The Filipino basketball Olympian, JACINTO CIRIA CRUZ may have lived a short life, but his selfless contributions to the country were enough to leave a lasting mark in our history. In the fight for Olympic honors, he was part of the fabled 1936 Olympic basketball team that gave the country a Top 5 finish in the premiere world sporting competitions—the highest placement Asia has reached in an Olympic basketball finals, a feat never repeated nor equalled since, 88 years ago. And, in the fight for freedom, Ciria Cruz made the ultimate sacrifice by giving his life in the service of his people and his country at the height of a global war.
JACK OF ALL SPORTS
In high school, Ciria Cruz was often found practicing basketball in the cemented court on the grounds of Pandacan Church. He bannered the champion Mapa High School basketball team in the Manila Athletic Association of Secondary Schools basketball tournaments, where he had early encounters with another cage sensation, Ambrosio Padilla, of Ateneo High.
Padilla recalls him for his ability to think quickly with his mind and his feet, his clever, unpredictable moves and his high-altitude leaps, which earned Ciria Cruz the nickname, “Jumping Jack”.
COURTING VICTORY AT THE
1930 TOKYO FAR EAST GAMES
These qualities paved the way for his entrance to the University of Santo Tomas and a place in the Glowing Goldies varsity basketball team. The 5’9” guard showed his basketball mastery by leading the UST team to an NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) to a championship title in 1930. Ciria Cruz was recruited to try out for the national basketball team that was being assembled for the 9th Far East Championship Games in Tokyo.
Of course, Ciria Cruz passed with flying colors
along with former nemesis Ambrosio Padilla, UST team mates Mariano
Filomeno, Alfredo del Rosario, Rizalino Gamban, Antonio Villanueva; Johnny
Schlobohm (Ateneo), Jesus Lacson
Suarez (Ateneo); and Briccio Reynoso (U.P.). The team sailed to
Japan in May 1930 for the Far East Games.
Since the inception of the games, the Philippine basketball teams
had always brought home the crown, except in 1921, when China prevailed.
As expected, the Philippines and Japan played exceptionally well, and after playing all their matches, the 2 countries were tied for first place. A play-off settled the final placements with the Filipinos drubbing the Japanese, thus extending their winning streak. The triumphant Philippine basketball team were hailed as conquering heroes upon their return home, their photos and feats were plastered on sports headlines of the leading papers of the day. But for Ciria Cruz, it was back to the usual swing of things, as he resumed his basketball duties for U.S.T.
In October 1932, Ciria Cruz made news again during the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (P.A.A.F.) Open National basketball tourney when he scored the winning goal against the formidable Sampaloc Vandals in the last 8 seconds of the play.
Ciria Cruz received the supreme accolade from his
school when he was voted as their Most Valuable Athlete in March 1933
during the first annual athletic commencement, winning over baseballers Celestino
Martinez and Regino Portacion. Jacinto’s name has the
distinction of being inscribed first on the “Most Valuable Athlete Cup”
(Seville Cup), donated by the institution’s sports head, Dr.
Hermenigildo Sevilla. He also received a Gold Medal for his
achievement.
REBOUND: AT THE 1934 FAR EAST GAMES IN MANILA
Once again, in 1934, Ciria Cruz made it to the Philippine team for the Far Eastern Games in Manila, and so did his 1930 team mates Padilla, Filomeno, Reynoso, Schlobohm, with new members Franco Marquicias, Herminio Gonzaga, Primitivo Martinez, Bibiano Ouano, Amador Obordo, Hermino Silva, and Daniel Warren. 1930 team mate Alfredo del Rosario, served as Coach. The Philippines reached the finals, and playing against them were their 1921 tormentors, China. But the Philippines dominated the play and went on to win the basketball gold, capping a glorious run in the 10th and last of the Far East Games.
For the second straight year, Ciria Cruz was chosen as “Most Valuable Athlete of 1934” by U.S.T. and was presented the Seville Cup for his all-around achievements in sports. To prove that point, he coached the U.S.T Baseball Team which went on to become one of the strongest teams in the Manila Bay Baseball League tournament in October 1935. In March, the following year, Ciria Cruz joined the same baseball team as a centerfielder to play against the Hawaiian All-Stars in an exhibition match in Cebu. The Philippines were soundly, beaten 7 to 3, before a record crowd. His team later joined Hawaii’s baseball 9 in the southern leg of their tour.
HISTORY IN BERLIN, 1936
But the best was yet to come for this crack athlete. In 1936, the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation sounded a call for a national try-out to determine the members of the Philippine Basketball Team for the upcoming Berlin Olympics. The cream of the crop of basketball from schools, universities and leagues nationwide came in droves for the gruelling qualifiers, which pruned the number down to 37 players making the cut.
After deliberation, 17 more Olympic hopefuls were
dropped, leaving 20 finalists. Under the watchful eye of coach Dionisio Calvo,
elimination games were held at the Rizal Memorial Field to choose the
final 12. When the names of the official team members were announced, none were
surprised at the inclusion of Jacinto “Jumping Jack” Ciria Cruz, the
toast of the basketball circuit, along with Ambrosio Padilla (captain), Charles
Borck, Franco Marquicias, Primitivo Martinez, Jesus Marzan, Amador Obordo,
Bibiano Ouano, ,Fortunato Yambao, with reserves Antonio Carillo, Miguel
Pardo, and John Worrell.
Ciria Cruz and the rest of the team sailed to Berlin in July, arriving there in a month’s time for the August opening. “Hitler’s Olympics”, as the games were later dubbed, was plagued with rains, making the outdoor court soggy. To cut short the ballgames, the rules were changed in the finals to a system of knock-out rounds.
This proved to be disadvantageous to the Filipinos,
because they were knocked out of contention by the taller Americans in the
quarterfinal rounds (56 to 23), even if they had won earlier against Estonia,
Italy, Uruguay and eventual Bronze winner, Mexico, in the earlier
rounds. The Philippines placed 5th, an unprecedented victory
not only for the country, but for Asia, as it remains the best continental
finish in the Olympics to this day.
POST-OLYMPICS AND PRE-WAR PLAYS
After the Olympics, Ciria Cruz put his B.S. Physical Education to good use by coaching and mentoring young athletes in local games. In 1936, he coached the “Flying A” Volleyball team that won a volleyball competition sponsored by the TVT publications held in the grounds of Florentino Torres high school in Tondo.
The Philippine Olympic Team were so popular that
they were in great demand to play exhibition games around the country. They
were included as part of the 10 teams in the 1936-37 Manila Bay Amateur
Basketball League that got underway on 15 November 1936.
Then, on 29 January 1937 Ciria Cruz and his Olympic mates suited up once more to play a controversial match against Southern California’s inter-collegiate basketball quintet, the Trojans. In a messy game marred by a near-walk out due to the boisterous crowd, the American collegians drubbed the local boys 61 to 36 drubbing before an overflow of 10,000 ball fans at the Rizal tennis stadium.
His competitive days ended when he joined Colegio de San Juan de Letran as coach of the men’s basketball team. Under his helm, the college won the NCAA cage crown in 1938. In May 1940, Ciria Cruz was one of the coaches of the Philippine team that were sent to compete in the 1940 Japan Memorial Games-- the “missing Olympics” that were scrapped and moved to Helsinki because of Japan’s role in precipitating a World War.
Coach Ciria Cruz had just introduced the Letran
Junior and Senior Team for the 1941 NCAA season slated to
begin in August 1941 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, when World War II
broke out shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, on 8 Dec. 1941.
A HERO’S END GAME
A military career under American rule held much
attraction for many athletes like Olympian swimmers Teofilo Yldefonso,
Abduhraman Ali and hurdler Miguel White were with the Philippine
Scouts.
The calling must have been felt as well by Jacinto Ciria Cruz as he had enlisted with the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) just months before the war reached the Pacific. Since the invasion of Manchuria by Japan, talks had been rife about a global war, and by 1937, the threat had become real, finally coming to a head with the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
Mobilized to defend the country were the Commonwealth
Army and the USAFFE that include the combined forces of 100,000
Filipinos and underground guerillas. 2nd Lt. Ciria Cruz
joined the defense of Bataan Peninsula, until its fall to the Japanese
on 9 April 1942. He survived the Death March, and reached Camp
O’Donnell in Tarlac only to fall sick due to the conditions there.
Japanese soldiers came to learn of his athletic exploits in the Tokyo Far
East Games, and so was accorded special courtesies. He was released in July
to continue his treatment at the San Lazaro Hospital.
With the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, Ciria Cruz tried to live his days with a semblance of normalcy. He returned to the sports scene in late September 1942, at the “Unang Sigaw” Basketball League in Balintawak, Caloocan, as the event’s Guest of Honor. The next month of October, Ciria Cruz, along with former Olympians Herminio Silva and Alfredo del Rosario, reunited to referee the games for the day.
On 8 November 1942, on the occasion of Letran Alumni Day, cage tilts were lined up as part of the homecoming activities at the Letran court, pitting alumni teams “Blue” and “Red”. Coach Ciria Cruz had the honor of refereeing the matches. One of the last yearend activities he attended was the formal organization of the Alumni Association’s Athletic Union on the evening of 1 Dec. 1942 at the Jose Rizal Stadium, in which Jose D. Warren, of the Jose Rizal College, was elected president.
Little did everyone know that Jacinto Ciria Cruz, had been seething with rage at the daily cruelties committed by the Japanese on his helpless countrymen. In 1943, he returned to join the Hunter’s ROTC underground guerilla movement, serving as captain in operations around Luzon.
In one such mission in Bayambang, Nueva Vizcaya, Capt. Ciria Cruz and his men were captured by the Japanese. This time, not even the kind assurance of former Japanese athletes-turned-soldiers who knew him from his Tokyo exploits could save him. On Christmas Eve, he was tortured for 24 hours into admitting his involvement in the guerrilla movement, but he remained steadfast in silence. A POW witness, Victorio Ludan, said that he saw the emaciate and bloodied captain dragged Ciria-Cruz and his men out of their cells by 5 bayonet-armed Japanese. The soldiers returned later with their blood-stained bayonets, but the Filipinos were never seen again, and were presumed killed, their bodies never recovered.
Thus, Jacinto Ciria-Cruz left this world in a blaze of heroic glory twice—first, as an athlete, for reaping the highest basketball honors for the Philippines in the greatest sporting spectacle that is the Olympics, and second, as a soldier of courage, for giving his life for his country’s freedom. In his honor, the sprawling recreation and multi-facilities sports center in his home district of Pandacan, Manila was named after him; the Jacinto Ciria Cruz Sports Complex.
SOURCES:
Olympic Medal, The Tribune, 9 May 1934, p. 1
SPORTS OF ALL SORTS Santo Tomas Athletic Commencement on Today Jacinto Is Most Valuable Athlete; Will Receive Seville Cup, The Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945)Saturday 10 March 1934 - Page 11
The Tribune, July 8, 1942, p. 3: Sick Prisoners Praise Japanese Captives Given Fair Treatment in Tarlac
2 Dec. 1942, p. 2.
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1936 Official Olympic Report, 1936 Berlin Olympics, LA 84 Digital Collection
