BLEACHERS BREW EST. MAY 2006

Someone asked me how my blog and newspaper column came to be titled "Bleachers Brew". It's like this, it's an amalgam of sorts of two things: The bleachers area in the stadium/arena where I used to sit when I would watch baseball, football, and basketball games and Miles Davis' great jazz album Bitches Brew. That's how it got culled together. I originally planned on calling it "The View from the Big Chair" that is a nod to Tears For Fear's second album, Songs from the Big Chair. So there.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Five Minutes with Ronjay Buenafe

Ronjay Buenafe sometimes asks to be pinched just
in case he's dreaming. He can still remember the time he first saw Avelino "Samboy" Lim floating through the air with the greatest of ease with the fabled Northern Consolidated team. "Maliit pa ako pero naging fan ako," he says unable to contain his hero worship for the man known as "The Skywalker."

During the 2007 PBA Draft, the first round went by and he thought to himself that there's a chance he would not be selected. "Life must go on," he reasoned as he steeled himself for disappointment. Only with the very next pick -- the first of the 2nd Round and 11th over-all -- the Coca Cola Tigers nabbed him and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. The former Emilio Aguinaldo College General after all bounced around from one PBL team to another; first with MontaƱa then with Harbour Centre, then with Mail N More and Burger King. "Pwede na magpakita kung anong kaya kong gawin."

While he's cracked the Coke Tigers' rotation and has added an outside shot to his arsenal, Buenafe still admits to being a fan of the game. "Nung na-meet ko nga si Gilbert Arenas natupad yung isang pangarap ko na maka-meet ng NBA player. Eh, si Agent Zero yung isang reason kung bakit paborito ko yung sapatos niya. Bukod sa maganda yung porma, komportable sa paa ko. Sana rin meron pagkakataon ma-meet din sila Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, at Jason Kidd. The best mga 'yun."

He admits to taking an interest in his cousin Ryan's fortunes with the Ateneo Blue Eagles but because of a busy schedule, he hardly gets to watch the games even on TV. "Syempre proud ako sa kanya pero madalang kami nakakapagusap dahil busy kami pareho at malayo yung age gap namin. But good luck sa kanya sa Ateneo at sana rin makapunta siya sa PBA."

"Sayang ang Coke, no," he laments. Swerte rin kami na maayos yung mga imports namin. Hindi lang kami nakakuha ng makakaangat sa amin sa next level. Pero mabait yan sina Gee Gervin. Marunong makisama. Nakikiloko rin sila."

"Next conference na lang ulit."

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