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.
In the main event, ONE Flyweight World Grand Prix, 12-time UFC World Champion Demetrious Johnson can further establish his legacy as the greatest mixed martial artist in history if he defeats reigning six-time ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes.
There are various Basketball Hall of Fame sites here and abroad but not many know that there exists one for international basketball.
![Andrew Moten biography [photo taken from PBA Annual]](https://sportsbytes.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/157004961_230444555430259_1655177595139515852_n1-e1616957949131-400x200.jpg)
When one asks around, the name of Andrew Moten may not ring a bell. And the reason for that? He only played three PBA games for the Beermen.
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.