Larry and the 2002 championship season
Who doesn't remember Larry Fonacier's double denial on Macmac Cardona back in 2002?
I was 10 years old when I started watching the UAAP and that heart-stopping Ateneo — La Salle Finals Game 1 fueled my love for collegiate basketball. Ever since then I have religiously watched the UAAP and witnessed a bunch of Blue Eagles leave their mark and move on to the pros. It's been a decade since that 2002 championship and the legacy that year's team has made is still as strong as it was 10 years ago.
Three members of that 2002 team went to Taipei this past week — Enrico Villanueva, LA Tenorio and Larry Fonacier - to represent the Philippines in the 34th Jones Cup as part of the national team, Smart Gilas, which brought home the championship after scoring a 76-75 win over the USA.
Most Ateneans who are in the PBA were part of that 2002 team and I think the success of that season has helped mold Ateneo's basketball program today. A couple of days before Gilas left for Taipei, I sat down with Larry Fonacier to take a walk down memory lane and talk about basketball - then and now.
"The love for the game", is one of the things that have stayed consistent through Larry's years of playing ball. "There's always something to learn about basketball. I really love the game and I really love learning and I don't want to stop growing and that drives me to become better everyday."
I asked Larry if being part of the national team was something he thought he'd be part of years back, "No. This was really out of our sights. In 2002, Coach Joel Banal gave us a vision of what it might be when we win this championship. He said, 'Your lives are going to change forever, believe me'. And it did. And I didn't know it would be this good. I never dreamed of being in the national team."
On the biggest difference between college ball and pro ball: "You play a more mature, more controlled game in pro ball. You learn how to conserve your energy and use it at the right time. The game has a pace, you want to make sure you have something left in the fourth quarter when you make that big push. In the UAAP, you're young and you have so much energy that you just go bat out of hell as soon as you play. You don't care if you get tired or if you get hurt."
Ateneo's 6th man is one of the things Larry misses about the UAAP. After all, the Ateneo crowd manages to fill up a bit more than half at every game. "You go to a game excited. You don't have to motivate yourself. It's there, it's automatic, the energy, the electricity the venue, your whole school behind you."
On what makes Ateneo basketball so successful: "The interest of the alumni in winning and competing. The commitment of the supporters in putting in a great coach and the coaching staff - when you put that in place, the good players will be attracted to come to Ateneo no matter what. It begins from the top. Everyone wants to play for Coach Norman. The way he runs things, four straight championships and he makes every big man that plays under him better, that's automatic players want to play for you."
Looking at this year's roster, Kiefer Ravena and Tonino Gonzaga stand out the most for Larry. The presence of former Blue Eagles is always felt in the Moro Lorenzo gym since a bunch of them still work out there often. Giving them the opportunity to pass on wisdom to the current Blue Eagles.
"I see their desire to learn the game… to learn new moves, to learn new shots. The effort they put into it, they shoot a lot before practice and I see the fire that they have in me as well."
And as if the answer wasn't already obvious, I asked Larry his predictions for this 75th season of the UAAP. He answered it short and sweet.
"They're going to win again."
Editor's note: The blogger's views do not represent Yahoo! Southeast Asia's position on the topic or issue being discussed in this post.
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