The Final Score: Ramon Bautista knows the soul of UAAP basketball

“Yan, gusto ko yan,” Ramon Bautista, Boys Night Out radio show ambassador, product endorser, movie actor, television host, bestselling writer and (according to his Twitter bio) internet action star, exclaimed. Ramon was pointing at Ateneo’s Ryan Buenafe on the big screen above the floor. “Iba dating niya. May attitude. Tsaka nakakaasar yung mukha sa kalaban – na gusto ko.”

Bautista, a prominent UP alumnus, is as maroon as one can get. He studied in UP from nursery to graduate school. He teaches film in UP today. He supports the Fighting Maroons through thick and a whole lot of thin. While he wishes UP has highly-recruited players, he doesn’t want the school to engage in an all-out financial and logistical blitz just to win more games. Instead, Ramon prefers to wait for stars to align and fate to intervene.

“Sana may genius na high school superstar na mag-decide na maglaro for UP,” Ramon explained. “Yung player na iba talaga mag-isip. Yung gusto niya siya ang magpapa-champion sa UP. Ganyan kasi mag-isip mga genius – parang may sayad na hindi iisipin mga perks from other schools.”

At the end of the first round of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament, two teams stand out: FEU with its immaculate 7-0 record and UP with its 0-7 winless slate. Parity only seems to apply to the 6 other teams. What’s the difference between 7-0 and 0-7? Perhaps, it’s everything. Better support leads to better players leads to better results. Perhaps, it’s nothing. You don’t win a championship with 7-0. You don’t lose hope with 0-7.

Like many UP supporters, Ramon still clings to the magic of 1986. He remembers the last UP championship. He recalls Benjie Paras and Ronnie Magsanoc. He believes if UP starts winning, more students will watch, more members of the community will care. He knows that someday, he no longer has to say, “Masaya na ako pag yung tambak sa UP hindi lampas ng kinse.”

Ramon appears to be the ideal fan. He doesn’t curse at referees or quarrel with opposing fans when he watches games in the arena. He’s probably more vocal when he’s alone watching at home. While he bleeds inside each time UP loses, he respects talented players from other teams. He cheers for alley-oop dunks, clutch shots, great players even when they succeed at the Maroons’ expense. Fan siya ng UP pero fan din siya of the game.

I asked, “Gusto mo ba makita ulit mag-champion UP?”

“Sana mangyari yan habang buhay pa ako,” Ramon, who cheered for guys like Paolo Mendoza, Ogie Gumatay and Bryan Gahol when he was in college, said. “Bata pa naman ako. Pero sana mag-champion UP, sana mangyari yan sa lifetime ko.”

“Paps dapat pala ikaw ang maging number one sponsor ng UP! Fan ka na, celebrity ka pa. Kung super-duper-yaman mo na, will you spend a lot of money to support the basketball team?”

“Hindi,” Ramon answered. “Hindi ko yan ibibigay sa basketball Papi. Ibibigay ko lahat yun sa mga iskolar na nangangailangan.” - AMD, GMA News