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Saturday, November 12, 2005
Sayson: The lawyer rings twice - Ade calls
By Homer Sayson
Second overtime
CHICAGO – Watching the Spurs-Bulls game last Monday night, I curled in bed like an overweight frog folding itself against the frigid night air. Deep into the fall season, it’s getting cold here in Windy City and soon enough, ours will be a city shivering under a blanket of white snow.
The Spurs were holding a mini clinic when my phone rang. The caller’s number was listed as “unknown” and I thought about letting the answering machine take care of it. But at past 9 p.m., the ring tone was echoing louder than usual, so I took the call.
Boy, I’m glad I did. I had long anticipated this phone call and how sweet of it to come so soon. The Bulls game, or any other NBA game for that matter, can wait.
The caller was Adelino Sitoy, blue-chip lawyer, esteemed dean of the University of Cebu College of Law, and prime mover of the soon-to-be-released Cebuano dictionary. He is also an avid NBA fan, a supporter of my various international sports coverages and a close personal friend.
Whenever he is in the United States, Ade always finds time to swing by and see me in Chicago. Sadly, though, he regrets being unable to visit the Midwest this time.
On a whirlwind trip that is mixed with business and pleasure, Ade had just come from Hawaii, where he took in the sights, including the USS Arizona. Reminiscing about World War II, Ade leaked tears until his hanky got damp. He felt blessed to have survived the horror, yet still saddened by all the blood that was spilled.
From pristine beaches of Hawaii, Ade washed up in Michigan, before flying to New Hampshire. From there he will bolt to New Jersey, Washington, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Somewhere in between, Ade will spend a few nights in Houston where his sister Denisa, a retired registered nurse, just finished building a mansion overlooking a golf course.
After going through his itinerary, our talk veered, naturally, towards the NBA.
Although the Pistons are proving to be mighty in the East, Ade still feels that the Spurs will repeat. And with the exactitude and thoroughness of a brilliant lawyer, he rattled off these supporting arguments: “Championship experience, depth in talent, excellent coaching, and of course, Tim Duncan.”
“How about Miami?” I asked.
“They’re good, but they still have too many ifs,” he said. “Shaq’s health, the ability of the old players blending with the new, and the security of coach Stan Van Gundy’s tenure are just few of the many issues that are swirling around the Heat,” Sitoy elaborated.
I knew Sitoy knew his NBA but I never imagined he was this good. Curious, I asked how he had become so fluent in talking about the league. “I had good training. I listen to your NBA segment at dyAB,” he said without skipping a beat.
For the first time ever, I now know what opposing lawyers feel when they argue cases against attorney Sitoy inside sacred walls of a courtroom – intimidated. Attorney Sitoy is like the iceberg, while the others look like the Titanic.
If you know your history, you know which one sank.
P.S. It was midnight when we called it a day. Nearly two hours on the phone seemed like 20 seconds. I guess this is what the theory of relativity is in layman’s terms – Do something you like and time passes by quickly, do something you don’t like and the clock stops.
I’ll have many more conversations with Ade Sitoy while he’s here in the States. I’ll probe him some more about the NBA and the upcoming Jan. 21 Pacquiao-Morales rematch. Stay tuned.
(homsay@hotmail)
(November 12, 2005 issue)
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