I was driving on my way to Ortigas on a Monday night. While switching radio stations, I stumbled on an animated discussion on Boys Night Out (BNO) on Magic 89.9. The topic was Fil-Ams, or having too many of them, in the PBA. Fil-Am is short for Fil-American. Actually, the more appropriate term now is Fil-Foreigner since not all of the Fil-Ams are Fil-Ams. Some are Fil-Australians or Fil-Swiss or Fil-French (Yes, Jean Marc Pingris is Fil-French). Feel-Am (Feeling American) players are a whole different matter. The existence of Feel-Fil (Feeling Filipino) players, I deduced, is what started this entire on-air debate.

The BNO thesis suggests that fans get turned off by the proliferation of Fil-Am players in the PBA. This might have been true during those dark days sparked by Senate inquiries and banishment of supposedly fake Fil-foreigner players. But I honestly think most fans have moved on. I certainly believe most PBA teams (for the good of the league) have moved on as well.

Fans have a 6th sense for the truth. They can seperate the real Fil-foreigners from the fake ones. If, by chance, some of the falsifiers still roam the PBA hardcourt, fans are willing to live with it like scars from a previous accident. If, indeed, some of the Fil-foreigners are fakes, let them serve as walking, running, shooting reminders of how not to zealously recruit at the expense of propriety. I think the teams have learned their lesson. And fans can tell.

So as I listened to one of the hosts bemoan the perceived sad state of the PBA - plummeting gate attendance, diminishing fan loyalty - I felt the thunderclap in my chest. I started covering the league as a broadcaster in 2003. And, truth be told, gate attendance wasn’t spectacular in the early parts of that season. To say, however, that fan support then is the same as fan support now is misguided at best. So there I was, cruising along Meralco Avenue, struck by the urge to clarify, not contest, and discuss, not disparage.

My text message to BNO host Sam YG: “Hey Sam, put me on air hahaha.” In seconds, I was on-air with “The Boys”.

My contribution to the on-air discussion sounded something like this:

The argument that the presence of Fil-Ams is a major turn-off and, apparently, has led to a dip in gate attendance is shaky. If the argument is sound, how does Ginebra attract crowds of as many as 20,000 plus to watch playoff games and championship duels? Three Fil-Ams spearhead Ginebra: Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk. For a time, Ginebra also had Rafi Reavis and Rudy Hatfield. I certainly don’t see truckloads of fans shying away from Ginebra’s big games. Surely there are fans who don’t appreciate watching players with foreign-sounding surnames. But it seems, in general, fans appreciate players’ intensity on the floor more than they analyze the percentage of Filipino blood in players’ veins. Fans boo Mick Pennisi not because they suspect him of not having enough Filipino blood. Fans boo Pennisi because he plays tough, plays hard, plays big during big games.

I asked BNO listeners to look at the entertainment industry. If local audiences were turned off by Fil-Ams, then, Sam Milby, Derek Ramsey, Marc Nelson et al. wouldn’t be the mega-personalities-endorsers that they are now. I got a chuckle from the hosts. I also got a pregnant pause from ”The Boys” seconds later. A moment of on-air reflection perhaps.

While I wish I could engage Toni Toni, Slick Rick and Sam YG in a usual hilarious BNO debate (should girls make the first move, should guys kiss and tell, 10 best things to do in the backseat of a chedeng), I’m afraid I’ll only get lost in the debauchery. It would be like Kanye West trying to sound like Josh Groban and vice versa. That Monday night discussion on the PBA, however, was too interesting to pass on. And I just tried to share my thoughts the best way I could.

My participation in BNO ends this way:

Mico: If Shivaker (Sam YG’s alter-ego now seen on a several shows on GMA including Eat Bulaga) plays in the PBA, I’m sure fans would cheer for him. Shivaker is Fil-Indian right?

Slick Rick: No he’s just Indian. (Everyone in the booth laughs)

Toni Toni: Hey Mico, can we get Sam Milby to play for Talk N Text? (followed by more laughter in the booth)

Mico: (Laughs) Hmmm let’s see.

Moments later, I receive a text message from Talk N Text Head Coach Chot Reyes: “Sam Milby for TNT, Done!”

I forward this message to Sam YG. Sam YG reads the message and laughs on-air.

Chot Reyes sends me another text message: “Basta kasama si Anne Curtis.”

So who doesn’t like Fil-Ams???*I rest my case. MH