by rick olivares
If you talk to Ryan Reyes at great length there are
two words or two things that he will oft mention that though different in
nature are at once the same and intertwined – family and basketball.
To know Reyes’ story is to know a story of hardship,
sacrifice, and responsibility.
As a youngster, he had a child with his then
girlfriend (now wife) at a young age. That radically altered his life. As a
youngster, he had game and that merited attention from Ivy League schools like
Colgate, Brown, and Stanford.
Only he chose to stay close to his young family in
Los Angeles and go to Cal-State Fullerton. When he wasn’t paying ball, he was
working in his father’s company. Filing reports and “doing stuff” as he says.
“I thought that my basketball career was over,” he
recalls. “I needed to earn money to be able to buy milk and diapers and things
that any young family needs. I could have gone off to those Ivy League schools,
but I felt I had a responsibility.”
There are days when Reyes wonders what his career
would have been like had he gone on to those schools. As a youngster, he played
with Jason Kapono on his Artesia High School squad. He was also good enough to
be with Baron Davis on a local team. He balled against Josh Childress and Tyson
Chandler. When the offers to play in the Ivy League came, he felt that there
might be a chance of living out his NBA dream.
But the reality of choices can be jarring. And
telling. “Family comes first,” he tersely says.
Eventually, he was invited to try out for some local
PABL teams but Reyes felt that he’d earn more in the United States so he went
back.
“I was young and still immature then,” he recalls.
“It’s not the PBA but I was thinking I’d earn pretty good. When I sit back and
look at it now, I was didn’t know the ropes. Like I said, I was young and
immature.”
When he went back, he thought for a second time that
his basketball career was over. He played in the Fil-Am summer leagues in Los
Angeles. That was his release.
That is until another invite came to try out in the
Philippines. This time it worked out.
There isn’t a day that goes by when Ryan doesn’t talk
to his wife and kids. While technology has certainly made it easier to keep in
touch, the distance between the Reyes family has not gotten any easier.
It would be easier for his family to relocate but his
two children are doing so well in school and playing terrific basketball (they
are on a team that is sponsored by Baron Davis). “I’d be selfish and want them
to be here. But we have to think about our future. So we all make sacrifices
for what is best for us. What is important is we find ways to communicate
regularly. That helps us cope.”
More so now that he isn’t even 100% back from that
crippling knee injury that has kept him away from his local family – the Talk
‘N Text Tropang Texters. Although he made his debut with Sta. Lucia, Reyes’
home is with TNT. “It sure helps when you have other Fil-Ams in the team
because they know what it’s all about. The sacrifice and the commitments you
have to keep. But more than them, everyone has been an inspiration. No one
takes the night off. We play hard all the time. When you see others doing that
how can you not reciprocate?”
The result is a dominant run where the Tropang Texters
have become the class of the league after winning a string of titles. Reyes has
also received a number of awards along the way making his PBA career rewarding
in more ways than one. “The sacrifices and determination have all worked out.
Now I can provide for my family. So every time I go out there, I put on my work
boots. I earn my keep. So does everyone on this team. I want to set an example
for my kids too. And I owe it to everyone to stay healthy.”
Hence in the weeks prior to his recent comeback, “It
was killing me not to be able to help,” he admits. With the team going for a
defense of its All-Filipino title for a third straight time while going for a
four-peat, the team needs all hands on deck. It’s a different team no doubt.
The mainstays are still there – Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel De Ocampo, Jason Castro,
Larry Fonacier, Aaron Aban, Ali Peek and Harvey Carey, and himself --- as it
has been for several years now. That core has been together for over four years
now. No other team nucleus in the league has been together for as long.
There are the newcomers like Eliud Poligrates, Nonoy
Baclao, Sean Anthony, and Danny Seigle. Williams is back after a brief
retirement. Health has been the team’s biggest concern.
But they are a family. “I wish I was on the court
with my brothers,” Reyes says aloud. “I want to help out.”
Last January 4, Reyes finally got to play as he
helped TNT to a 121-117 win over Alaska. He scored 17 points in his return
immediately underscoring his importance to the team.
“Ryan,” points out Alapag, the team captain, “is a
plus for us as he plays both ends of the court. His intensity is contagious.
You know what you’re getting from him every single day and that’s hard work.”
In the next match, a shocking 102-100 loss to Air21,
Reyes scored 11 points while dishing off three assists. Unfortunately, for TNT,
that loss triggered a three-game slide with the Texters losing last Friday
night to a resurgent San Mig Coffee team, 100-87. In that latest game, Reyes
didn’t suit up along with Williams and Baclao.
Health is paramount to the team that has given so
much to the national cause (the Gilas program in the past three years). At age
30, Reyes knows he has been beset with injuries over the past several years
much owing to the pedal-to-the-metal game that he brandishes on the court. Some
have cautioned him on perhaps, changing his intense style. “Will I change my
style of play?” he asks. “Not really. It is the only way I know how to play. I
think when I no longer play that way then it’s time to hang it up because I am
not giving it my all.”
“But I owe it to my two families to get healthy.”
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