Chronicles Revealed

Chapter 18: Impressive Resume

I met Andre Cruz in a tennis court in Tacloban city on my second year as a branch officer of a commercial bank. It was my first out of town assignment as a graduate of the bank's officers training program in Makati. Our branch manager was an avid tennis player and he convinced me to play tennis also. I played everyday and after a month or two, I was already as good as him. I think I became more avid than my manager, if regularly watching tennis on TV and buying and breaking tennis rackets, count for avidity. I learned to like the sport so much that later on I thought of naming a third son Ivan Lendl who was then world number one reputed for his power game. With today's players, Lendl's game might not even win in the women's tour.

My manager and I always arrived early in the tennis club to be able to play first to still be on time for the opening of the branch. On this particular day, two players arrived an hour earlier than us. They were already playing. We sat on a bench and watched the two players playing singles finish their match. We were next. They had a great game. From the other end of the court, the player served powerfully, at not less than one hundred sixty kilometers per hour speed. The ball hit the service line but because of its massive spin it ricocheted towards our direction and the ball hit me in my scrotum. I saw a hundred stars and I was not able to breath for what seemed an eternity. I never felt a pain like that before. I thought the ball broke my testicles.

The players stopped their game for a while to check on me.

Are you okay, partner? The man who hit the murderous ball asked me.

No problem, I replied, I hope it does not mean no Ivan Lendl name anymore! Maybe, we can play singles one of these days!

I'm Andre Cruz and this is Rudy Mendes. We are both from the PNP, he said. We were just recently assigned here

My manager and I gave them our names and where we worked. We can also play doubles, you know! I told Andre.

Yup, one of these days. I'll just finish off this guy. Andre taunted Rudy. Rudy won from two set points down. They shook hands and left as we began our set.

My manager and I played tennis practically every day, one set on weekdays and as many as possible on weekends and non-working holidays. There was a carenderia nearby so we didn't have a problem with our meals and drinks. The tennis club had two courts and it seldom happened that you find yourself unable to play early morning and these were only when there were more players than usual who arrived earlier and you find yourself playing later in the hotter part of the day. We would play doubles and singles. The heat didn't deter us too much.

On weekends, the manager would play as many as three sets and then went home to spend bonding time with the family. If the family just stayed home he would go back to the tennis club later in the afternoon when it was no longer that hot and played a set or two more. My family were in Cebu and when I didn't go home on the weekend I'd find myself practically living in the tennis club. I could play singles the whole day or for as long as there was an opponent to play against. Many times I played against ball-boys whose diet may be much more inferior than mine but they could hit the ball way stronger and better than me. They gave me good practice. Doubles made me yawn and sleepy and never really made me sweat.

Andre, Rudy, the manager and me made ourselves a group and found ourselves playing tennis together more frequently. We were all Class B players. We would rotate our partnerships on the court not only for purposes of diversity and greater excitement and satisfaction in our games but to further hone our tennis skills by playing with different partners all the time. As we played more and more together, we became very close friends.

Rudy was re-assigned subsequently in Luzon and Andre and I found ourselves playing a lot of singles together just as he and Rudy used to do. Andre came to the bank whenever he had spare time. We would talk only of tennis for an hour or so. Andre was not an ordinary police officer. He belonged to a special force and was often sent on a mission to go after rebels and criminals. He was described as very fierce and very brave police officer, a marksman, and who had extra-ordinary hand combat skills. There was an instance when he reportedly wiped out an entire rebel unit all by himself. He was not one to wait for a back-up and, as some claimed, didn't take prisoners. When you see him in person, though, you don't get a glimpse of those qualities. What you see is a mild-mannered, even shy, police officer who was generous with his smile.