Another Billy Ray Bates article

As a Crispa fan,  I will always remember Billy Ray Bates as vital cog in getting that 2nd grand slam.  This article however speculates that he may have been better off, if he did not play in the Philippines.

"There was no way Bates could maintain an NBA career while slipping into full-blown alcoholism. So what did he do? Get clean, pull himself together, and take another shot at the big leagues? Nope. By the looks of things, he found a place where he could keep playing without giving up the bottle. That place was the Philippines. In the PBA, Bates's talent was so overwhelming that he probably could have played in a drunken stupor and averaged 30 points per game. By most accounts, he always dried out before tip-off. His career average of 46 points per game is the highest of any PBA player, import or local, and Bates will probably always be remembered as the best import in league history. Throughout the '80s, he was a superstar in the Philippines, one of the nation's most famous and infamous ballers, whose legacy lives on today.

In the same breath, coming to Manila could be considered one of the worst things that ever happened to Bates. In the Philippines, all of Bates's self-destructive habits were enabled, if not encouraged. He could score at will, average almost 50 points a game, and be worshiped by a nation of devotees who treated his ability to put the ball in the hoop like it was proof of the divine. And here's the clincher: Bates never had to quit drinking. Time would eventually catch up with him, but for a few wild years in the mid-1980s, he had found his proverbial free lunch. Catastrophe could wait."

 On the other hand,  his stature as a hero in the Philippines is probably a large reason why the AirAsia Philippine Patriots hired him as a skills coach and he seems to be doing ok.  The Philippines may have been instrumental in his road to alcoholism but it may still be able to help him stay sober and into a better life.

Billy Ray Bates as coach

I'am a fan of the Black Superman and I wish this works out for him and his team.

FORMER PBA import Billy Ray Bates has been hired as the skills coach of the AirAsia Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), whic opens its brand-new season in January of next year.

"He's a legend in the PBA so we believe he can share and teach whatever he knows to our players," said team owner and sports patron, Mikee Romero, also the president of Harbour Centre. "He was my basketball idol during his first PBA stint, so I want to help him start a new career."

PBA in Action

Read this great article about Rosell Ellis and the PBA via ESPN's TrueHoop blog

"Basketball is the only professional team sport in the Philippines and plays an enormous role in society. A basketball court, along with an outdoor market, a Catholic church, and a municipal hall, is a hallmark of every town plaza in the archipelago. Even against the starkest odds, Filipinos find ways to play the game. They cut, slide, pivot, and leap in flip-flops or bare feet. They attach wire rims to rusty car hoods and lash the homemade backboards onto coconut trees.

PBA players are as famous as movie stars and politicians; in fact, after they retire from playing ball, they often become one or the other. On the surface, Ellis' life as an import in this hoops-obsessed nation is sweet. The Alaska franchise provides Ellis with an apartment, a maid, a car, and a driver. He makes more money in a month than most Filipino families earn in a year. When fans spot him in malls and restaurants, they call him "idol," ask for high fives and autographs, and take photos with him.

Notoriety feels good once you're used to it. Although African Americans have been in the Philippines since some arrived as soldiers in the Philippine-American War at the end of the 19th century, tall black athletes in Manila are still exotic. Upon seeing Ellis, people occasionally act like visitors at a petting zoo. When he wanders through the aisles of one of Manila's labyrinthine flea markets, browsing for pirated DVDs or knockoff designer clothes, people wait for him to turn his back, then run behind him to measure their heights. The boldest among them reach up to feel his hair, an object of endless fascination among straight-haired Filipinos."

Now I wish I did not stop watching PBA games.

The Black Superman

Speaking of Philippine Basketball, I was reminded of Bill Simmon's tribute to David Halberstam where I learned that one of my favorite authors actually wrote about Billy Ray Bates in his book "Breaks of the Game". I haven't read the book but it seems that David Halberstam was not impressed with Billy Ray Bates.

"The underdog grew up on a cotton farm. He could barely read. He could barely stay in school. A freelancing guard with powerful legs, there were dozens of prospects just like him, players with more than enough talent who fell through the cracks for whatever reason. When he landed on the team that wasn't so perfect anymore, he saved a wasted season playing the exact one-on-one style that the coach despised. By the time the playoffs rolled around, fans knew his name and announcers breathlessly pumped him up in pregame shows. During the final few minutes of the Seattle series, teammates cleared out for him and stood around as the underdog tried to beat three guys off the dribble at once. Sometimes, he even did. The perfect team had become something else, just another screwed-up team in a screwed-up league."

At that time, NBA games were not shown in the Philippines so the first time I heard of Billy Ray Bates was when he became an import for my favorite PBA team, the Crispa Redmanizers. It was 1983 and he became instrumental in making Crispa win the 3 PBA tournaments held that year, which in the Philippines is referred to as a grand slam. It was the second time Crispa won the grand slam. Billy Ray Bates was a joy to watch, he seemingly could make shots from anywhere, he does not really play defense but when he had to, he delivered. I remember watching him play against Norman Black, the quintessential Philippine import who have led and will lead his teams to championships. Billy Ray Bates described his experience then.

""Those people, they loved me," he later told The Oregonian. "There, I was like Michael Jordan. I could have anything I wanted. All I had to do was snap my fingers. I had my own condo, my own car and my own bodyguard with an Uzi. Had to fight off the women.""

Billy Ray Bates' later life was less than stellar, but I will always remember him as the Black Superman of Philippine Basketball. I am confident that my contemporaries will too.

Highlights from Youtube