TIME OUT WITH THE MAESTRO

from my Manila Standard column 10-01-10

I was nice to see Coach Baby Dalupan at the Philippine Basketball Association Press Corps awards night last Wednesday. Physically, he’s frail and needed much assistance. But the fight is still there. The passion for basketball still burns deep.

I was hesitant to even greet him with the throngs of well-wishers surrounding him. I figured I’ll just wait when he’s settled. But it wasn’t till near the end of the program, which I hosted with Ed Picson and Quinito Henson, that I was able to approach him.

Before the Virgilio Baby Dalupan Coach of the Year award was handed to Coach Ryan Gregorio, I was tasked to approach Coach Baby to hand him the microphone for his speech. He couldn’t see much, I don’t think. I held the microphone up to him and despite seemingly not having enough strength to hold the microphone up by himself, he still managed to deliver an eloquent speech, thanking the PBA Press Corps and congratulating the Coach Ryan.

He also made mention of Coach Tim Cone. Mr. Fred Uytengsu, Alaska team owner, received the Executive of the Year award so Coach Baby took the opportunity to congratulate them on their 25th anniversary. Coach Baby went on to share that he was always afraid of coaching against Tim Cone because he knew Cone had his number and could beat him. Coach Tim is the 2nd winningest coach in the league, after the Maestro himself.

After his speech, I took the opportunity to chat with him and asked if he still remembered me! I was surprised and thrilled that he did! “Of course Patricia! How’s Vince?”. It just kept echoing in my head. I honestly felt special. I’m a commoner admiring a basketball demigod.

We had a very nice conversation about how he still follows the games and that he’d like to know why there are trades that were allowed to happen. He mentioned Asi Taulava and how he felt the trade was not fair. He also can’t understand why certain franchises allow themselves to be conduits in transactions between sister teams. I don’t know if that had always been in his mind or if that was ignited by the hard-hitting, brutally honest speech by Mr. Uytengsu about how Alaska always played by the rules, unlike…… (that’s another column) (Great speech sir Fred!)
More than the chitchat on controversies, he also congratulated me on the work that I’ve done. He asked when he’ll hear me anchor again, more than just courtside and that he thinks I’m doing a great job. By this time I was floating on air… Those were music to my ears simply because he’s the MAESTRO! He knows his basketball and for him to appreciate my work made me feel good. (Sorry to boast, I need a dose of humility here) (okay I’ll stop)

All in all, I was just amazed at how sharp he still is and how vocal he can still be. I promised I’d visit him and his lovely wife real soon since we were just neighbours. I’ve been meaning to but I just never wanted to intrude. Now I have an invitation. And I have a feeling when I do visit, we’ll talk about trade rumors, league developments and how it was done during his time. Looking forward to it!