled to the brim for a UAAP game. Maybe during the semis and the finals. Rarely however during regular games.

UAAP tickets were not difficult to buy then. Of course, this was before the transfer of Ateneo and De La Salle from the NCAA to the UAAP.

Nobody has tried to explain why fealty to the dear alma mater was so strong and prevalent in the NCAA and was practically non-existent in the UAAP.

I recall that the UP Alumni trooped to the Maroons games only during that time when the usually lowly Maroons were fighting for the championship.

I was already in Cebu when Benjie Paras and company finally won a championship, so I cannot give any observation then.

Nobody has also explained why all the hoopla migrated to the university league, after the two rivals brought their wars to the other league. For a time, the NCAA suddenly became a minor league compared to the UAAP.

Of course the story is different nowadays.

Due to the vast field of talents, the NCAA has drawn par with the UAAP in terms of crowd loyalty, and in attracting the better talents. Good for Metro Manila.

Coupled with the extensive television coverage, the perception will always be there that Philippine basketball happens only in Metro Manila. We are even lucky in Cebu because CESAFI schools continue to maintain their competitiveness.

Once in a while, when the likes of a Slaughter-Fajardo rivalry happen, the local varsity league comes alive and the basketball savvy Cebuanos also troop to the murkier Cebu Coliseum to witness live a good basketball game.

Those of you who have never seen a basketball game live should at least try it ones. It is a helluva experience.