Face off: Fangirls, heartthrobs and the road to the NBA

From: Jaemark Tordecilla To: Rafe Bartholomew Since you brought up the subject of heartthrobs, let’s talk about the other side of the equation: the fangirls. After reading my review of Pacific Rims, award-winning journalist Roel Landingin told me about a conversation he had with a local corporate bigwig about Philippine basketball fanaticism. The bigwig had been heavily involved in college basketball back in the ‘50s, and he told Roel that he and his buddies gravitated to basketball because it was the only sport that could draw the interest of colegiala cheerleaders at the time. The young lasses weren’t so keen about going out onto the soccer field to do a cheer routine, because of that endemic Filipino fear of getting a tan. The basketball game played indoors at the gymnasium, of course, served as protection from that fate. Having read your book, where you struggled to find out why “the beautiful game" didn’t take the Philippines by storm, this explanation made perfect sense to me. In fact, it still makes perfect sense today because, as you point out in the book, the biggest basketball games are social events as much as they are athletic competitions. This is true at every level, whether the teams are playing in the finals of the UAAP, or the Congressman Manhik Manaog inter-barangay invitational cup. The lovely coeds from Ateneo and La Salle troop to the Araneta Coliseum, where they’re protected from the midday sun. Meanwhile, inter-barangay championships are usually played at night, allowing the neighborhood cuties to come out, see, and be seen. One thing you didn’t have time to cover in the book is the impact of female fans on the popularity of basketball, and its stars. (You did have plenty to say about the screaming bading cheerleaders at courtside.) The biggest stars in Philippine basketball history – Freddie Webb, Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Alvin Patrimonio, Vince Hizon, even guys like Atoy Co and Samboy Lim – were heartthrobs, something that remains true today with guys like James Yap and Chris Tiu. It gets over the top, with fans lobbying online for NBA general managers to draft the Smart Gilas captain. While we’re on that, do you think PBA players can play at that level? The obvious answer is no, of course, but when I watch someone like the Orlando Magic’s JJ Redick thriving in the playoffs, I can’t help but think that there’s nothing Redick does that one of our talented swingmen like Yap or Dondon Hontiveros couldn’t. Of course, there are many other factors why Yap wouldn’t want to go stateside: the cultural adjustment, the grueling schedule,the language barrier, his cushy role as the face of the PBA, his stable home life. Ok, maybe not that last one. Am I crazy? If not, what would it take for one of our guys to make the leap to The Association? Please click on Rafe's bobblehead to read his reply.

From: Rafe Bartholomew To: Jaemark Tordecilla Subject: Pinoy hardcourt heartthrobs to the NBA Chicks are a major draw, but are we really trying to draw a direct line from starry-eyed colegialas to basketball's larger-than-life status in Philippine pop culture? We talk about the endemic Pinoy fear of tanning, but I'm pretty confident that if the cheerleaders were forced to be outside, they’d tap into that other essential Philippine characteristic, ingenuity, and create some lovely and imaginative routines involving umbrellas. I've seen women take bangka rides with no tarpaulin to block the sun, and they wielded their payong in the face of heavy winds and crashing surf without getting touched by a single ray. You're telling me that the cheerleaders couldn't figure something out? I know they're supposed to be maarte, but come on. That said, I think you're right about the convenience of basketball. Commentators usually like to focus on how easy the game is to play. Even if you don't have much money, all you need is some place to put up a ring and a backboard, a ball that (hopefully) bounces, and a little space to run and shoot and dribble. But the indoor nature of organized basketball also proved convenient over the years, as you pointed out. The socialites and fangirls could enjoy the games without worrying about the elements, the players could exert themselves without getting heatstroke, and rainy season couldn't get in the way. It's not just the chicks, I think, but everyone in the arena who benefits from basketball being an indoor game. I will admit that I'm kind of obsessed with fangirl (or boy) tribute slideshows on YouTube. The slow jam background music, the post-practice snapshots, the amateur editing, they're funny and creepy and touching all at once. But there are a couple reasons why basketball heartthrobs didn't play a huge part in Pacific Rims. For starters, I think people expect pro athletes to be ladies men. It’s news judgment rule number one, the thing they told me on the first day of journalism school: Dog bites man is not news, but man bites dog--that is news. Sure, it’s a cliché, but there's some truth in it. I think I reference the Tisoy good looks of Toyota's Fernandez, Jaworski and Arnaiz as a factor in their popularity, ditto for Vince the Prince, Alex Compton and others. There's a quote in the book from a fan letter I found in the back of a late-Seventies Atlas Sports Weekly that asks for pictures of the entire Crispa team, including the ball boys. I think that hints at the kind frothy devotion the players get from the ladies, but you’re right that I took my foot off the gas pedal a little when writing about that side of the game. It's also hard to report because there are so many rumors and it’s all tsismis and it’s very hard to confirm. Also, as fun as gossip is, I didn't want the book to gain attention for being full of scandals. I wanted it to celebrate the aspects of Philippine basketball that make it a unique and vital part of the hoops universe. And as for PBA players making it to the NBA, I do agree that the guys who would have anything close to a shot have all the reasons to stay home and be megastars, rather than go be Don Nelson's Asian mascot. I reference Nellie, of course, because he coaches the Golden State Warriors, a team in a market with one of the United States' largest Filipino communities, and one of the franchises that is rumored from time to time of being interested in hiring a Pinoy bench player for marketing purposes. I, for one, would have a closet of Yap #18 Warriors jerseys, if only they existed. As for the reality of this happening, I think there will be a homegrown Pinoy NBA player someday, but I don't think I've seen him yet. Yap seems like the closest, but size is still an issue. The extra inches Pinoy players give up to average NBA guys at the same position is a tough hurdle to get over, and I think it will take a once-in-a-generation player (let's say with Yap’s game and K.G. Canaleta’s athleticism) to break into that next level. What do you think? Is Kiefer Ravena the one? Jeron Teng (I played with him once at Coach Ronnie Magsanoc's game in San Juan; the kid can fill it up).