Two Decades Later, The Hardwood Remembers

In September 2006, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) played on the wooden floors of PUP Gymnasium as the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals defeated the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 93-84, leaving behind a chapter in the gym’s history that would remain untouched for two decades. 

Twenty years later, the echoes of professional basketball returned. 

Once again, the familiar squeak of sneakers filled the PUP Gymnasium as the Titan Ultra Giant Risers and Terrafirma Dyip took center stage in an exhibition match on September 23, 2026. The scoreboard favored Titan Ultra in a 108-83 rout, but the afternoon carried meaning that stretched far beyond the numbers. 

For a gymnasium that had waited two decades to hear the roar of a professional basketball crowd once more, the afternoon felt like the reopening of an old chapter. The cheers from the stands, the pounding footsteps on the hardwood and the sight of PBA players once again taking the court revived a piece of history that had long been absent from the university.

More than an exhibition, the game became a bridge between the PBA’s past and present, bringing professional basketball back to the heart of PUP after twenty long years. 

It resembled something greater—a homecoming, a reunion between the PBA and the university whose court had waited twenty years for another taste of professional game.

For PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, bringing the league back to PUP was rooted in the university itself. “[Sa] PUP kasi, [nandito] ‘yong [mga] Iskolar ng Bayan. So, nandito tayo para sa inyo,” highlighting the significance of the PBA playing on the campus grounds while thanking PUP for opening its doors once again. 

And when the PBA returned, PUP did not greet it quietly. The stands came alive with a large crowd of students, their cheers rising with every made shot and every flash of excitement on the court. Marcial admitted that he did not expect such a huge crowd for what was, after all, an ordinary exhibition game. The fans took photographs, reacted to the players’ every move, and transformed the gym into an ensemble of youthful energy.

For Titan Ultra interim head coach Raymond Valenzona, the roar from the stands became more than background noise. It became fuel.

“‘Pag nag-o-on-tour talaga ‘yong team, mas na-pu-push ‘yong mga players ‘pag ganito karaming fans talaga eh,” Valenzona said, pointing to how playing before a large crowd can push the Giant Risers in a way they don’t always encounter in regular PBA games. 

The welcome did not stop at the noise of the crowd. It reached the players themselves as Valenzona described the team as “sobrang welcome” at PUP, saying the players were excited and enjoyed the reception they received. For a team accustomed to the bright lights of professional basketball, there was something special about being embraced by a university crowd on a campus court. “Sobrang blessed kaya sobrang swerte din namin talaga [na] nakalaro [kami] dito sa PUP,” he added. 

On the opposite end of the scoreboard, Terrafirma center Geo Chiu found the same warmth. “The way the students welcomed us, it’s really touching,” Chiu said, recalling how the team felt welcomed by the PUP crowd and the university.

For the PUPians, the occasion was just as much an exhibition as it was a homecoming. Players who normally appeared on television screens and professional arenas were suddenly within reach, sharing the same floor that students knew as part of their everyday college life. For one afternoon, the familiar gymnasium became a stage where campus life and professional basketball converged. 

From Talk ‘N Text and Sta. Lucia in 2006 to Titan Ultra and Terrafirma in 2026, the names on the scoreboard changed, but the spirit of the occasion remained familiar. The numbers may have belonged to Titan Ultra, but the afternoon belonged to everyone who filled the PUP Gymnasium. It belonged to the students whose voices breathed life into the aging hardwood, to the players who felt the warmth of an unfamiliar home, and to a league that finally returned to a court it had graced two decades ago. 

As the final echoes of the game faded through the halls of PUP, one promise remained. The afternoon may have marked the PBA’s return, but it did not feel like a farewell. Instead, it left the doors open for another chapter, one that could bring the league back to the university and once again fill the gymnasium with the sound of professional basketball. 

“Hindi ito ‘yong huli. Pangako, babalik kami dito,” PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial said. 

And perhaps that is the beauty of a homecoming: after two decades of silence, the hardwood does not forget the sound of the game. It simply waits for the next tip-off. 

Article: Matthew Licda

Graphics/Illustrations: Keren Hope De Leon