FROM all the memorable games he played in a distinguished basketball career, Ramon Fernandez considered one as the ultimate highlight.
And take note, this one didn’t happen in the PBA, where Fernandez lorded it over the league for years by being the first player to claim the MVP trophy four times and bagging a still unmatched record of 19 championships.
The 67-year-old cage legend regarded his stint with the 1973 Philippine men’s team during the FIBA Asia Championship (then known as the Asian Confederation Championship for Men) as the most remarkable he ever played in his career.
Specifically, the championship match against top gunner Shin Dong Pa and the dreaded South Korean team before a full house at the old Rizal Memorial Coliseum, then considered as the mecca of Philippine basketball.
“Greatest game ko? Ano nga ba?” said ‘El Presidente’ as he pondered the question of ‘what was his greatest game as a player’ during his SPIN.ph ZOOM In guesting.
“Yung championship game against Korea siguro sa ABC in 1973,” Fernandez said.
Now a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), Fernandez considered the Filipinos’ 90-78 win over the Sokors in the championship match truly special out of the thousands of games he played since he began competing in organized basketball at the University of San Carlos in Cebu in the early 70s.
Fernandez was a rising star for the Philippine team back when its stars were the likes of Robert Jaworski, William ‘Bogs’ Adornado, Jimmy Mariano, and Manny Paner.
And the Filipinos were on a mission.
They had lost the championship to South Korea four years earlier in Bangkok as the Koreans claimed their first FIBA Asia Cup title with a 95-86 win behind the 48-point eruption of Shin in the final.
Of course, they’re playing too, in front of a basketball-adoring fans who celebrated with them when the team bagged the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1960 which Manila hosted.
Losing definitely was not an option for the Filipino cagers.
The tournament was held from Dec. 1 to 15 with the 12 participating countries divided into two groups of six teams each.
The top three teams from each bracket advanced to the championship round, with the Philippines emerging No. 1 in Group B and South Korea on top of Group A., both with unbeaten 5-0 slates.
The Filipinos and Sokors won all their four games in the final round to set the stage for a winner-take-all match in the final date of the tournament.
Coached by the ‘Man In White,’ the late Valentin ‘Tito’ Eduque, the host team had anxious moments in the opening half of the championship game as it found itself tied with the visitors at 48 at the half.
But not one to disappoint the crowd, the Filipinos went to work in the second half and shackled South Korea’s prolific gunner. The late Tembong Melencio alternated in putting the clamps against Shin together with Jaworski and Francis Arnaiz.
Adornado then took care of the offense along with Paner as the country pulled off the rousing victory to regain the crown from its most bitter Asian rival.
Other members of the squad were Abet Guidaben, Alberto ‘Big Boy’ Reynoso, Ricardo Cleofas, Yoyong Martirez, and Dave Regullano.
For winning the championship, the Philippines earned a berth to the 1974 FIBA World Championship. This team remains the last national team made up purely of homegrown talent to win the biggest and most prestigious cage tournament in Asia.
No wonder, Fernandez is forever proud of that historic game in his entire lifetime.
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