PBA coach to hold solo art exhibit

DAYONG J. Mendoza, the former assistant coach of PBA champions Purefoods and B-Meg, will mount his third One-Man Show on March 2 at the Blue Gray Gallery inside Serendra at the Global City Taguig.

“Dyip! Dyip! Dyip!” will mark Dayong’s comeback after 14 years of absence from the art scene. His last exhibition, “Ugat,” was sold out in 1999 at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. His first, “Basketbol Siris” in 1996, was also sold out at Shangri-La Makati.

While “Basketbol Siris” was about Philippine basketball and “Ugat” touched on rural life in his father’s bucolic hometown in Pangasinan, “Dyip! Dyip! Dyip!” is Dayong’s bold attempt at depicting the quaint qualities of the nation’s No. 1 mode of transportation.

“Pinoy ka kung nakasakay ka na ng dyip,” said Dayong, whose latest works in oil also allow him to capture urban life at its most telling, sensitive aspect.

During his 14-year interregnum, Dayong also held coaching jobs at the Philippine Basketball League (Shark Energy Drink), UAAP (Ateneo and Adamson) and NCAA (Letran) basketball loops. His last coaching stint was at the Philippine Basketball Association (Shell and San Miguel Corporation) from 2004 to 2012.

“Kahit PBA coach na ako, sumasakay pa rin ako ng dyip papunta sa praktis at laro,” Dayong said.

A Master of Fine Arts graduate from the University of the Philippines-Diliman, Dayong also taught Multi Media Arts at the College of St. Benilde on Taft Avenue and has his “Camp & Play,” an art-cum-sports workshop running consecutively for 12 years now.

“I dedicate my comeback to my three children, Mayo, Dada and Migel,” Dayong said.

“They’ve always been my inspiration in all the things I do.” (PR)