MANILA – About 45 years since donning the Philippine tri-colors in the world championship, the group of Ramon Cruz will make sure to witness history unfolding on August 25 as the Philippines kicks off its second hosting of the FIBA Basketball World.

The members of the team that represented the country in 1978 FIBA World Championships held in the country are expected to grace the opening game day of the World Cup at the Philippine Arena as Gilas Pilipinas tests their mettle against Dominican Republic.

Cruz alongside Federico Israel, Leopoldo Herrera, Steve Watson, Rico Acuña, and assistant coach Nemie Villegas will be present in the second hosting of the basketball-crazy nation of the FIBA World Cup.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) President and Head of the Local Organizing Committee for the tournament Alfredo S. Panlilio personally invited the members of the 1978 RP Team to attend the first day of the two-week competition that will feature the top basketball countries on the planet.

Culled from different MICAA teams, the team was led by skipper Alex Clariño while their offense came from Cruz, Herrera, Watson, Federico Lauchengco, and Bernardo Carpio.

Other members of the team were Greg Gozum and Nathaniel Castillo of YCO, Edward Merced of Frigidaire, Israel of Crispa, and ITM’s Cesar Yabut.

Clariño played in the BIBLE tournament for Sunrice, and Cesar Teodoro was with Villar Records – a team that competed in the Interclub. Marty Tierra of San Miguel and Rico Acuña, who suited up for Presto in the MICAA, were the alternates, with Nicanor Jorge as head coach, backstopped by Nemie Villegas as his assistant.

As hosts and defending champions during that time, respectively, the Philippines and the Soviet Union were automatically seeded in the quarterfinal round. Joining them were the national teams of Yugoslavia, Brazil, Italy, the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Cruz, one of the most prolific players in the amateur ranks, led all Philippine scorers with an average of 16.8 points per game.

In their game against Canada, Cruz led all scorers with 33 markers but Canada still ran away with a 99-88 win. In their debut game in the tournament against the eventual champions, Yugoslavia, Cruz scorched the nets with 31 points.

Watson followed with 11.2 points per game while Carpio, the youngest player on the team, also tallied twin digits with 10.4 points per game.He and Herrera were the team’s legitimate big men at 6’3”, contending with much taller and heftier players.

Lauchengco, on the other hand, only suited up for four games, scoring six points, after suffering an injury. The team lost a scorer who could have helped Cruz in the offense department.

The team also had to overcome several obstacles, including lack of preparation. A perennial problem whenever national teams are formed, the governing body Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) struggled to bring the team together as the players were committed to play for their mother teams in the MICAA.

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