View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarBank@NUS CAN THE SUBALTERN PLAY? POSTCOLONIAL TRANSITION AND THE MAKING OF BASKETBALL AS THE NATIONAL SPORTS IN THE PHILIPPINES BY LOU APOLINARIO ANTOLIHAO (MA, Ateneo de Manila) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR A DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN SOCIOLOGY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE 2009 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Just like scoring in a basketball game, writing a dissertation involves the selfless effort of other players and coaches who made sure that the shooter has a clear look of the goal to complete the play. At various stages in conceptualizing the research, in data gathering, writing the dissertation, and in my everyday life as an aspiring scholar, I was a recipient of various forms of assistance, intellectual stimulation, and warm encouragement from colleagues, teachers, and friends to whom I am very grateful. My heartfelt thanks to Anne Raffin, my PhD supervisor for patiently going through my drafts. Deenesh Sohoni, Misha Petrovic, Maitrii Aung-Thwin, Daniel Goh, and Reynaldo Ileto; members of my dissertation committee, were helpful in the initial drafting of my research plan and in the final reconstruction of my dissertation. The wisdom and guidance of my teachers and mentors, both in Manila and Singapore; Hing Ai Yun, Tong Chee Keong, Maribeth Erb, Bryan Turner, Habibul Khondker, Chua Beng Huat, Eric Thompson, Reynaldo Ileto, Goh Beng Lan, Wilfredo Arce, Emma Porio, Manuel Diaz, Ricardo Abad, Fernando Zialcita, Raul Pertierra, Germelino Bautista, and Filomeno Aguilar, Jr., have left a welcome influence on my thinking. I have also benefited from my conversations and correspondence with Ho Kong Chong, Chou Younghan, Mahar Mangahas, Apolinario Ty, Alrico Alegre, Marc de Borja, and Albert Alejo. i My Pinoy friends in NUS: Roland Tolentino, Merce Planta, Nikki Briones, Trina Tinio, Jun Cayron, Nathan Cruz, Andie Soco, Niño Leviste, Rommel Curaming, Julius Bautista, and Rica Sauler were the best companions I could have ever hoped to have. Thanks also to my fellow graduate students, especially to Magdalene Kong, Devi Ramasamy, Kaoko Takahashi, Genevieve Duggan, Yang Chengseng, Zhou Wei, Nick Sim, Seuty Sabur, Taberez Neyazi, Saiful Islam and Sarbeswar Sahoo for the fruitful exchange and the many memorable times we shared. I also thank the National University of Singapore for affording me a supportive academic environment and an ideal place to work on this project. The University’s Graduate Research Support Scheme provided funds that allowed me to do research in the United States as well as in the Philippines. NUS also provided financial support for me to participate in a conference in Australia in July 2008 where I had the opportunity to explore the field of sport studies beyond my current research. I am grateful for the assistance of archivist and librarians at the US National Archives and Record Administration, the Library of Congress, Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Kauts Family YMCA Archives at the University of Minnesota, Bancroft Library at the University of California-Berkeley, Rizal Library at Ateneo de Manila University, the University of the Philippines Main Library, University of the Philippines’ College of Human Kinetics Library, University of the Philippines’ Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, the Philippine National Library, Philippine Sports Commission Library, and the Social Weather Stations. ii I have presented portions of this work in a number of workshops and conferences in New York, Beijing, Manila, Singapore, Moscow, and Melbourne. Particularly, the 2008 ISA (International Sociological Association) Laboratory for PhD Students in the Russian capital provided an opportunity to present my initial findings in a select group whose members came from eleven countries, and from an equally diverse theoretical and methodological backgrounds. Bal’shoye spaciba to Isabela Barlinska, Nikita Pokrovsky, Tatiana Venedictova, Maria Soukhotina, Valentina Shilova, Stephen Brier, Marcel Fourneir, and Michael Burawoy – the workshop facilitators; as well as to my fellow participants Francisco Caminati, Vishal Jadhav, Asuka Kawano, Zharaa McDonald, Claudia Mullen, Daniel Woodman, Anna Chursina, Tanya Butnor, Vera Bobkova, Alla Vaselova, and Holland Wilde for the long but exciting days of intellectual exchange as well as for the blinys, baltikas, and other unforgettable things that we shared in Moscow. Above all, I want to thank my wife Nona and my son Luis, who was timely born just days after I completed the first draft of this manuscript, for their love and inspiration. My parents and the rest of my extended family has been a constant source of joy, affection, and encouragement. iii CONTENTS Acknowledgement i Table of Contents iv Abbreviations vi List of Figures vii List of Tables viii Summary ix Map of the Philippines xi 1 Introduction Playing With the Big Boys 1 Can The Subaltern Play? 6 Hoops Hysteria 12 Playing With the Big Boys 15 The Promise of Growth 22 The Game Plan 32 2 Spheroid of Influence Basketball, Colonization, Modernity 38 “Unfit” for Self-Government 42 Race, Athletics, Americanization 44 From Tribal War to Tug-of-War 47 Body Politic: Sport, Masculinity, Citizenship, Modernity 52 Ballers in Bloomers: Sport and Gender Issues 62 From Evangelization To Exercise Instruction 67 Play and Display: Sport Events as Colonial Spectacles 72 3 From Baseball Colony To Basketball Republic Postcolonial Transition and the Making of a National Sport 78 The Rise and Fall of Baseball 81 Space Jam: The Geography of Games 88 The Battle of Ballgames 91 The Invader vs. The Innovator 96 Rural Baseball vs. Urban Basketball 97 Inter-scholastic Baseball vs. Collegiate Basketball 100 Popular Pastime vs. The Bourgeois Ballgame 102 Sports and the Nation 105 Sport Participation and International Recognition 106 “Competitive Advantage” and Regional Politics 110 iv 4 The Hollywoodization of Hoops 113 Basketball, Mass Media, Popular Culture Basketball, Popular Culture, and the Cold War in Asia 117 The Hollywoodization of Philippine Basketball 122 Play For Pay: Mimicry, Identity, and Professionalization 123 Basketball in a Box: Sport, Television, Mass Media 128 From Cagers To Celebrities 132 The League and The Nation 135 From National To Popular 138 5 Rooting for the Underdog Sport, Spectacle, Subalternity 143 From Fowl Game To Foul Team 146 Diversion and Defiance in Colonial Pastime 147 The Team of The Masses 150 Play Basketball and Be a Senator 152 The Team of Fouls 154 When Ginebra Losses: The Subaltern Struggle as a Spectacle 154 When Ginebra Wins: Sport Victory as Symbolic Emancipation 165 6 Basketball Without Borders The National Sport in the Global Arena 176 Power Moves: Basketball, Globalization, Postcolonialism 181 The Global Sport and the Local League 184 From Fil-Ams To Fil-Shams 185 The External Threat: The Increasing Popularity of the NBA 190 The Internal Threat: The Rise of Local Amateur Leagues 193 The Regional Challenge: The Asian Basketball Superiority 194 Playing With Globalization 197 A Different Ballgame 201 7 Conclusion 207 Why is Basketball Popular? 211 Basketball From Below 216 Basketball and Beyond 218 Bibliography 223 v ABBREVIATIONS AHC American Historical Collection, RL-ADMU BHL-UMI Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan FECG Far Eastern Championship Games FIBA Federacion Internationalé du Basketball MBBL Manila Bay Baseball League MICAA Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association NARA National Archives and Records Administration (US) NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association NBA National Basketball Association (US) PAAF Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation PBA Philippine Basketball Association PNL Philippine National Library RG Record Group RL-ADMU Rizal Library, Ateneo de Manila University UPML University of the Philippines Main Library UPVM University of the Philippines Vargas Museum US-LOC United States Library of Congress YMCA Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA-UMN Kauts Family YMCA Archives, University of Minnesota vi FIGURES 1 Map of the Philippines xi 2 Filipino vs. Americans Editorial Cartoon 5 3 The Internal Revenue Team, 1916 National Champion 25 4 Photo of Dean Worcester with an indigenous Filipino 46 5 Indigenous Filipinos playing baseball 48 6 Postcard showing a girl’s basketball match in 1910. 65 7 Early 20th century Philippine YMCA personnel. 69 8 The official logo of the Far Eastern Championship Games. 73 9 A baseball match during the 1913 Far Eastern Games in Manila. 84 10 Philippines-Uraguay match at the 1936 Berlin Olympics 108 vii TABLES 1 Most Popular Sports in the Philippines 13 2 Average Human Height in the Philippines and Selected Countries 17 3 Winners of the National Basketball Championship (1911-1923) 93 4 Winners of the National Open Championship (1924-35) 94 5 Asian Baseball and Basketball Championships Winners, 1950s-1960s 111 6 Basketball Results in the Asian Games 196 viii SUMMARY This study examines the convergence of the concepts of subalternity and postcolonialism in the context of the formation of a national sporting culture in the Philippines. In particular, the historical-sociological inquiry looks into the origins of basketball’s introduction and popularity, the patterns of its spread and significance, and its relationship with the formation of the Philippine nation-state in the 20th century. The analysis centers on how basketball developed from a colonial implant