Mike Bilbao didn't know Robert Jaworski very well when he was a player in the 1970s and 1980s. But after he got a front-row seat watching the "Living Legend" coach during his brief stint as assistant team manager for the Ginebra franchise in the 1989 season, he quickly understood why he was so popular among players and fans.
Four years removed from a near-fatal car accident that effectively ended his playing career, Bilbao eventually worked at the La Tondeña Co. front office, which then owned Ginebra in the late 1980s. He was appointed assistant team manager in 1989, the year that saw Añejo Rum 65 reach the Finals, before losing to eventual Grand Slam champion San Miguel in the Reinforced Conference.
Bilbao faced Jaworski during his nine-year career in the PBA from 1976 to 1984, but they were never close. It was only in 1989 that he got to have a close-up view of Jaworski's persona that endeared him to legions of Ginebra fans.
"I never really knew him (Jaworski) that well until that time. I think they were playing Shell, and the time left was something like two minutes and a half and Ginebra was down by 9 or 10 (points)," Bilbao said on a Saturday episode of An Eternity of Basketball with Charlie Cuna, Sid Ventura and Noel Zarate.
"Then he calls timeout. He tells the boys, 'Malayo pa iyan. That's a long way to go. All we have to do is this: just press them, try to get the ball from them but no fouls. Just make it hard for them to cross midcourt,'" recalled the former PBA guard, who played for Tanduay and Beer Hausen.
Bilbao said with a deficit like that heading into the final two minutes, it would be almost impossible to pull off a miracle since all Shell needed to do then was to milk the clock and make its free throws if Añejo elected to foul.
Little did he know that Ginebra would stage a massive comeback behind a barrage of three-pointers that brought their fans up on their feet.
"With 48 seconds left, Ginebra was just down by one. They have a lot of fans from the bleachers and they were going wild," recalled the former La Salle stalwart.
What surprised him even more was the way Jaworski would treat every Añejo fan after the game.
"Now I know why they are going wild. They are so passionate. The fans of Ginebra, so scary. In fact, sometimes they go down from the bleachers when Ginebra wins, they go down to dugout to congratulate Jaworski. And Jaworski knows how to treat them. He welcomes them," Bilbao recounted.
Battles with Arnaiz
As one of the guards of Tanduay during the late 1970s, Bilbao had his share of defensive moments against Francis Arnaiz, Jaworski's fellow star backcourt mate at Toyota.
And without batting an eyelash, Bilbao admitted Arnaiz gave him fits on the court, especially when the man they called "Mr. Clutch" developed his outside shooting.
"I would prevent him (Arnaiz) from doing layups because you have to be ahead of him by half a step to prevent him from getting a layup," he shared.
"But when he developed his shot from the outside, when he took the shot from 35 feet out, I said, 'Oh my God, I give up!' He would not force himself to do a layup, he would just take his jump shot and all I can do is watch him and pray that his shot won't go in. But every time he takes it, boom, pasok, it goes in," explained Bilbao.
Philippine basketball great Caloy Loyzaga, who called the shots for Tanduay from 1977 to 1979, would often shake his head in dismay when Arnaiz scored against Bilbao, a known defensive whiz during his prime. Bilbao in fact, ranks 18th in the PBA's all-time steals list with a career total of 515.
In an effort to try to play mind games with Arnaiz, Bilbao recalled cursing in Spanish each time the Toyota star made a long-range shot.
"(I) Only say the curse words in Spanish (against Arnaiz), only the 'c-ños' because he's the only one who understands. So when he makes his three-point shot, I say 'c-ño'," Bilbao said in between laughs.
One year with El Presidente
Bilbao and Ramon Fernandez became teammates during the 1984 season after Toyota disbanded.
Fernandez brought with him his experience of winning nine championships in the PBA. And that was evident, according to Bilbao as he watched the man called "El Presidente" lead Beer Hausen to the All-Filipino Conference Finals right in its first season in the pro league.
"Mon is a very talented player," Bilbao said. "When I see Ramon positioned in his place, you can give the ball to him even with eyes closed, and he knows how to protect himself from a guy that's guarding him. Payat si Ramon, he's thin but he's very strong, strong bones ha," Bilbao stressed. "But I would think (back then) for a center to be strong, you have to be a Big Boy Reynoso, who once screened me from catching Arnaiz as he was playing for Meralco. I saw five or six stars from my head, when I hit his shoulder, I just fell flat."
Fernandez, though, he used his brains more than just mere brawns, outwitting his defender with his vast offensive repertoire and excellent passing skills that enabled him to win his second Most Valuable Player award in 1984. That season with Beer Hausen also saw Fernandez register more than 20 triple-double performances and a near triple-double average.
After he retired in 1984, Bilbao figured in a vehicular accident -- a car he was driving along the Alabang-Zapote road got hit by a wayward truck. He struggled to recover, but did. Any thoughts, though, of playing basketball again were dashed.
The 5-foot-8 Bilbao averaged 5.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals in 337 career games played and is now based in Palm Beach, Florida with his wife Techie.