The Final Score: Roi Sumang is perfect underdog PG for a not-so-underdog team

I ask UE head coach Boysie Zamar, over the phone, permission to interview his starting point guard, Roi Sumang. Zamar, without hesitation, gives me all the background info I need in one stunning sentence.

“He’s amazing.”

Nagulat ako.

College coaches seldom praise their players so generously, no matter how talented, before, during, or even after the season. Coaches normally hold back, fearful that any commendation might get into their young players’ heads.

“Coach, talaga? Ganun siya kagaling?”

“Si Roi,” Zamar, almost whispering, answers. “He’s amazing.”

We talk on a Friday. We agree to meet each other on a Sunday during their weekend practice. Five minutes after our phone conversation, Zamar’s glowing compliment still buzzes in my ear. It’s stuck there, like the last word of a catchy song.

Is Sumang that good?

Shej Roi Sumang grew up in Tondo. Luckily for him, basketball wasn’t too hard to find. There was a basketball court right outside their front door. His entry into basketball was unavoidable. If you walked by the home of Jess and Sheila Sumang (if you combine their names, you’ll come up with Roi’s first name, “Shej”), along Santa Fe Street, you would likely spot little Roi playing basketball.

Basketball was Roi’s natural outlet. As a kid, he hardly talked. Hindi siya bibo nung bata. During parties, he often sat in a corner, hesitant to chat. “Pag may handaan sa amin, tahimik lang ako,” Roi recalled. “Kahit mama at papa ko sinasabihan ako noon na kausapin ko ibang tao.”

But on the cement court located just a few steps from their house, even if he usually played barefoot from sun up to sun down, Roi felt at ease. Whenever he had a basketball in his hands, he didn’t feel the pressure to socialize. Nawawala agad pagkamahiyain niya. He only felt a natural urge to speak the language of a game.

In many aspects, Roi hasn’t changed. He still loves playing basketball. After leading the Red Warriors to the FilOil preseason championship last June 12, I suspect he loves it now more than ever. However, he’s still that same shy kid.

When UE stunned title contender Ateneo last season, reporters waited for Roi to enter the media room. Finally, he had his long-awaited moment under the limelight. But he was so mortified at the thought of being interviewed by the media. So he went straight to the locker room and pretended that he had to immediately put ice on his knees.

“Nahihiya lang talaga ako,” Roi insisted.

One could hear an angry whistle, squeaking sneakers and bouncing balls from the parking lot. While other parts of the city take a siesta on a Sunday afternoon, Carlos Palanca Street in Quiapo is wide-awake. A college team inside the Tanduay Gym, just a short stroll from the busy marketplace, is hard at work.

Roi leads the unit on the floor. Zamar along with assistant coaches Bong Ramos, Billy Reyes and Bai Cristobal watch from different areas on the court. Roi studies the scene. He instantly locates where his key guys are; guys like Chris Javier, JM Noble, Charles Mammie, Jay-Ar Sumido, Ralf Olivares and Lord Casajeros. Adrian Santos, another prominent member of their preseason winning team, watches from the sideline.

It’s fun to watch Sumang zip up and down the floor. You can’t miss him. He rocks the pseudo-anime hairstyle, a pair of very prominent sideburns (he really loves his sideburns), braces attached to his upper teeth and the look of earned leadership, like the confidence George Clooney has in Ocean’s Eleven. Court general na court general.

“Roi knows what to do out there,” Mammie, UE’s hulking center, says. “He’s the leader of our team. He can control the game. He can command the game.”

As I take a seat in the gym, I am eager to see the same moves I saw during the preseason tournament. I follow Sumang during their scrimmage and see what I hoped to see.

“Roi has developed his point guard skills,” Reyes, a former point guard for UST, says. “When he started with us, he was mainly a scoring point guard. But now he has learned to set-up his teammates. He can pass. He can shoot. He can attack.”

Roi controls the ball as if his hand and the basketball have a special agreement. He changes directions with a swift behind-the-back dribble. His heart rate stays the same even if the nine other players on the floor appear frantic. He hits three-point shots. He leads fast breaks. He initiates ball movement. He finds open teammates. Or…he stops, watches defenders slide by, and pulls up for jump shots from 10 to 15 feet away.

“Si Roi parang Hector Calma,” Zamar shares. “Actually, Roi’s pull-up jumper really reminds me of Hector Calma.”

Hector Calma!

You know how it felt right to watch Calma orchestrate for San Miguel? That’s how it feels when you watch Sumang orchestrate for UE. Maybe he was meant to lead this team from the start. When he was still playing for Letran in high school, he attended try-outs in Ateneo and San Beda. It didn’t feel right. But when he tried out for UE, he instantly felt right at home.

“Pagdating ko dito sa UE, unang punta ko pa lang iba talaga welcome sa akin,” Roi remembers. “Sabi sa akin ni Paul Lee, ‘Dito ka na lang. pareho naman tayong taga-Tondo. Okay dito. Kami bahala sa’yo.’ Tinulungan talaga ako nila Rafi Reyes, Rudy Lingganay, James Martinez. Lahat sila ang bait sa akin.”

Today, UE is Roi Sumang’s basketball home. Years ago, however, he didn’t have a permanent basketball address.

After dropping out of high school, Roi spent two years hopping from one “ligang-labas” team to the next. It was the vagabond baller’s life. Playing varsity hoops was a forgotten option. He played three games a day in courts around Manila, Parañaque and Caloocan. He went up against ex-PBA players like Egay Billones, Billy Moody and Niño Marquez. He once scored 40 points in a single game for a team called AKJ in a place called 116.

“Si Roi na yung number one point guard namin noon sa Letran,” Kevin Alas, Roi’s high school teammate, shares. “Pero hindi pa siya ganun kagaling and wala pa siyang tira sa labas. Tapos bigla na lang siya nawala. As in walang balita.”

“Down na down talaga ako noon. Dapat hindi talaga ako babalik sa [varsity] basketball,” Roi recalls. “Sabi ko sa sarili ko noon, hanggang doon na lang talaga ako. Kasi dati walang-wala naman ako eh. Pero nahanap ko yung kumpyansa ko sa ligang-labas.”


Although ligang-labas games gave him confidence, Jess ultimately gave him a reason to go back to playing varsity ball. Jess, a policeman, already has several degrees and is now a fourth year student taking up law.

Jess always tried to watch Roi’s games around the city. He always knew Roi had the talent to play varsity ball. He always reminded his son that if a full-time policeman can go back to college, a young man, coasting through life, can go back to school.

“Bago ako matulog one time, nag-decide na ako maglaro,” Roi, the eldest of six, says. “Kasi yung Papa ko, nag-graduate na sa course na kinukuha niya kahit nagtatrabaho na siya, kahit pulis na siya, kahit matanda na siya. Pinakita niya talaga sa akin na kung gugustuhin mo, magagawa mo. So na-realize ko na kelangan ko na talaga mag-aral ulit.”

Aside from developing an outside shot he once lacked, Sumang now has confidence and purpose. He knows he can play against the best. He believes he can help UE win the championship. He is determined to graduate from college. He strives to, someday, play alongside his idol Alex Cabagnot in the PBA.

“Grabe talaga ball handling, penetration skills and ang lakas ng katawan ni Sumang,” Jai Reyes, a former UAAP point guard, says. “He’s PBA-ready as early as now.”

In the closing minutes of the preseason championship game between UE and National University, the Red Warriors made sure their top point guard, possibly the best PG in college hoops, had the ball. In one play, Roi attacked and was fouled. He made one out of two free throws.

On the next offensive play, Sumang confused his defender with a hesitation move then spun away for a turn-around, fade-away Dirk Nowitzki-style jumper.

“Bihira kasi yung mga players na ganyan,” Zamar explains. “Roi represents the ordinary citizen. He’s from Tondo. He may be the smallest man on the court but he has the biggest heart inside.”

On the following offensive set, Roi, isolated against a new defender, unleashed a double-crossover-dribble to break free, launched himself in mid-air, and nailed a pull-up jumper.

A dagger.

“Sabi ni Roi sa akin, ‘Coach na-mi-miss ko na mag-basketball ng nakayapak.’ I was so humbled when he shared that to me,” Zamar, flashing a fatherly smile, adds. “That’s why he’s amazing. His two feet are on the ground. He’s an ordinary Filipino with an inspiring story.” - AMD, GMA News