The Lady Is a Sports Writer
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Tessa Jazmines in action (Photo courtesy of Tessa Jazmines)
Jazmines has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of the Philippines (UP). Her fondness for sports came from her father, Mariano Manahan Jr., who used to watch baseball games at the Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on Sundays. Also, he kept tabs on how his favorite basketball teams were doing in tournaments. Because games were not yet televised then, he would listen to the radio broadcasts of games with young Jazmines, the only child, listening along. His favorite team was the YCO Painters, which Jazmines calls the most illustrious basketball team of the ‘50’s, ‘60’s and early ‘70’s, whose players included such legends as Caloy Loyzaga, Freddie Webb and Ed Ocampo. Because her father passed on his love of the YCO Painters to her, Jazmines credits the team as the driving force for her becoming a sportswriter.
Although she and her father were sports buffs, they did not watch basketball games live. She was already teaching at the UP College of Mass Communication in the early ‘70s when she watched the YCO Painters and the Crispa Redmanizers play a benefit game at the UP Gym.
“After that experience,” she tells me, “a fire really burned inside me to follow the YCO Painters play live from thereon!” She was so inflamed with passion for basketball that she would rush after work to go to the Rizal Memorial Stadium to watch the YCO Painters’ games. She adds, “I loved the YCO Painters because Dad loved them, and they were special and had character!”
Tessa Jazmines interviews YCO Painters stalwart and Olympian Elias Tolentino in the '70s (Photo courtesy of Tessa Jazmines)
When asked to describe her state of mind while watching a basketball game, Jazmines replies: “I’m all in. I may not show emotions outwardly, but my whole mind and consciousness are wrapped around a game from beginning to end. I’m totally focused, even when I’m just watching. I don’t want to be bothered when my team is playing … I can’t describe what I’m feeling or what I’m thinking during a game. It’s just that the game—for the more or less two hours that it’s happening—becomes my only reality while it’s on.
“Then, I snap back into reality afterwards. I’m a realist, however. After all is said and done, I know it’s just a game. I don’t get pikon (easily offended) or cry afterwards, if my team loses. But I’ve felt a lot of heartaches, too, many times, about the fortunes of my team during a certain season. I will always keep coming back for more though.”
When Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law on September 21, 1972, there was immediate media censorship. Publications and networks could not just publish or broadcast as they saw fit. Content had to be cleared with media councils. Because of the suppression, it was not much fun writing for the controlled press. However, during that period, Philippine sports had a sort of field day. Sports, like arts and culture, received support from Marcos’ program of promises, the New Society.
Sports, as a section of the news, was the only part that did not get censored. It was the page where writers could happily express themselves. The thriving sports scene encouraged new publishers to put up publications that were solely devoted to sports.
Because of her deep love for basketball, Jazmines was convinced that she wanted to write about sports, not just teach writing. One day in 1973, she went to Sports World and told Vic Villafranca, the editor, that she wanted to write or submit an article to the paper. He was quite amused because female sportswriters generally did not exist back then. (There were only two female sportswriters in the Philippines, Beth Celis and Alice Lopez Lim, at the time). To make a long story short, Jazmines got hired and was asked to submit her first article on any topic of her choice.
Jazmines was eventually assigned to cover games and she would ride buses or jeepneys to get to her assignments. She met her sports idols, as well as sports officials and leaders. Down the line, she traveled and got jobs because of sports. “My decision to follow my heart, that is, sports,” she says, “opened up lots of doors and shaped my life.”
She became the team manager of the UP College of Mass Communications’ Wildcats. Later, she was the first female team manager of the varsity team of the University of the Philippines, the UP Fighting Maroons. As manager of the varsity team, she was like a mother hen, who fed the players burgers, pasta buffets, Chinese dinners, often with the help of sponsors.
Tessa Jazmines (second from the right) was the team manager of the UP Fighting Maroons in 1996 (Photo courtesy of Tessa Jazmines)
Jazmines became the media relations officer of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). She describes her duties: “Basically, I provided media with the information and assistance they need for them to have a smooth and efficient coverage of the league. The job entailed media accreditation, on-site media facilitation, media management (seating, interview requests, information sharing), and physical and technical accommodations (snacks, WiFi connection).”
Tessa Jazmines never imagined herself to be one of the pioneering female sports journalists in the Philippines. It can be a hard job. Rain or shine, holiday or not, she has gone to where the game is. A people person, she respects everyone, including the ball boys, janitors and water boys. “They, too, can get you your story,” she advises. And that is how she shoots the ball every time!
Primo Pacis is a journalism graduate of the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. Originally from Vintar, Ilocos Norte, he resides in the Los Angeles area. He is a retired IT consultant. He is devoting more time to coming out with a collection of writings dedicated to his late wife, Sonia.
