The creation of a professional league, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), in April 1975 altered the landscape of the country’s basketball history locally and internationally.
![Jaja Santiago [Photo courtesy of Japan V.League]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/30jaja-400x200.jpg)
The deep, powerful presence of legendary bowler Bong Coo, three-time Olympian Akiko Nakamura Thomson-Guevarra, future Navy chief Mary Pauline “Pawie” Fornea and fast-rising volleyball star Alvya Daphne “Jaja” Santiago should be enough for us to think of better days ahead.
Before there was Connie Hawkins, David Thompson, Julius “The Doctor” Erving and Michael Jordan, there was Elgin Baylor. On March 22, 2021, Baylor died due to natural causes.
In local sports, the date April 9 also is special to hoops fans. A momentous occasion moment it was forty-six years ago on that day for it marked the birth of professional basketball in the Philippines.
Where did these guys get the energy to play two sports. Each sport works different parts of the body. I remember Michael Jordan coming out of his first retirement in 1995, reports were saying he was in “baseball shape”, not basketball shape which may have contributed to the Bulls’ demise in the playoffs against the Orlando Magic.
![Stephen Curry [photo credit: Wikimedia Commons | TechCrunch]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/TechCrunch_Disrupt_San_Francisco_2019_-_Day_1_48835097887_cropped-400x200.jpg)
As the nation observes holy week, in my 45 years of existence, I’ve seen athletes both professional and amateur, wear their faith on their sleeves.
There are various Basketball Hall of Fame sites here and abroad but not many know that there exists one for international basketball.
BaliPure Purest Water Defenders Head Coach Rommel Abella mentioned the word positionless, which is a word you normally associate with professional men’s basketball. What Coach Abella meant was, and again, something I usually hear only in men’s basketball, more and more women’s players are becoming versatile.
Wataru Misaka was 5-foot-7 and was drafted by the New York Knicks of the then BAA (Basketball Association of America), the forerunner and precursor of the NBA or National Basketball Association.
They say life is short, enjoy it to the fullest as much as you can. With the pandemic in our midst, we are somewhat caught in a trap of helplessness and fear. Nothing is certain.
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