Happy Birthday, Mukesh “Mike” Advani ( May 11 )

Happy Birthday, Mukesh “Mike” Advani

Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)

1986 PBA Rookie Draft unrestricted free agent
2x PBA champion
San Beda Red Lion steady point guard

MIKE ADVANI GINEBRA'S
LUCKY CHARM?
By LITO CINCO from Sports Weekly Magazine DEC. 12-19, 1986

Early November, during the anniversary celebration of the family-owned Kashmir Restaurant, Ginebra rookie guard Mukesh "Mike" Advani, had his fortune told by an invited fortune teller, and to his delight, Mike was told that he would always be on the winning side of anything he ventures into. Now, his team is on the verge of winning its first ever PBA crown after a close brush with a PBA title in the Second conference where the team finished second to Tanduay, and that was the time when Mike, together with another rookie, Leo Isaac, joined Ginebra San Miguel. Will Mike prove to be Ginebra's lucky charm? Of course, he does not really put too much faith in it but he firmly believes that "this is the closest Ginebra can win the championship principally because we have the best pair of imports in Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett." Going back first to how he got into the team, which surprised a lot of fans, including Mike himself, he related, "it was Joey Loyzaga (Mike's bosom friend, incidentally), who called me and asked me to see Adolf Ferrer and I did. He offered me a contract up to the end of 1987 and without any hesitation, I accepted the offer. Actually, I was not really after the salary but more because of the opportunity of playing with Ginebra, Also, I didn't look forward to playing in the pro league this year as I was planning to stay as an amateur for a while longer. It was a risk for me when I accepted the offer because if I wouldn't be used at all, my confidence would have been affected. Had I stayed longer in the amateur, I believe I would be receiving more offers by next year." Though he has not been given as much playing time as he would have wanted, it was something that Mike expected. "This is more of an adjustment period for me, but so far, our coach has been giving me some breaks. I have played in about ten games. My first game was forgettable but in succeeding games, I managed to contribute something particularly in our game against Great Taste where I was fielded in for one quarter and.I dished off 5 or 6 assists in that period. There was another game, also against Great Taste, where I was included in the first five and I was able to limit Ricky Brown plus I had a couple of assists," said the 24-yearold Mike, a product of San Beda College where he was instrumental in the school's winning two junior and one senior NCAA crowns. He also had stints with Masagana 99, Development Bank of Rizal and ESQ (both of which won PABL championships with Mike in the team), ERDC, and RFM where he last played. Actually, Mike almost gave up playing basketball after finishing his Management studies at San Beda in 1983. "I contracted hepatitis and I stopped playing for a year. That was the time I thought I was not destined to be a basketball player so I got into sports wear manufacturing business with Dilip (Budhrani, the race organizer) setting up Marathon Phils. Inc, which proved to be a successful venture (though they have parted ways recently, with Mike setting up his own Advani Trading, engaged in the same line of business). Then I got the itch to play again and early 1984, I tried out with Masagana 99 and I made it to the team. From thereon, I was hooked into the game again," related Mike who opted for a Filipino citizenship when he turned 21 in 1984. Actually, he was born here, but his parents, Matik Advani and Sita Schwa. ni were both Indian citizens though his mother later acquired Filipino citizenship, too. It was also when he stopped playing that Mike got into cooking and underwent lessons on international cuisine from Sylvia Reynoso. "At least, I learned how to prepare some food, from Caesar's salad to steaks, but right now, I hardly do, any cooking," added Mike. Of his coach, the legendary Sonny Jaworski, Mike says, "once you gain his confidence, you're made, but in my case, I've been under him for a relatively short time yet. One thing you learn from him is to play your best all the time, he's always pushing you."