Sports Event Flashback : Toyota Silver Coronas visits BILIBID MUNTI

Toyota Silver Coronas visits BILIBID MUNTI ( Source : Sports Weekly Magazine March 10, 1983 by King De Jesus )

FRIDAY, February 25 1983. The Toyota team had lunch at their quarters, practically all the players had their noon meal there Arnie Tuadles, Paul Herrera, Emer Legaspi, Tim Coloso, Nick Bulaong, Chito Loyzaga, Ricky Relosa, Ed Cordero. Kiko Arnaiz came later but also ate lunch in the staffhouse kitchen. Only Abe King, Mon Femandez and Sonny Jaworski did not have their meal there but they came at noontime or some minutes after anyway. What is the reason for the entire team congregating there? At lunchtime? Somebody's birthday? Are they already quartered? The answer is... none of the above. The Toyota team gathered at the staffhouse because they were leaving on a humanitarian mission at one o'clock. The destination: the National Penitentiary at Muntinlupa. The assignment: play an exhibition game with the International Prison Ministries team composed of convicts serving time at Munti. This writer went with the guys in the Toyota service coaster (yes, I had lunch in the staffhouse, too). Arnie Tuadles and Abe King drove their own cars.  Sonny and Kiko sat together to and from Munti, real partners not only in the backcourt, and in their TV show "PRRT! FOUL!" but also in mutual interests and intellectual level, these twolook like twins, Kiko a smaller and lighter version of Sonny. Ed Cordero, Mon Fernandez, Nick Bulaong, Chito Loyzaga, Tim Coloso, Emer Legaspi and Paul Herrera, team manager Butch Syquia and myself along with other Toyota team staffers made up the rest of the load of the big air-conditioned coaster. Ricky Relosa went with Abe King. We dropped by Coach Ed Ocampo's house in New Alabang, because he asked to be picked up the night before. But it turned out that he went ahead to Muntinlupa. Sonny said, "Akala ko ba, pare nagpapasundo?" (I was the one who told them that Ed wanted to be picked up since his house is on the way.) "Iyon ang sabi ni Ed kagabi, noong nag-iinuman kami," I said. A chorus of hoots greeted me and then they all laughed. "Sa inuman pala sinabi, e," Mon Fernandez snickered. "Kung sinabi mo agad na sa harap ng bote sinabi ni Ed iyon, hindi na tayo nagpunta rito." The trip went on with everybody ribbing everybody else for the heck of it. The Toyota ballboy got off to buy two pesos worth of peanuts from a sidewalk vendo.