A ton of memories

This writer is entering his 36th year as a sports journalist. A ton of memories have been flooding back since 1986, when the EDSA uprising almost postponed our graduation. There are so many historic events on this flashback, and I’d like to share them with you.

People’s Television, 1986. Not too many people know that I actually started my broadcasting career at PTV. I spent my first two months as a production assistant at their Public Affairs Department, then headed by Doris Nuval. I filled the time writing, learning linear video editing, observing studio shoots. I would later keep coming back to cover some of the biggest sporting events of my career. The network has always been a trailblazer in sports coverage.

ABS-CBN Sports, 1986-1990. When ABS-CBN reopened in 1986, I transferred, dreaming of being a newscaster like many young people. I was given the PNP, Armed Forces, Senate, Congress and other beats. Being determined to bring sports to the prime time news, I also covered sports and gave stories on a daily basis. One weekend, I found a vacant timeslot and put together our first sports show. With the late Frank Evangelista, cameraman Rey Teodoro and Alan Jao (Andy Jao’s youngest brother) we started ABS-CBN Sports until my departure in 1990. Along the way, we covered everything for a new news program called TV Patrol. We were the only Philippine broadcast crew at the 1989 SEA Games, which earned us two new awards which were created for us by SCOOP.

Vintage Enterprises/PBA, 1990-1992. My college professor Sev Sarmenta invited me to join the blockbuster team of commentators at Vintage Enterprises. There, I had the intoxicating luxury of learning from Joe Cantada, Sev, Andy Jao, Ed Picson, Butch Maniego, Ronnie Nathanielsz, Quinito Henson, and most of all, our boss Bobong Velez. His singular dedication to a vision for events coverage informed everything we did. Many of the protocols and habits we learned then still form the backbone of our broadcast habits today. That three-year span also coincided with the highest points in PBA history. We were a family.

The Dream Team, 1992. In the middle of my stint as producer and commentator for Vintage, I got called back to ABS-CBN to do the first-ever coverage of the US Dream Team. Regardless of the team’s historic roster, they still had to qualify for the Barcelona Olympics. I did off-tube commentary for the Tournament of the Americas, solo. What a trip that was.

Atlanta Olympics, 1996. Every time the Olympics rolled around, it seemed like I was working for a competitive network. Thanks to PTV General Manager Ramy Diez, I finally joined a compact team that went to the centennial edition of the Games. There, we breathed the rarefied air of greatness. It felt like everyone there was the best in the world at what they did. With only nine commentators, we were working up to 16 hours a day, fueled by adrenaline, sodas and coffee. If you’ve never covered a multi-sport event with a big time difference, you won’t know what it’s like. Oh, and my kumpare Ron de los Reyes and I almost died in the Centennial Park bombing. But that’s another story.

More memories including meeting my biological father for the first time, the MBA, The Basketball Show and others in an upcoming column.