"Basag 49'ers-

Now a name, soon to be a legend.”

 

---These were the exact words Irago scribbled with a red pentel pen on the walls of the stinking toilet inside the Aquinas University Campus in Legaspi City one faithful day in the summer of 1988.

 

He was one of the ten original members of the boys from Basag, a sitio* in Barangay* Tigbi*, in the town of Tiwi, in the province of Albay, Bicol, Republic of the Philippines.

 

The original B49' ers:

Awo, Irago, Bulagting, Odo, Pakal, Tsang,, Kalasyo, Liwoy and Enrikiss Kagaw III.

 

Awo- the acknowledge leader of the group. Nobody elected him. I guess he just took the lead and nobody complained for that is the way things are in Basag. Everybody defers to him. He was a third year Civil Engineering drop-out of the state- run Bicol University in Legaspi.

 

 Irago- The " Mr. Dreamboy"* of the gang, blessed with killer good looks but in reality was an "Eprot"* . He grew up with his aunt, who took care of him when his mother died of complications upon giving birth to him. His father and siblings shunned him and blamed him for their mother's death.

 

 Bulagting- The " War freak" of the group especially when " nakaparong kan takop ki gin" (intoxicated with the Philippines' National Alcoholic Drink- Ginebra San Miguel).

 

 Odo- The good son. Teased for being a Mama' s boy and borne out of wedlock. He never got to know his father.

 

 Pakal- The little brown fucking machine or so he claims, in reality a virgin at18. Referred to as the youngest in the gang by virtue of his height at 4’ 11” (the shortest).

 

Tsang- “The Gentle Giant.” He stands at 5 feet 11 inches (a tall man by Philippine Standards) a member of the Aquinas University Basketball Varsity Team, dubbed as "The silent operator"

 

Kalasyo a.k.a “The Jester.”  Everything' s funny about him especially his face. He can dish out jokes and witty remarks like a Gatling gun spitting bullets at 200/ rounds per minute.  Behind the steel- framed eyeglasses is the brain equipped with a photographic memory.

 

 Bolat- “The Running Man.”  He runs the to the nearest Sari-sari Store to buy the ice and the " pulutans"* needed for the drinking sessions. He can run the 100 meters in 10 seconds flat at a very young age, aided by the sight of his father right on his tail brandishing the ever painful "buntot-pagi"*.

 

 Liwoy- “The Heartthrob”, as in "nerbiyoso" (Nervous freak) . A disciple of the ancient form of the classic Filipino Art of Self-defense- " Bitbit-tse (Bitbit tsinelas)”

 

 Enrikiss Kagaw III a.k.a. Song Ibanee- He wanted to be a Policeman but ended up being chased by one. A true- blue Ginebra Basketball Team Fanatic in the Philippine Basketball Association. Jaworski* is his god.

 

I was privileged enough to know the members of the B49'ers for we hailed from the same place and grew up hearing their exploits and stories told and re-told from the mouths of the people of where I came from.

 

By the way, my name is Matang Buyud, and i'll be your story teller.

 

This is their story...