Ramon Fernandez’s PBA achievements continue to age gracefully

MANILA, Philippines – Many regard Michael Jordan as the greatest player ever in the history of the National Basketball Association. With his exciting style of play, his unmatched competitive will, and his marketability, it’s clear that no one has impacted the game of basketball more than His Airness.

However, if the discussion were about production on the basketball court, it wouldn’t be far fetched to say Jordan’s accomplishments don’t outmatch those of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

One of the most prominent giants in NBA history, Abdul-Jabbar scored more points in his career than Jordan (38,387 vs. 32,293), won more MVPs than MJ (6 vs. 5), and had as many rings as Mike. Furthermore, Abdul-Jabbar arguably impacted a basketball game more than Jordan because of his towering size and intimidating presence on both ends of the floor. 

Some argue that MJ deserves the honor of being the Greatest of All Time because, as a guard, getting buckets was harder to come by than it was for Kareem, who made scoring and doing the other things look easy because of his physical structure. But in spite of that, the point of basketball is to put the ball in the hoop, and Abdul-Jabbar did it more effectively than Mike. In terms of overall feats in the NBA record books, Kareem outperforms the Chicago Bulls legend.

But pundits, critics, fans, and almost everyone who watched Jordan in his prime will argue for his case as the GOAT. Even those who have never watched him and have only heard legends of his epic performances will sing the same song. 

That’s thanks in part to the product of today’s NBA, where perimeter players are the most popular in the league, where power forwards and centers spread the floor and hit jumpers, where small ball is a championship-caliber system, where the European Movement, as explained by Kevin Love, has shaped basketball’s landscape in the United States.

Contrast that with Philippine basketball, where the traditional dominance of big men is still favorable. Most of the best players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) are giants, and franchises continue to look for cornerstone centers and power forwards to build their teams.

In the 2013 PBA Draft, three big men were picked in the top three: Greg Slaughter, Ian Sangalang, and Raymond Almazan. All had pretty accomplished seasons right away as freshmen, with Slaughter winning Rookie of the Year and making the All-PBA Second Team, with Sangalang playing a major role in his team San Mig Coffee’s Grand Slam season, and with Almazan being a major cog for a Rain or Shine squad which made two of the last three PBA Finals.

Moreover, the 2014 PBA MVP award was handed to June Mar Fajardo, who in his sophomore season was already the best player in the PBA. His ceiling has yet to be determined, and a better supporting cast could make him even more effective – something his team’s rivals won’t like to see.

But before Fajardo, Slaughter, and the other Filipino big men of today took the court, there was one center who ruled the PBA from the league’s inception up to the years that would follow. 

Ramon Fernandez, a four-time PBA MVP and an unprecedented 19-time champion, paved the way for today’s bigs. Like Jordan, some were fortunate to watch him play in the league and haven’t forgotten how dominant he was. Some have only heard tales of his abilities, but they too agree that his impact will always be remembered in the PBA history books.

After all, he was given the nickname “El Presidente” for a reason.

The GOAT

The PBA record book shows that Fernandez remains the league’s all-time leading scorer (18,996), all-time leading rebounder (8,652), all-time leader in blocks (1, 853), second all-time in steals (1,302), and second all-time in assists (5,220).

An ambidextrous big man who could handle the ball and shoot jumpers like a guard, Fernandez was said to have the talents and versatility of a perimeter player in a center’s body. He was also a commanding presence in the paint. With his arsenal of post moves and fundamentals, the four-time MVP managed to often outwit his defenders and come up with numerous strategies on how to do what he did better than anyone in Philippine basketball history: score the ball.

In the earlier days of the PBA, those who witnessed him recall that there was no more exciting sight than to see Fernandez grab a rebound, use his ball handling abilities to bring the ball down the floor, and score in a variety of ways. Athleticism was something he surely had.

Some would argue that today’s pros are more athletic than those of 20, 30 years ago. 

But that doesn’t mean they’re better.

At least not according to El Presidente.

“Maybe the training, athleticism, and the new way of training athletes now is different from way before. But I think hindi naman talaga malaki ang difference (the disparity isn’t huge). For one, the basics of basketball have not changed,” Fernandez said, detailing the contrast between today’s game and yesterday’s during an exclusive interview with Rappler.

“Kaming mga athletes (us athletes), we’re only as good as our competition. There are a lot of athletically gifted players now, but there were plenty also before. Most of them were the smaller guys, like Danny Florencio.” (1)

But Fernandez says there is a caveat. Unlike today, athletically gifted stars did not have the resources to hone their physical talents.

“Their potential was really not developed because of the type of training at that time. The training now is really different,” according to the PBA’s all-time leading scorer.

Nowadays, Fernandez spends most of his time in his hometown of Cebu, where he runs a family business and trains the city’s young athletes through his basketball camps.

At the outset of the 70s, he spent the first two seasons of his college career at University of San Carlos, also in Cebu, but then moved to Manila with hopes of playing for San Sebastian in the NCAA.

Before he became a pro, Fernandez played for the Philippine team in the 1972 Asian Youth Games, the 1973 Asian Basketball Confederation (where he heralded as the MVP), and the 1974 Asian Games, among others, exposing him to competitions which gave him the experience he needed to succeed in the PBA years later.

It was clear from early on he was destined to be great, which was why San Sebastian jumped on the opportunity to get him. 

However, he wouldn’t end up playing in the NCAA.

“I moved to Manila in 1972. I was taking my residency in San Sebastian. After a semester, I tried to transfer to La Salle. But come December, nagtayo nang team ang Toyota (Toyota started a PBA franchise). I didn’t have an NCAA career.”

In its conceptualization (2), the PBA was in need of players and didn’t exactly require those who wanted to participate to play college ball first before turning pro. Fernandez jumped on the opportunity and quickly made an impact.

He spent nine years playing for the Toyota franchise, in which he won his first MVP (1982). During that span, he formed a formidable 1-2 punch with another one of the greatest players in PBA history, Robert Jaworski, and together they helped lead the franchise to nine PBA championships.

“I haven’t seen a player discipline himself to the game more,” Fernandez said about Jaworski, whom he would have a publicized feud with later on after Toyota dissolved. But while they were teammates, they made the franchise viable while helping ignite one of the fiercest and most unforgettable rivalries in Philippine basketball.

“In the first 10 years of the PBA, it was really, most of the time, the rivalry of Crispa-Toyota.” (3)

During Fernandez’s tenure with Toyota, Crispa won 12 PBA titles, including two Grand Slams, most of which came at the expense of El Presidente’s team. “Pwede kang matalo sa ibang team, wag lang sa Crispa,” he reminisced on the first true rivalry of Philippine pro basketball.

(You could lose to any team as long as it wasn’t Crispa.)

After Toyota disbanded, Fernandez would go on to play for four more franchises in his career and win three more MVPs (1984, 1986, 1988). In 1989, he was part of the Norman Black-coached San Miguel team that became the third squad in PBA history to win a Grand Slam, adding another noteworthy achievement to his impressive resume.

He retired in 1994, finishing an accomplished 20-year career in the PBA. However, Fernandez also has his regrets, as he wishes he could have played in the Olympics and more tournaments out of the country.

“We turned pro in 1975.  Wala na kami (We were done). Basketball was not open then,” he shared.

During a certain period, pros weren’t allowed to participate in international tourneys, deeming Fernandez, whom was regarded the best player in the country, ineligible to participate. After the 1974 Asian Games, he would have to wait until 1990 to get another crack at competition abroad, when the rules were altered.

Nevertheless, Fernandez finished a valiant PBA career that earned him a spot in the league’s 25 Greatest Players of All Time awarding spectacle in 2000. He was joined by Jaworski (4), who also finished a memorable pro tenure with Ginebra while earning the nicknames “The Big J” and “The Living Legend.”

Similar to Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar, Jaworski retired the more popular player in PBA history (by a slim margin) compared to Fernandez because of his off-court charisma and eye-catching ways.

But unlike with the two NBA legends, it was clear who the better and more attractive player on the basketball court was between Jaworski and Fernandez. That designation belongs to guy whose nickname pens him as the president.

Weighing in on today’s PBA

Cebu has always been a breeding ground for future PBA talents. Some of today’s better college teams come from the city, with programs like Southwestern University, University of Visayas, and others gaining reputations after providing lasting impressions in collegiate basketball tournaments held in the capital.

Fernandez is a Cebu native, a fact he’s proud of. In the near future, the greatest to ever play in the PBA plans to hold camps specifically for big men in his hometown: “Some post-up moves for the power forwards and centers, that’s my next project,” he said.

The campaign will be a hit because of Fernandez’s popularity and hoops education. And maybe 10 or 15 years from now, two more Cebu-native big men currently performing impressively in the PBA could join him.

Fajardo and Slaughter play for arguably the two most popular franchises in Philippine Basketball Association history. Every time both giants go head to head, it’s must watch-TV for Philippine basketball. Both are still young and have already collected individual trophies. 

The next few seasons could produce one of the greatest center rivalries in league history, as Fajardo and Slaughter aim to one-up each other. And when the time comes for both to retire, many will surely debate who of the two had the better career.

“If I were to put up a team, I’d choose June Mar Fajardo. He’s stronger and I can see his potential to be a franchise player,” Fernandez answered when asked whom he’d select of the two.

“He just may be a sophomore, but I can see his potential as a franchise player.”

Fernandez also shared that he feels San Miguel hasn’t been utilizing Fajardo properly, and that he’s afraid it will be too late by the time the reigning MVP reaches his full potential.

“Hindi minamaximize yung talent at laki niya nang team (the team isn’t maximizing his height and talent). I can’t understand why,” Fernandez stated. “Ayaw ko makita na only after 10, 15 years from now na gagawin siyang franchise player.”

(I don’t want to see him become a franchise player 10, 15 years from now when he could be one now.)

Whether or not the Beermen make better use of Fajardo’s talents will be answered in the league’s 40^th season, where the PBA is expanding by adding two new franchises: KIA and Blackwater.

“From a player’s perspective, I definitely welcome that,” El Presidente noted his opinion on the league’s expansion. “Mas maraming players mabibigyan nang opportunity (more opportunities will be given to players). I think it’s also healthy for the league. Mas maraming teams, mas maraming games (the more teams there are, the more games there will be).”

One of the squads joining the PBA family is KIA, which will be coached by boxing and Philippine sports legend Manny Pacquiao, who has also submitted his application for the 2014 PBA Draft.

When it was announced that Pacquiao, who also has other significant responsibilities, would be entering the country’s eldest basketball league, many were quick to criticize both the boxing icon and the PBA for allowing such a scenario.

Fernandez, on the other hand, has confidence in Pacman and wishes him the best.

“I cannot question the intentions of Manny, because I know he is a basketball fanatic. He is the number one sportsman. I know his psyche. I’m sure he will try to learn the rules.”

Fernandez, who at one point was a playing coach, also gave an example of someone who started off with not much experience before becoming arguably the greatest coach in PBA history.

“An example is Tim Cone. I don’t remember him playing college basketball, but he was supported a hundred percent by the Uytengsus,” Fernandez mentioned. “With the support of the team owners, he (Pacquiao) can succeed.” 

“I hope he does well and he learns fast.”

Whether or not Pacquiao has an impressive PBA stint will be determined over the next few years. 

But this is clear right now: Ramon Fernandez is the greatest player ever in PBA history. That honor doesn’t seem to be at risk in the immediate future.

-Rappler.com