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
Born in Pandacan, Manila, on 16 Aug. 1910, the
young Jacinto always had an affinity with body and mind-building. He was
a member of a local club, Panulat at Lakas, that promoted both physical
and mental well-being through sports and literary pursuits. Cirio Cruz
excelled in baseball, volleyball, and basketball—but it was on
the hardcourt that earned him national recognition.
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:
JACINTO VOTED MOST
VALUABLE Santo Tomas All Round Athlete Given Cup and Gold Medal As Prize Reward,
The Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945)Saturday 11 March 1933 - Page 7
Jacinto Is Voted Valuable
Athlete, The Tribune (Philippines : 1932 - 1945)Tuesday 13 March 1934 - Page 9
Olympic Medal, The Tribune, 9 May 1934, p. 1
The Tribune, 6 March 1936, p. 6. Graham
Homers as Hawaiians Beat Tommies VISITORS WIN CEBU CONTEST
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
