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    COLUMN: With or without Parkinson’s, life goes on for Star sports ed

    Lito Tacujan's book chronicles major sports events he witnessed in four decades as a sportswriter. It is also quite personal
    Jul 5, 2023
    Lito Tacujan sports editor philippine star
    ILLUSTRATION: Echo Antonio
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    WHEN our group of sportswriters dropped by the house of former Philippine Star sports editor Lito Tacujan weeks ago, many started joking around that he may have taken up the wrong profession.

    In his backyard lorded by a huge duhat tree studded with fruits, Lito presided over the visiting congregation like a standup comic, massaging old tales, sending his audience guffawing even if, take note of this, nearly all of us had already heard the exact same tales in countless beer sessions of the past.

    lito tacujan

    Though unable to move with his previous dexterity, he was definitely presiding over this crowd of former colleagues, some of whom came with their wives, like he was the most energized of all of us.

    It was a day of reminiscences. His guests joined the host relive a past where he and his colleagues roamed the country and the world covering nearly every important sports event involving a Filipino athlete jumping, running, lifting, or, as was special to this circle, swinging a golf club.

    Golf was the dominant topic. It should be no surprise. In his prime, Lito was the most accomplished golfer in all of Philippine journalism. Sadly, time and a long battle with Parkinson’s have deprived him of this singular joy.

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      Despite the havoc caused by the disease, Lito’s outlook has remained upbeat. He doesn’t lose hope that, one day, science and luck will find the cure that would restore some of his lost dexterity and get him back on the golf cart that sits forlorn in his garage.

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      Not one to overthink life’s idiosyncrasies, he has accepted his fate and tries to busy himself with the things that his body and mind still allow him to engage. Almost daily, he is on social media engaging friends and, sometimes, foes, on the issues and events of the day.

      Having the will, discipline, and skill, Lito has also made time to do what most journalists dream of doing but which only a fraction actually get to complete: Lito wrote a book. He finished it during the pandemic, and thus includes a chapter where he chronicles his life-and-death struggle with COVID-19, which he beat after 12 days at the ICU.

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      The book titled Cheers and Tears is a compilation of his journalistic journey, a path peopled by established stars, aspiring wannabes, also-rans, and men and women whose lives revolve in remembering what had been and what could have been.

      It is not a long read at 110 pages, and scattered throughout are brief musings and data that, on nights and days he might’ve been alone, surfaced in his mind.

      The book contains his various coverages, ranging from no less than five Olympics, even more Asian Games, Manny Pacquiao’s international fights, and the 1991 Masters when Frankie Miñoza played in what is on record as the last time a Filipino golfer tested the challenges and perils of Augusta National.

      There are pieces about the rise and subsequent stardom of Lydia de Vega in track and field, Robert Jaworski in pro ball, the groundbreaking victories of Hidilyn Diaz in weightlifting and Yuka Saso in golf, the heartbreaking loss of the Philippines to South Korea in the Busan Asian Games’ basketball semifinals, and many more sporting events of the past four decades.

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      Lito Tacujan with touring pro Dottie Ardina

      Yes, that is how long Lito has spent his life in sport journalism: four decades.He became sports editor of the Philippine Star right after it opened after martial law, and was quite earnest about mentoring the next writers who came on his watch. Across all publications, digital and print, the feeling was unanimous: in 2019, the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) picked right when it gave Lito Tacujan its Lifetime Achievement Award. Lito was there in Muhamad Ali’s presscon during the “Thrilla in Manila” in ’75; he was there to figure out Barangay Ginebra’s mystique in the ’80s, a mystique which lasts till today; he saw the UP Maroons return to glory in very recent years; he covered the high of Crispa’s grand slam in the early ’80s; and he joined the many writers who paid tribute to one of the PBA’s winningest coaches, Baby Dalupan.

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      Lito Tacujan with colleagues Jun Engracia and Ding Marcelo during a break in their coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympics.

      The book is not all about sports. It is sprinkled with personal stories, such as his tribute to his parents, his sorry tale of how he missed out on being blessed by Pope Francis, his praise for his hometown, Canlubang, where he lives today in the presence of his duhat tree, and, as a truly personal piece, his final acceptance of Parkinson’s disease, the disease that came to be associated with Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali.

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      Overall, the book is a brief march into the highs and lows of Philippine sports from the eyes of one who witnessed it all up close for more than 40 years.

      The book is available at Shopee at P400 per copy. Or you may email the author at ltacujan@yahoo.com for inquiries.

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      ILLUSTRATION: Echo Antonio
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