RMSC

(First of 2 parts)

My first taste of the big-time in sports happened when I was seven or eight years old.

The UV Green Lancers had just won the Zone VII Basketball elimination tournament and was representing the region in the Inter-Collegiate Basketball Tournament, and my father brought me along to see the big city for the first time.

The tournament was held at the Rizal Memorial, and the team, including me, was housed in the dormitories there.

Speaking about this tournament, it was there that the likes of Joaquin Rojas, Alfonso Marquez, Guillermo Bas, Julian Macoy, Ernesto Morales, Alberto Guidaben, Yves Dignadice, Rosalio Martires, Dodie Miego, Mariano Figuracion and so many other Cebuano players were seen and discovered by teams in the MICAA and later the PBA.

Why the defunct BAP cancelled the tournament, only the ruling elite of Philippine basketball then, would know.

When I started my studies in Manila, Rizal Memorial became my second home. The UAAP was held there and the MICAA.

I spent the whole afternoon towards early evening, living off with a packet or two of crackers and soda.

Traffic was not yet horrendous then. If this was happening today, I do not know if my love for sports would give me the courage to go through the more than 20 kilometer trip from Diliman to Vito Cruz. Then, once you pass España and Quiapo, it was already a smooth ride to Rizal Memorial.

Once in a while, when the UP Maroons had a scheduled game, I was able to hitch on the school bus and the trip was faster, passing through Sta. Mesa, Nagtahan Bridge, UN Avenue, then Vito Cruz.

Buses bound for Diliman then did not operate late, which was not a problem though because I usually spent my weekends with my Tita Lou who had a house in Pampanga St., Sta. Cruz, Manila, where I developed my taste for Tagalog food, like kare-kare and fresh lumpia, Bulacan style, with lots of peanuts and sweet sauce.

I therefore immediately felt a sense of loss when I read in the national papers that Enrique Razon is planning to tear down the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and convert into a mixed use developed property.

At first, I thought the ICTSI mogul was going to spend part of his wealth to rehabilitate the complex, and restore it to its former glory and turn it into a world class venue once more, something that the country does not have right now, anywhere in the Islands.

The football field, until the Azkals craze came, did not have a pitch, but rather more like a carabao patch. So it is not even suited as a world class training facility.

It seems however that greed for property to develop seems to be the motive.

What will happen is that the entire complex will be torn down, and in its place will be additional malls, hotels, condominiums, office buildings and what have you.

That would be a great disservice to the Filipino people and its heritage. Worse than the photo-bombing of the Rizal Monument. The damage would not be cured even if a sports facility will be built which is a hundred times better.

According to Paul Alcazaren whose writings aim to highlight the Filipino heritage, the RMSC is one of the structures that were designed to make Manila a livable city, together with the Post Office Building, the Metropolitan Theatre and the Rizal Park.

When the Olympics was held in Los Angeles, they did not tear down the Los Angeles Coliseum, but instead refitted it for the new intended use.