"I'm taking it step by step"

Media

Part of The Carolinian

Title: "I'm taking it step by step"
Creator: Barcenilla, George
Language: English
Year: 1959
Rights
Fulltext: ON • THIS SIDE « Of “3 ’m Z)akinff IT Step by Step ” by GEORGE BARCENILLA The Author HERE was the scuffle of feet rushing forward to greet the victors and then there was a silent measured one-two drum of soft-heeled shoes, FR. LAWRENCE BUNZEL. S.V.D. Athletic Moderator JUAN AQUINO. JR. dignified, striding unobtrusively but in a different direction. With hands extended forward, I heard him say: "Congratulations for a job well done". I saw the man take the offered hand. It was a composed face that looked straight at the well-wisher and said: "Thank you. Father Rector, I'm taking it step by step." It was the more remarkable that Father Kondring offered his hands to Coach Juan Aquino, Jr. because USC on that night lost to UE at the UV Coliseum the National Inter-Collegiate crown. It was a bold promise. No man could say more at that time when we were looking at a team so tenacious with a lot of grit, cheated by Fate in its campaign for college basketball's most coveted prize. Power was there. Offensive thrusts were superb. Combinations and set plays were executed with ease to near perfection. What they lacked in height was made up for by their outside shooting power. This was the team that lost. Losing only thru a strange quirk of Fate, (that maybe some forces combined to destroy.) It was easy to believe the Coach at that time. Barring possible loss of men, we would have trodden an easy way to the crown this year. Considerations were not taken then of possible decline on the Warrior's manpower through graduation, commercial offers to outstanding players and physical injuries. In winning the inter-collegiate crown, the CCAA is the first obstacle the USC Golden Warriors have to pass. And although the other schools in Cebu have what we consider less than average teams, it always has been my observation that a David can still slay a Goliath. Quite a few Manila college teams revitalized, super-enforced, in a sense that their past years' showing caused many heartburns to USC fans are further barriers the Golden Warriors have overcame before capturing for themselves the pennant. Danny Deen's graduation caused a vacuum hard to fill in the court strategy of Juan Aquino. His services as a ball-handler, will be sorely missed. Without his tricky foul-bait vita! points needed for marginal victories will be sadly missing. And his greatest asset, his superb command over his men around the hardcourt, is a force hard to replace. Being the skipper for three years, his leadership had been tested, his calibre known and no one questioned his authority around the hardcourt. Another warrior stalwart whose services are needed but who now is out is Agapito Rogado. A prized forward whose production usually exceeded two digits. Sometimes converted to guard or center, Rogado is a versatile player, equally able in all his positions. I remember Rogado, he always tried to give his best. He was a bystander hero. A sort of self-made player, giving vent to all his ball-handling ability. He ruled the backboard as though it were the palms of his hands. Quick on his feet, light on body, Rogado will be a name until another one like him comes up. The spirit that made the USC team a fighting force has been of men willing to make sacrifices for her honor. The tragedy of Reynaldo dela Cruz is a measure of that honor. He was great in his own way. As' a stabilizing force of the team, he had no equal. But now, sidelined due to physical injury, dela Cruz' twohanded push-shot will be a spectacle remembered only by those who saw him in his heyday. It will take some real effort before a team can be whipped up as strong and as determined as that of last year. Talents and materials as those are rare indeed. The gap left by those who went on (Continued on page 35) Pa g e 28 THE CAROLINIAN Science I’M TAKING IT . . . (Continued from page 28) their separate ways will indeed be hard to fill. Sure there are replacements, eager ones trying to fill up the void. But determination or eagerness is not enough. There is something indefinable needed on a fighting team to carry on a tradition of boldness, "go-get" and power. How the USC team will fare on the regular tourney is still an open question. For sure, it has its weak points but there are its strong points too. Its real production has only been seen by few of hoophet's socalled intellectuals and few could judge them as of now. But one thing I know; Wherever they go, where USC's banner is flying, there always will be excitement together with the boys. Queried on his drive of bagging the National Inter-Collegiate crown, Dodong 'Cardinal' Aquino said: "I'm taking it step by step. I finished fourth in 1956, third in 1957, and runner-up in 1958. I aim to top them in 1959". If I know Dodong Aquino, I have to say this, his job of making a cohesive force out of the team will be a monumental one. And although time is his greatest ally it also is working fcr the other teams. He has the men, true. His coaching talent is tops. But how his chargers will receive and take them into their heart is a big question. I know the boys are loyal and are willing to give all they have. So it's an open question. Boys receiving instructions, ’Cardinal' Aquino giving them. Somewhere along the way, problems are bound to crop up with no immediate solution. This precisely is what the coach will have to watch for. So until the day, I am not saying anything. But it would be nice indeed if again within our halls will rest another National Inter-Collegiate crown. — gpb. J Sliderules Aside • • • (Continued from page 25) yes Jr., Hilarion Lim Jr., Gerardo Lipardo. Jr., and Arturo Russiana. Comiling was the Most Exalted Brother of the Builders' Fraternity of the CE and ARCH departments last year. Lipardo of the ME department graduated magna cum lauae last March. From the upper echelon we have news of the recent appointment of Mr. Santos Alfon as head of the Architecture department and of Mr. Benito Bunagan as head of the Surveying department. $ The Science Library Two years ago, the various libraries in the science department were not coalesced. Although most books and periodicals were kept in the main library, still there were many essential ones which were found in the respective bookrooms of the different branches of the science department. One had to shuttle back and forth from one room or floor to another, if he was in search of some important scientific items. Research work, always a tough job, was made more difficult through the existing dispersion of the materials. But only a year ago, there has been a marked progress in the USC library. According to plans worked out by Fr. J. Baumgartner, SVD, Fr. John Vogelgesang, SVD, then Acting Librarian, had the science library installed. It was Fr. John who made a round-up of the different libraries in the science department, and put up what is now the favorite haunt of men and women with common scientific interest. Today, research work is no longer as arduous as it used to be. ITS CONTENTS The science library has been provided with its own card catalog, stacks, tables, chairs, bookstands and everything needed in a library. Furthermore, it boasts of extensive collections of such well-known periodicals as the Chemical Abstracts, Journal of the American Chemical Society of America, and numerous other scientific publications of world renown. Latest issues of the periodicals are found on the magazine stand, while books, handbooks, encyclopedias, manuals, bound journals and other printed matter indispensable to science students and instructors are neatly arranged on the shelves in the reading room. Whatever cannot be accommodated in the reading room, finds its place in the two-story stackroom. HOW IT OPERATES Like the main library, the science library also employs the Dewey Decimal System in the classification of its books. Most books with numbers ranging from 500-700, inclusive, have their place in this segment of "the library with the biggest collection outside Manila." IMPROVEMENTS FORESEEN One complaint, however, that most students have as regards the science library, is its poor ventilation. Perhaps one can stand the traffic noise, at times the jukebox, and oftentimes the people outside, but the heat one will find unbearable. From Mrs. Victor Asubar, Librarianin-Charge of this library, this writer learned that plans are now being undertaken to improve the ventilation of the place. Fresh air is a stimulating factor to a library user, and most likely, Fr. Joseph Baumgartner, SVD, the University Librarian, must have contemplated on this matter. Perhaps, sooner or later, there will be some additions to the science library. What they are, however, this writer is not in a position to disclose. But the truth is that improvements are in the offing. A GREAT HELP If there is anything that Carolinian science students and instructors of today should thank the Administration for, it is this one-yearold special concession that they have just acquired — the science library service. Today, if one wishes to refer to certain scientific books and periodicals, he only goes to the science library, consults the card catalog if necessary, and gets the reference he needs. The science library offers him the service and privacy that is his to enjoy. J JULY-AUGUST, 1959 Pa g e 35