Like hearing news of a long-lost brother being found, Gilas Pilipinas forward Japeth Aguilar rushed from the entrance of the PhilSports Arena Monday night toward a man with wavy hair wearing a red sweatshirt and standing by the iron railing at the sideline, talking to Aguilar’s family.
The man’s face beamed upon recognizing, who was headed for him, and the two hugged.
The object of Aguilar’s excitement was Orlando Mendez-Valdez, star shooter of Western Kentucky University in the US NCAA from 2006-2007 onward and Aguilar’s roommate and buddy during his years there.
“I have always dreamt of this,” said Aguilar before he sprinted for Mendez-Valdez, now a top-tier point guard for Mexico, which was to face Gilas in a tune-up game that evening.
The 37-year-old Mendez-Valdez—whose birthplace is San Antonio, Texas—sat out the friendly with the Philippines, but will suit up, according to Aguilar, in the World Cup against first-round opponents Montenegro, Lithuania, and Egypt.
Moments after they parted ways prior to tip-off, Aguilar spoke briefly, if glowingly, of his collegiate teammate.
“Nong nalaman ko na may tune-up kami, talagang nag-look forward na ‘ko na makita siya uli. Naging napakabait niya sa ‘kin nong nasa Western Kentucky kami.” (“When I found out we had a tune-up game, I was really looking forward to seeing him again. He was really nice to me at Western Kentucky.”)
Aguilar laughed sheepishly at his own comparison, but swears nonetheless that Mendez-Valdez possesses deadly 3-point shooting that would remind World Cup spectators of the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry.
“Grabe ang shooting nyan,” he said. “Legend na siya sa Mexico.” (“His shooting is exceptional. He’s a legend in Mexico.”)
For the record, Mendez-Valdez is listed as a 43.2 percent 3-point shooter back at WKU. So, if Mexico’s 54.2 rainbow shooting (13-of-24) against the Philippines is any indication, then it’s most likely the Nationals’ defensive woes in the perimeter would have been amplified further had Mexico’s top gun joined Paul Stoll (5-of-8), Pako Cruz (4-of-5), and Fabian Jaimes (2-of-2) from the arc.
Ticking off the names of WKU teammates during that period, Aguilar said most members of their batch went on to become professional players, including Steffphon Pettigrew, who played for TNT in the PBA in 2015, and AJ Slaughter, naturalized by Poland for its World Cup appearance in 2019 in China where it finished eighth.
“It was a great batch,” said Aguilar, who gifted his former teammate with a paper bag of chocolates made from cacao beans grown in Davao.
“You can share some with your teammates,” Aguilar told Mendez-Valdez, as they shook hands.
Before heading back to their own teams, Mendez-Valdez made an overhead hand gesture that seemed to resemble a badminton serve.
Asked about it, Aguilar laughed. “No, not badminton, he reminded me about the trumpo (top) that he gave me as a welcome present long ago and which we played.”
A top? Why that? And where was he able to get one?
“Dala-dala niya, laruan niya noon,” said Aguilar. “Para kasing pareho raw ang culture ng Mexico at Philippines, pati sa trumpo, kaya hayun.” (“He had it with him; it was his toy. He said that Mexican and Philippine culture are similar, including the top.”)
Does he intend to meet up with Mendez-Valdez soon before the World Cup winds up next month?
“Oo naman! Akala ko kasi sa Indonesia sila, ‘yun pala sa MOA Arena. Sure yon, magkikita pa kami,” Aguilar said.
(Of course! I thought he was playing in Indonesia, but he will be at the MOA Arena. Surely, we will see each other again.”)
And maybe a round of trumpo between them too, for old times’ sake?
“Puwede, marunong pa rin naman ako maglaro e,” Aguilar said. (That’s possible. I still know how to play [with the top].”