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Eugene Tejada

UNION CITY, California—The tall, bespectacled young man looked very familiar.
Supported by an orthopedic cane in each hand, he crossed the court to get to his front row seat at the James Logan High School Gym.

As he approached and his features became clearer, I realized it was Eugene Tejada, the Purefoods cager who was seriously injured in a game against Red Bull almost two years ago.

After two months in hospital, Eugene flew home in a wheel chair. Half of his body was paralyzed and his doctor’s prognosis was not too optimistic.

“He still uses the wheel chair when his legs get tired, but he should be getting rid of the canes in another six months,” Eugene’s dad Danny said.

Not only has Eugene’s physical condition improved tremendously, so has his disposition. He is all smiles now, unlike the first weeks of his confinement at the Makati Medical Center.

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At first the participants couldn’t agree if the Legends should simply clown and entertain the crowd as Atoy Co suggested, or if they should play the game seriously to win, as recommended by the Big J.

The over 60 PBA players coming from Manila and various parts of the USA were divided into four teams for two games. They decided veterans would be fielded in the first and third quarters; the younger batch in the second and fourth.

One team was headed by ex-Crispa stars Abet Guidaben, Atoy Co, Bogs Adornado, Philip Cezar and Bernie Fabiosa, the other by ex-Toyota cagers Mon Fernandez, Francis Arnaiz, Abe King and Tim Coloso with the Big J as coach.

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Former PBA coach Rino Salazar, now based in Alaska, officiated the two games here like a real pro. In addition to his full time job with Alaska Airlines, Rino said he was officiating on the side, at an average of three to four games every other day.

I told Rino the PBA might be looking for someone to replace Perry Martinez as technical director. Perry resigned from his post early this month, following the controversial suspension of James Yap.

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His job as caregiver may not be considered classy but many of his colleagues would be happy to trade places with Yves Dignadice. Yves’ patient is the multi-millionaire owner of Kimberly-Clark. Yves takes care of many other needs of the family and the old man.

The former San Miguel cager took time out from his work to be with former teammates Hector Calma and Allan Caidic and other PBA friends. The new Yves Dignadice is certainly a far cry from the fun-loving one we used to know. Yves, who came to Union City with his wife and cute two-year old daughter, is the picture of a loving husband and doting father.

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Like Yves, Abe and Ligaya King’s employers Steven and Ronna Schreiner, owners of Ohana Harbor Coffee, are very generous and supportive.

Ronna flew from Seattle with her children to watch the Ohana Harbor team win the first game over Martin Purefoods.

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HOOPVINE: San Francisco based Dr. Christian Bocobo, publisher of the book “Legends and Heroes of Philippine Basketball,” donated a hundred copies of the book to the PBA Legends Foundation USA … Sonny Cabatu is the only cager whose name is being chanted by the crowd, especially when he’s about to take a foul shot. Because he’s the darling of the crowd, Sonny said maybe he should charge the organizers double the amount of what the others are getting.