I found myself last night having dinner in a table of very tall people. It was Jojo Lastimosa’s birthday, and he invited me to his house where he hosted dinner with a few friends, mostly current and former Alaska players along with fellow assistant Joel Banal.

Coach J was hilarious, holding court and regaling us with all kinds of anecdotes, which he only agreed to tell on the condition that I won’t write about it on the blog. I couldn’t even mention people we were making fun of last night.

Ok, here’s a tidbit I suppose I could share. After each game, coach Tim Cone hands out awards at practice for the defensive player of the game, the player of the bench, and the winner of plus/minus. Each award comes with a P500 reward, and the winners are expected to buy everyone puto or banana chips for snacks. Apparently, though, not everyone buys merienda for the team.

I enjoyed the evening so much that I forgot to take pictures. Oh, here’s one of Mang Tom, Alaska’s long-time statskeeper and practice referee whom you might know from Pacific Rims. The birthday boy is busy cutting cake in the background, to give away to his visitors.



When I told him I’d read about him in the book, he replied, “May part 2 pa. Babalik si Rafe sa April. Ako ang bida.”