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| San Beda and Letran will both miss the NCAA Finals for the first time in 20 years. NCAA (file photo) |
MANILA—The year was 2004.
Basketball fans were probably in shock at seeing two universities not as well-known as San Beda and Letran make the NCAA men's basketball finals.
However, they had to deal with it.
Perpetual Help and Philippine Christian University collided in that year's NCAA Finals in what I usually call a "purists' paradise" with the Dolphins stunning the Altas via a two-game sweep to complete their quick turnaround from whipping boys to instant champs.
Leading the way for PCU was Gabby Espinas, who etched his name in the NCAA history book as the first player to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.
The second-best player in that lineup? Streak-shooting forward Rob Sanz.
However, the other two key players in that squad, Jayson Castro and Beau Belga, would go on to enjoy superstardom in the PBA even as Castro would later be hailed as the "best point guard in Asia" after helping Gilas Pilipinas return to the FIBA World Cup a decade later.
Some key players for Perpetual Help then included Khiel Misa and Vladimir Joe.
Of course, the Dolphins-Altas finale was not the only major sporty thing that happened in 2004. Here are some other events from that year.
Other events that happened when there was no San Beda and Letran in the NCAA Finals
1. When the PBA adhered to the FIBA calendar
Before 2004, the PBA followed the calendar year season format wherein the league usually starts by February or March and ends a week or two before Christmas.
However, in one of the major amendments implemented by then-commissioner Noli Eala, the league aligned its schedule with those of the other professional leagues globally so that the players could become available during FIBA-sanctioned tournaments.
The PBA retained a three-conference format during the 2004-2005 season, but to make it up to the new calendar, they prolonged the first reinforced conference, the 2004 Fiesta Conference, so it could end by July.
The all-Filipino conference, which was renamed the Philippine Cup, began in October 2004, right in line with the other pro leagues, while the second Fiesta Conference capped the 2004-2005 season.
It would be the last three-conference season for a while as the PBA shortened its next seasons into two conferences.
In 2010, however, citing the need for more crucial games that would mean better gate attendances among those matches, the league reverted to the three-conference format for the 2010-2011 season.
Last season, due to Gilas Pilipinas' participation in the Asian Games as well as to give them more time for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the PBA went for a two-conference format, but this season, they went back to three conferences, although making sure that the tournaments would as much as possible end before the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers windows.
The upcoming PBA Commissioner's Cup, though, due to a guest team coming in the form of Hong Kong Eastern, would have to run until March next year.
The league will reportedly postpone play right after the quarterfinals to give way to the February window of the FIBA ACQ where Gilas will travel to Taiwan and New Zealand to face the said countries' national teams and will only resume afterward with the semifinals and the finals.
2. When James Yap and PJ Simon were rivals
Before the PBA D-League, there was the PBL.
The defunct league became the stepping stone for many of the PBA superstars the millennials can relate to like James Yap and PJ Simon.
However, while many fans might remember both Yap and Simon more as two-thirds of the Purefoods "Big 3" that led the team to multiple titles including the 2014 grand slam, once upon a time, they were rivals.
Yap and Simon faced off in the 2004 PBL Platinum Cup Finals when they were still playing for Welcoat and Fash, respectively.
All eyes were not even on Yap back then for the Paint Masters but on Jojo Tangkay, who was having a stellar performance to the point that many thought he should win the MVP for that conference.
However, in a shocker, Simon won the top individual award, drawing backlash from the PBL community.
The MVP talks on Tangkay and Simon became the top sidelight of the finals showdown between Welcoat and Fash, two of the league's most fabled teams.
Simon eventually proved that he deserved the MVP award when he led Fash to the championship in a grueling five-game series that went the full length with the decider well-attended at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Months later, Yap and Simon teamed up in the PBA for Purefoods, while a year after, Tangkay was among those elevated by Welcoat from its PBL team when it took over the franchise left behind by Shell.
Yap rejoined Welcoat in 2016 after Purefoods traded for Paul Lee in a blockbuster yet surprise swap.
Two games from that epic Welcoat-Fash series are available on YouTube—although they were incomplete uploads—Game 2 which went double overtime from former PBA star Bitoy Omolon and Game 5 from a certain Workhorse14.
Wait! Did I forget to mention that the other member of the Purefoods Big 3, Marc Pingris, was a teammate of Yap at Welcoat back then?
3. A nightmare for Team USA
In a sign that the rest of the world had indeed caught up in global basketball play, Team USA, despite once again fielding players from the NBA, was denied a gold medal in the Athens Olympics.
Considering that this team had Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, and Richard Jefferson all in their primes back then, Team USA lost not once but twice already in the group stages, getting blown out by Puerto Rico featuring Carlos Arroyo and bowing to Lithuania featuring Darius Songalia and a pre-Indiana Pacer Sarunas Jasikevicius and settling for fourth place in Group B.
Seemed primed for a Cinderella run after stunning Group A top seed Spain led by Pau Gasol, would-become NBA players Juan Carlos Navarro, Jose Calderon, and Rudy Fernandez, and current FIBA Europe president Jorge Garbajosa, the "Dream Team 7" met its worst nightmare when they lost to the Manu Ginobili and Luis Scola-led Argentina in the semifinals.
Argentina would go on to beat Italy in the final to become the only team other than Team USA to win it all in the Olympic men's basketball event in the modern era, that is, when NBA players have been finally allowed to join.
Team USA would settle for the bronze.
4. The Boston Red Sox's epic comeback
While the Americans witnessed a basketball nightmare in Athens in August, two months later, they would see a dream baseball performance.
The Boston Red Sox completed an epic comeback from 0-3 down to stun the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
The Red Sox's momentum carried on to the World Series, where they beat the St. Louis Cardinals to end an 86-year title drought known as the "Curse of the Bambino" stemming from their then-controversial decision to ship Babe Ruth to the Yankees after winning the 1918 MLB championship.
For millennials and Gen Zers, the Netflix documentary "The Comeback" provides details and behind-the-scenes stories of Boston's historic championship reign.
5. La Salle's TOTGA
Back to local hoops, La Salle's 2004 UAAP title conquest was literally one that got away way before the millennials and Gen Z shortened the phrase to TOTGA.
The Green Archers, then led by Mac-Mac Cardona and Joseph Yeo, beat the FEU Tamaraws led by Arwind Santos and RJ Rizada to take the championship gold back to Taft Avenue after three years with a young JVee Casio hitting the dagger three that sealed the series.
However, La Salle itself let go of the title after finding out that two players, Mark Benitez and Tim Gatchalian, were supposed to be ineligible due to questionable documents.
Despite the sportsmanship gesture, the UAAP board still decided to disallow the Green Archers from competing in any sport for the entire 69th season.
The league board also awarded the 2004 men's basketball championship to FEU, which got back at La Salle the year later, effectively turning their mini-dynasty then into a three-peat since they beat Ateneo in the 2003 finals.
While the three-peat helped cement Santos' legacy as arguably the greatest basketball player to don the green and gold, the aftermath of the 2004 finals remains one of the biggest what-ifs in UAAP history.
With Letran denied a Final Four entry and the College of St. Benilde dethroning San Beda in the said round to set up a finals date with Mapua, two of the NCAA's traditional powerhouses will both miss the championship round again.
This year also has a good list of historic moments that we can revisit if neither the Red Lions nor the Knights make the finals again.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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