MELBOURNE, Australia -- A former member of the Philippine national team and Barangay Ginebra showed up as Gilas Pilipinas practiced at the Margaret Court Arena, Wednesday night.
Joey Loyzaga, a member of the RP team that competed in the 1982 Asian Games and a gold medalist in the 1983 Southeast Asian Games, was granted a special access to watch Gilas up close.
Loyzaga, who gained popularity when he teamed up with his brother Chito under head coach Sonny Jaworski in Ginebra in the late 1980s, moved to Australia back in 2002 and said he could not pass up on the chance to see Gilas take on Australia.
"My parents stayed here in the mid-80s and I was here in the 90s," he recalled. "So I always knew I'd find myself here after I retired."
Since moving to Sydney initially with his wife and daughter, Loyzaga admitted that he was not able to religiously follow the PBA but added that fellow Filipinos in Australia always keep him updated.
"When Ginebra won a championship, I received the news from friends because many of the people here are my contemporaries. They still remember the good old Ginebra days," he said. "I always ask them, 'Why do you still remember that?' It really warms the heart when I get to relive those special moments because it means what we did back then had an effect on people."
Loyzaga also admitted that he does not know a lot about the current players of Gilas. The same, though, could not be said about the team's coaching staff.
"I know June Mar (Fajardo), and when I came to Manila I watched TNT so I know that (Jayson) Castro is really good and of course I know Kiefer (Ravena) because he's the son of Bong and I was able to play against him in the PBA," he said while adding that Gilas assistant coach Jong Uichico is a familiar face for Loyzaga as the two played against each other back in 1978.
"We've been matched up against each other since high school. He was the main man for La Salle and I was the main man for San Beda. We won, but you don't have to remind him of that."
As an expat in Australia for almost two decades, Loyzaga is deeply entrenched in the Filipino community here. This is the reason why he thinks Gilas Pilipinas will feel at home at the Margaret Court Arena tomorrow.
"I think there will be a lot of Filipino fans here tomorrow because I know we have a tight-knit community here in Australia," he closed. "Hopefully, we get a win so all the Filipino here can have something to brag about after."