My friend Lucio “Bong” Tan Jr. died with his boots on. How many people in this world die doing what they do best or what makes them happy? When I was playing basketball for the La Salle Community, elementary, high school, and college, it was my dream to die inside the court for our alma mater. Yes. That was my ultimate challenge then. To win the trophy at all costs. Call it passion, obsession, or whatever. To prove to everyone you died for something you believed in. Better than ending it all in road accidents, sickness, or worse, being ambushed as a politician. Every time he made a three pointer was a high for Bong. While making profits at Tanduay or Philippine Air Lines etc. was just an ordinary chore for the day. That was “work” for him. But steering the UE basketball team in the UAAP as head coach beating other universities made him alive, up close and personal. His adrenaline rose to the sky whenever he was in MOA or Araneta. Basketball was his girlfriend. If it also happens to me one of these days, while I’m playing tennis, so be it. That’s the warriors in us. Let’s play ball again one of these days Bong. Godspeed.