Basketball Crazy gets crazier

Basketball crazy crew Marko, Joseph and Guia

Tracy had the flu but that did not deter her from being her bubbly self. I myself had a lot on my mind since next week is the grand event that all STIers have been waiting for and we are quite lacking in preparation. The show started late since technically there were some problems and we had to wait for some technical stuff that arrived a little after 9pm. Guests for this evening were Fil-Am Solomon Mercado who played for the PBL Champs Harbour Centre, Two Time PBA MVP Willie Miller of the Alaska Aces and Yuri Escueta and Nico Salva of the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

TThe crazy Trio with Solomon Mercado

SOLOMON MERCADO

Solomon’s story is somewhat very inspiring. His father was a junkie and got jailed, he was on drugs even before he became a teenager and he was a troubled teen. His Father is Puerto Rican while his mom Filipina and he was raised by his mom and sisters. Luckily he got good guidance from his mom and other Christian guardians who straightened him up. Back in high school Solomon was a two sport athlete who played point guard in basketball and running back for their football team. When he went to college he decided that he’ll concentrate on basketball which has a lot less contact as opposed to football. One of the life turning incidents in his life was the accident he got into with which a vehicle cut him and he spun around and got hurt. Although not that serious, the bumps and burns did not deter him to run more than 200 yards and two touchdowns in their playoff win. He is lucky he said since he got good advice from friends for him to play in the Philippines. He said that the only difference is that the big guys in the US are really big as to the 6’7’s and 6’8s that he gets to face here. Solomon has set his sights on the PBA draft and we hope that he can fit in a team that will fully utilize his strengths and hopefully inspire other kids to be athletes first and do not be involved in drugs. Good Luck Solomon.

Bill the thriller with Willie Miller

WILLIE MILLER

He said that he was first discovered in General Santos playing for Region 3 in the Palarong Pambansa. Willie has an American father and a Filipina mother and he hails from Olongapo city. From there he went to Letran and played for then Coach Molet Pineda. IN Letran, although they never did win a title, his most notable team mates back then were Chris Calaguio and Kerby Raymundo. From the Knights he went on to play for the then Tanduay Rhum amateur team with the likes of Eric Menk and Renren Ritualo. Then he went to star for the Nueva Ecija Patriots in the MBA and later on he was picked first overall in the 2001 rookie draft. He became rookie of the year and is now a two time MVP. At first glance I never thought that he spoke straight English, it was nice to note that when you talk to him in English he automatically answers you in straight English and if you ask in Tagalog he answers you in Tagalog. He is quite jolly and fun to interview and he even said that he is a natural off guard whose instinct is to shoot first. Since he was transposed by Coach Tim Cone to point guard he had a lot of adjusting and is often scolded by Coach Tim. He is just sad that their team came to gel at the latter part of the ongoing Fiesta Conference in which they were eliminated. He told Alaska fans to wait for their resurgence in the coming conferences. With that we bid him good luck and hope that the Aces Ace the next conference.

Willie joined our interview with the two Eagles

YURI ESCUETA AND NICO SALVA

They were once San Beda Boys but now they are now Ateneo Men! Yuri Escueta is happy that the Eagles are on top but said that they are not content with what they have accomplished since the season is not yet over and they have not yet dethroned the reigning champs. Nico on the other hand is slowly getting to the groove of things as a Blue Eagle. He is happy with his role as a person who hustles, gives energy and plays good defense as he understands that his time will come. He said that he decided to go to the Ateneo since he values his education well and that he believes in the coaching philosophy of Coach Norman. Yuri said that he has already recovered from the knee injury he suffered in the game against UE and are looking at DLSU as still the team that they have to beat to get the crown. One thing nice is that Yuri and Jayvee Casio were former classmates and team mates back in San Beda. On the other hand Nico shares the same sentiment because his team mate LA Revilla is now with the Green Archers. Both mentioned that they are still friends and nothing has changed since they focus more on what they can bring to the team. To end the interview, Nico Salva said – “To all Blue Eagles fans please watch us for this year we will go all the way!” Hope that the Basketball Crazy luck will rub on you Nico. Good luck to the Eagles.

The Blue Eagles with the Black Eagle

The show ended with me drinking a third of a glass of Datu Puti Vinegar which was poured into a glass by Willie Miller. Remember our bet? What came out was that JRU won over Letran which means I lost since I thought LEtran will come out on top. Next week, Game 7 of the Finals, I picked Air 21 over Ginebra. So as we say, “Life is a ball so just shoot and score!”