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HOMEJohn Arigo: Loving the Pinoy Life
Text by Anna PingolPhotos by Jovel Lorenzo
Like most kids in his neighborhood, John loved
sports- but it was in basketball where he showed exceptional talent. The first to spot his potential were his own father, Manuel Arigo, a
Filipino.
Actually, his father may have also realized that he could use basketball as a medium to lure his half-Filipino, half-American family to
take notice of his filipino heritage. As John himself admits, his knowledge of the Philippines was limited to his private family history.
Video tapes of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games sent by relatives from Manila showed him another side of his father's
land.
"At first I didn't even know they had basketball here," he laughs. "A lot of people when they think of the Philippines, they think of
short, you know...Filipinos too short or somthing. But this was when I was really young though. But when I was older, I finally got a hand
on some tapes. And I'm pretty amazed at the talent, I've seen a lot of good players out here."
Time would come when he would watch every PBA tape in awe.
It's always amazing for myself and my friends to see how basketball is here. How amazing it is, you know, to see the talents at this level
other than what we see in the States."
In his teens, John finally moved from South Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. There he brought more than just memories to his childhood.
He had boxes full of basketball memorabillia and equipment. Also, that early, he decided he would be a professional athlete. So between classes
at Orange Park High School and part-time jobs, John worked on his basketball.
"I did a few typical side jobs,"he smiles. "Like I worked in a movie theater for a li'l while, I worked at Pizza Hut actually for a while which
is fun, but most of the time I was just in the park or in the gym playing my basketball."
In college, John first attended the University of North Florida. Having mastered basketball, John was an easy pick for the college varsity
team.
"I attended the UNF to pick up some credits," he recalls. "It's more of a summer classes. I spent some time in the basketball team."
Later, he transferred to the University of Tampa. The move automatically resulted in two otehr changes: a team transfer (from UNF Ospreys to
the Spartans of the University of Tampa) and a shift in course (from criminal justice to political science with a minor in pre-law).
This was a personal choice because if there was anything he liked besides basketball it was the study of law.
"I like to study law and stuff like that," John smiles. "I worked in two law offices when I was in law school. Just side jobs to make money
while I'm in college. I enjoyed that. But I liked basketball first. But if I didn't have basketball, I'd probably pursue going into law in the
States."
At the University of Tampa, the pressure was mounting even more because, at this point, he was also playing under legendary coach Richard
Schmidt, five-time Coach of the Year of the Sunshine State Conference.
Fortunately, John was able to survive college basketball as well as Coach Schmidt. What's more, he managed to have good grades.
I was able to finish school right before I came here (to the Philippines)," he smiles. "So that was good for me and I think I made my parents
a lot happier when I finished school first.
About three years ago, his father brought him to the Philippines to check how things were in the local basketball scene. By the time the 2001
PBA annual draft came along, he had earned a slot in the Alaska team.
Presently playing the last conference of his secong basketball season, John has cultivated a devout following. His games, backed up by figures,
have been receiving good reviews. In fact, he was nominated Rookie of the Year last year, losing only to another Fil-Am player, Mark Caguioa. That
loss was not one to John.
"I was happy for Mark," he says. "I think he deserved it. He had a great first year. As for myself, like what i said when I first came to the
league, I wasn't really looking forward to individual awards. I was looking into the success of my team and for me to try and get better. 'Cause I
know that later on down the road, the hard work is gonna pay off."
He smiles, "Awards will probably come later. As long as I continue to improve and my team continues to improve, and I think those things will
come."
And no argument, where basketball is concerned, John considers Philippines paradise. He loves it that Filipinos love that game that he loves.
"I enjoy hanging around here," John says. "I enjoy meeting people 'cause the Filipino people here, they're very, very interested in the game of
basketball. You can see that by the UAAP (University Athletic Association of the Philippines) games, by the PBA games. People love basketball here
and that's great. That's one of the positive things of being here as opposed to being in the States. In the States, there's football, baseball, and
everything. Here, it's a basketball player's dream, you know."
And as far as living here is concerned, he considers
it doubly great especially now that he's husband to the beautiful twenty-five-year-old Kara Ibasco, a Filipina.
John met Kara through his Alaska teammate Kenneth Duremdes, Kara's brother-in-law.
When Kenneth's wife Tere took her younger sister Kara to watch one of Alaska's games, John saw her. It was love at first sight for him. Not quite
so for her.
"May boyfriend ako n'ung nagkakilala kami," says Kara."N'ung nanood kami ng game ng sister ko, kinulit na niya si Kenneth. Ayaw
namang ibigay ni Kenneth ang number ko kasi nga may boyfriend pa ako. So, hinintay niya talagang mag-break kami."
When John finally had his chance, he would no longer let go. It was a whirlwind romance that ended at the altar.
"When we first met, we got along very well," he smiles. "We started dating and then we got engaged after about three months. Then we got married
after six months."
The union has not been without its problems, of course.
"Well, you know," John sighs. "A lot of people couldn't understand. They were asking why we were in a hurry to do things. But these are people
looking out for us...but I think some of them couldn't understand how happy we were and this and that. But it worked out. Everyone's happy now. It
was not a problem."
Married four months now, Kara and John clearly still behave like newlyweds.
"He's sweeter than me," Kara beams. "He's thoughtful. Breakfast in bed ako lagi. Siya nagluluto. Minsan he cooks me adobo with presentation
pa ng carrots dyan.I cook him ht cake naman in return.Pero madalang kaming magluto which is mas okay sa akin. Bilhan ko lang ng KFC, sweetest
wife na raw ako. She ends with a big laugh.
These days, topping their list of must-dos is having a baby girl. (A boy will also do, of course.) Another is buying their dream house. And still
another is engineering a grand garden wedding for next year to be attended by loved ones who didn't make it to their intimate July wedding this year.
Looks like the Fil-Am is here to stay.
Souce: YES Magazine (November 2002)
