The Final Score: A Game 7 with Kuya Jimmy Alapag and Kuya Danny Ildefonso

In basketball, age can confuse. A player goes over 30 years old. He becomes either old or wise. Most players can never be both. Tenure often becomes a liability on the court. Wisdom rarely defines blockbuster games. The PBA Semifinals; where thoroughbreds rule, where only the strong survive, where elders should struggle.   I confess. I shouldn’t label Jimmy as old. That would make me old as well. We call each other “batch mates”. We entered the PBA at the same time. He joined the league as the tenth overall pick in the 2003 Rookie Draft. I joined the league as a sportscaster that same year. If I make fun of his extended tenure, I am also making fun of mine. Luckily for Jimmy, despite all the aches and pains of a Hall-of-Fame career, he still looks the same. His body must feel different. But I think he still moves the same way. I think he still has the same rage in his eyes.   I wish Jimmy played this way in the Governor’s Cup Finals against Petron. He probably does too. It would’ve validated his MVP award in a stronger, more palpable way. But past is past. One year older, one season wiser in the PBA, Alapag is not just an MVP trying to prove his claim. He is a veteran trying to enter the Finals among studs like Jayson Castro and Alex Cabagnot. Kuya Jimmy hits a big three-point shot in Game 5. Then in Game 6, he produces 29 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists like it’s 2003 all over again.   I confess. I am older than Danny Ildefonso. But I will still call him Kuya Danny. Because he was already a superstar in the PBA by the time I arrived. Respect makes us forget categories set by age or norms. Do you still remember Danny Ildefonso as a National University Bulldog? I do. Do you still remember Danny Ildefonso as a promising big man in the PBL? I do. Do you still remember how two professional leagues yearned to sign him up? I do. Did you expect Kuya Danny to play such a pivotal role in a series for the ages? I didn’t.   Danny I. takes us back in time. He also brings us forward. I feel he is older. Even if he is not. Ako ba ay nagpapabata? O tayo ba ay bumabata dahil kay Lakay? It’s cosmic bliss. The oldest man on the floor delivers the sharpest pass or makes the biggest shot. And he brings us back to San Miguel’s old championships. He brings us back to the time of two Danny’s. He brings us forward to an age of wonderment. How can Kuya Danny still do this? How can Lakay still succeed after all his injuries, after all these years?   Game 7 will not be for the weak. Fortunately for Talk ‘N Text and Petron, in this sublime series, senior citizens Kuya Jimmy and Kuya Danny have been old and wise and incredibly good. -- GMA News