Fil-Am prospect Jawhar Purdy hoping to strut his stuff in PBA D-League

As usual, the 2014 PBA Rookie Draft held last August 24 drew a large number of fans who packed the Robinsons Place Manila, eager to see who would comprise the newest crop of PBA rookies for the league’s upcoming fortieth season.  While the applicants present sat on the edge of their seats waiting for their names to be called, among those who were keenly observing the proceedings was Jawhar Purdy, a six-foot Filipino-American guard who has been in town for a couple of months, readying himself for the PBA D-League Draft, which will be held on 19 September 2014.

Jawhar, 22, is the son of Fatima dela Cruz of Davao City, and William Purdy, a Jackson, Mississippi native who was raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA.  The couple met in 1979 when Fatima was working for United Press International under noted journalist Sol Jose Vanzi, and William was working as a photojournalist in the Philippines for ABC News.  While here, William met President Ferdinand Marcos and his son, now Senator Bongbong Marcos, and he followed the events that led to Marcos’ downfall in the EDSA Revolution in 1986.  The couple’s older child, daughter Njambi, was born in 1980.

After moving to the US, Fatima, who speaks Bisaya fluently, was very active in the Fil-Am community and involved with several Fil-Am organizations in the Los Angeles, California area.  She ran her own version of a sari-sari store in Santa Clarita, and Jawhar recalls drinking Royal Tru-Orange at the store, and calls RTO his “favorite drink to this day.”  Jawhar was surrounded by Filipinos growing up, especially when some Filipino cousins moved to the States when he was still in grade school, and he hung out with them, learning basic Tagalog, eating his favorite Pinoy food, and immersing himself in Philippine culture.

I met Jawhar last August 21, a holiday, which, I explained to him, was to commemorate the event that really shook things up in the Philippines, the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, leading to the EDSA event in ’86. 

“What a coincidence,” he said, as he had just told me how his dad had covered the Marcos ouster.  Just about the same height as me, Jawhar is a strongly-built player with a ready smile, who speaks in a soft tone, and uses terms like “po” and “opo”, Filipino terms of respect, very naturally. 

When I introduced him to an aunt of mine who is a senior citizen, he surprised her by bringing her hand to his forehead (mano) as a sign of respect and saying, “Kamusta po kayo?” (How are you?)  He was very excited to tell me about his basketball experience and we ended up telling basketball stories for about an hour and a half.

Jawhar liked basketball at a young age, and after trying out other sports, he decided hoops would be his focus.  He played four years of High School ball for the Saugus High School Centurions in Santa Clarita, averaging about twelve points, five rebounds and five assists for his career.  He received several awards and citations, including first team selections in his senior year, after leading his team to the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic Federation playoffs, where he produced sixteen points, seven boards and eight assists per game.

He then moved on to the famous Impact Basketball Academy in Las Vegas (the Alaska Aces sent some of their players there last year) to further hone his skills. After a year, he attended College of the Canyons Junior College, where he played for two years, scoring nine points and handing out five assists per game, and his team won the Western State Conference Championship in 2013.

Jawhar transferred to Cal-State Stanislaus, an NCAA Division II school, and the team won the CCAA Championship team and finished as runner-up in the NCAA West Regional Finals.  He experienced playing in the very competitive Drew League and the Impact Basketball 360 League, where he played with Taylor Statham, a Fil-Am playing at Cal-State San Bernardino, whom I recently wrote about.  At Impact, Jawhar was named the Dime King, having had the most number of assists.

Jawhar told me how he ended up in the Philippines and he related that he had heard of the PBA from his relatives about ten years ago and they gave him the idea of trying to play here.  In 2011, his cousin, Donna Santisteban, and her then boyfriend Filipino William See, shared Jawhar’s highlight video online, and See passed the video on to player agent Matthew Manotoc.  After much discussion and negotiation, Jawhar decided it was time and, with his citizenship papers in order and Philippine Passport in hand, he made the trip to the Philippines several weeks ago and is now busy preparing for a stint in the PBA D-League. 

In his short time in the Philippines, Jawhar has continuously worked out, either shooting hoops, doing some conditioning, and trying to get better.  He is enrolled as a student at Olivarez College in Parañaque City, and plays for the school team.  With a wry smile and slightly shaking his head, he said that the brand of Philippine basketball “is pretty physical”, and that he immediately experienced such physicality when he played his first game here. 

But, Jawhar said he welcomes the banging and roughness, seeing them as a chance to become stronger and tougher.  He has worked out for PBA D-League teams Boracay Rum and Cebuana Lhuillier and says the coaches of both teams gave him good reviews after his workouts.

Jawhar described himself as “a true point guard.  I like to dish out assists rather than score.”  He quickly added, though, that, “I can score if needed,” clarifying that he is equally comfortable taking outside shots, and can drain three pointers, and driving to the basket to finish.

It hasn’t been all basketball for Jawhar while he’s been here.  He stays in a small rented apartment unit near his school and near a mall.  He does not have a TV, so he finds other things to do.  He does not drive a car, so he commutes from place to place, already proudly declaring that he is a jeepney veteran, taken both the MRT and LRT and, when absolutely necessary, has hailed taxis, which he says charge too much (Calling LTFRB!). 

“I’ve walked on the steel pedestrian walkways,” he said.  When Typhoon Glenda hit, he was staying with an aunt in Ayala Alabang, which was hit quite badly, and he experienced a three-day power outage (brownout).  He is very glad though that his relatives and family friends here have reached out to him and particularly thanks his Tito Nick and Tita Doris Ballesteros for looking after him.  Jawhar really misses his family but knows that he is pursuing his dream of playing professional basketball and is hopeful that all the sacrifice and hard work will blossom into a fruitful playing career.

Jawhar is confident that on 19 September 2014, one of the PBA D-League teams will select him and he will take the next step, another step closer, to his goal of leading a team in the PBA.  He is very disappointed though that due to FIBA rules, he might not be able to represent the Philippines in international competition, but is hoping there is a way for it to happen.  I wished him luck as we wrapped up, for the time being, our conversation about basketball both here and abroad.  As he left, he said, “Maraming salamat, po.  Ingat po”  (Thanks a lot. Take care.)  Walang anuman (You’re welcome), Jawhar.  At good luck sayo (And good luck to you)!

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