ABS-CBN stars relive Pinoy street games

Gary Valenciano plays sipa. Aga Muhlach and Edu Manzano are seen flipping teks (picture cards). Claudine Barretto plays skipping rope. Young loveteam John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo play piko (hopscotch). Robin Padilla and Judy Ann Santos gamely tussle in shato. Boy Abunda and Kris Aquino have fun with Chinese garter.

Teen stars Sarah Geronimo, Mikel Campos, Mark Bautista and Michael Agassi get down and dirty to play holen on the ground. Kuh Ledesma engages in jack-en-poy with a kid. The Viva Hot Babes sit in line blowing plastic balloons. Ai-Ai de las Alas spins trumpo and gets ribbed by Arnell Ignacio. Piolo Pascual carries the hero of an agawan base game on his shoulders. Charo Santos chats with sari-sari store customers and comedy king Dolphy interacts with the kids

ABS-CBN stars relive the enjoyable Filipino street games and interact with real-life community members in the network’s newest station ID, Sabay Summer Tayo Kapamilya, which further emphasizes the spirit of bonding that the network promotes.

The image spot was produced by ABS-CBN’s award-winning Creative Communications Management (CCM), headed by Cindy de Leon, true-to-form with their previously mounted original and innovative station IDs, like the Saya ng Summer, Umulan, Umaraw and the yearly Christmas IDs, all of which gathered the contract stars of the network. CCM recently won a bronze medal from the New York TV Festival for its 50 Years Gold station ID and the 2004 Gold Quill award of excellence in the audio-visual division for the ABS-CBN 50 Years Journey station ID.

The Sabay Summer Tayo Kapamilya spot takes off from the new-found friendship between a 10-year-old boy who just moved into the neighborhood and the community’s astig, who turns out to be "Mr. Nice Guy" in the end. It climaxes with the two boys going to an ABS-CBN Kapamilya Day in the community plaza, where they are joined by the network’s biggest stars and personalities.

"The new station ID espouses the values of camaraderie and unity," explains Cindy. "The particular games we featured are the ones we enjoy with friends, not by ourselves. That’s why the jingle, Sabay Tayo… (Let’s do it together), was also used with the video footage." Network icon Dolphy further echoes this message in the spot’s final sequence when he tells the two boys, "Kaya natin, kahit ano, basta sabay tayo."

CCM’s manager for broadcast design, Johnny de los Santos, came up with the idea of showcasing the various street games for the station ID during the initial brainstorming session, which included other creative professionals from the division: Zita Aragon, Joel Macaventa, Jason Telmo, Abe Nadres, Tina Baldueza, Danie Sedilla-Cruz, Oliver Paler and Edsel Misenas.

"I tried to recall what I actually did during the summer when I was a kid," Johnny shares. "I played on the streets and the town plaza mostly with friends from the neighborhood. Each summer, there was always a different craze. One summer it would be teks, the next would be trumpo, etc. Also, these games were not meant to be played alone. Dapat laging may kasabay – which fits our current network tagline, ‘Sabay tayo kapamilya’ – as opposed to games kids play on computers, where playing alone is mostly the case."

Cindy, Johnny (who share the credit for creative direction), Jason and Joel, with valuable inputs from ABS-CBN TV Entertainment heads Charo Santos-Concio and Cory Vidanes, fine-tuned the results of the initial brainstorming session into the final storyboard. Many who have seen the spot actually felt nostalgic and even shed tears, seeing beautiful memories of their childhood portrayed onscreen.

John Prats, Heart Evangelista, Angelica Panganiban and Shaina Magdayao use their slippers for tumbang-preso. The loveteams in Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas – Diether Ocampo and Kristine Hermosa; Jericho Rosales and Angelika de la Cruz – engage in patintero. Jodi Sta. Maria and Rica Peralejo show their flair for playing Chinese garter. Luis Manzano and Carlos Agassi form caterpillar with the kids.

Yes, Yes Show mainstays Bayani Agbayani, Vhong Navarro, Long Mejia and Dagul show their jumping might in luksong baka. Cesar Montano and Maricel Soriano, lead stars of Bida si Mister, Bida si Misis, play hide-and-seek. Roderick Paulate and Raymond Bagatsing play kick ball. Candy Pangilinan, Tuesday Vargas and Eugene Domingo do a dance showdown with giggling teens. At Home Ka Dito host Charlene Gonzalez plays bending bodies.

Even the celebrities from the network’s News and Current Affairs Group (NCAG) took time out to join the kids in the street games. Dong Puno and Karen Davila use old cans connected by a string as "telephones." Julius Babao and Erwin Tulfo horse around in wooden stilts. Bernadette Sembrano and Tintin Bersola play bulaklak with the children. Korina Sanchez joins the spider fighting game and Ces Drilon plays agawang panyo with the kids.

"These are the games that we enjoyed as kids," Cindy says. "We want to highlight these games for summer. We want to make the kids relive the old games even if they’re now so engrossed with computer games or their Play Station. We want to share this experience with our viewers."

At the helm of the new station ID is Aureous Solito, whose directorial credits include the Eraserheads’ MTV, Huling El Bimbo, an MTV Asia award-winner.

"We wanted the ‘raw’ look much like what the treatment was on the Eraserheads’ music video," Johnny says. "When you get to watch that video, you actually remember and feel what it was like to live in that ‘70s era. We felt that the same look and feel would be appropriate for the new station ID. Direk Aureous assembled his production team, including the selection of his executive producer, cinematographer, assistant director and the non-celebrity cast. Direk, upon his own initiative, also conducted workshops among the community members prior to each shooting day, which immensely contributed to the spot’s realistic feel. Everyone played their part very well and overall, this was a challenging but fun project to do."

Location for the two-day shoot was in a basketball court in Sampaloc, Manila. Production manager for ABS-CBN is Tess Nayve, director of photography is Mark Gary, executive producer is Marinette Lusanta. The theme song was written and performed by Frasco Mortiz. Arranger is Fred Ferraz.

Sabay Summer Tayo Kapamilya was aired simultaneously last April 4 during the ASAP Global Mania live simulcast in Manila and San Francisco, celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Filipino Channel (TFC). The station ID was seen on ABS-CBN, Studio 23 and the cable channels.