While many physicians spend their careers interpreting medical images, Dr. Michael Rico Mesina dedicates his free time to uncovering another kind of diagnosis: the largely forgotten history of Philippine basketball.
Mesina serves as a practicing radiologist and faculty member of the Department of Radiology at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila College of Medicine.
Driven by a mission to preserve a legacy that even the nation’s basketball institutions have yet to showcase in a museum, the Thomasian radiologist has assembled one of the country’s most comprehensive private collections, from century-old photographs and magazines to rare memorabilia tracing the sport’s arrival in the Philippines.
Mesina, a College of Science alumnus, was raised near Reyes Gym in Mandaluyong, where he spent countless school breaks watching Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams train. Encouraged by his uncles, who introduced him to stars like Johnny Abarrientos and Alvin Patrimonio, he began buying basketball magazines with his weekly allowance.
The gym also became the setting for moments that deepened his love for the game. During one Pepsi practice, PBA legend Yoyoy Villamin invited the young Mesina to retrieve basketballs during shooting drills. On another day, he witnessed Robert Jaworski, Ginebra’s legendary playing coach, instruct his players not to leave until every waiting fan had received an autograph.
His passion eventually took a back seat as he entered medical school and focused on his studies. It was only during the Covid-19 pandemic, when daily life slowed and physicians were advised to minimize unnecessary exposure outside hospitals, that he rekindled his interest in collecting.
What started as a search for the magazines he owned as a child eventually grew into a much larger preservation effort.
Mesina first rebuilt his collection of 1990s PBA memorabilia before tracing the league’s roots back to the 1970s. His search later expanded beyond professional basketball, leading him to artifacts documenting the sport’s earliest years in the Philippines during the early 1900s.
Among the most prized pieces in his collection are memorabilia from the Philippines’s first Olympic basketball appearance at the 1936 Berlin Games, as well as artifacts from the 1948 London Olympics, where the national team placed 12th.
The collection covers both professional and collegiate basketball, featuring memorabilia from franchises such as Toyota, Crispa, Gordon’s Gin (now Barangay Ginebra), Alaska, Sta. Lucia, Purefoods (now Magnolia), and San Miguel, alongside decades of UAAP and NCAA history.
Its collection includes newspapers, magazine clippings, books by Filipino authors, game-worn jerseys, jackets, medals, pins, toys, cassette tapes, and countless other artifacts chronicling more than a century of Philippine basketball.
Mesina believes the value of the collection lies not in its size, but in the stories each artifact carries.
“Naniniwala ako na bawat item, meron siyang history behind it and if you put enough items together, you can see how each item is intertwined. Then you can create a timeline for Philippine basketball history using those different items available to you,” he said.
Part of his home in Antipolo serves as a temporary mini-museum, housing the growing collection while he pursues a more ambitious vision: establishing a permanent Philippine Basketball Museum that the public can visit.
Although the project is still in its early stages, Mesina said several organizations had expressed interest in supporting the initiative.
His subspecialty in musculoskeletal radiology occasionally brings him face to face with athletes seeking second opinions on injuries, creating an unexpected connection between his profession and his passion. Outside the hospital, collecting serves as a welcome escape from the pressures of patient care.
“It is important to stay grounded and to have an outlet for all of the stress that you’re encountering at work,” he said, adding that sharing his collection with fellow basketball enthusiasts gave him fulfillment beyond personal satisfaction.
Looking at the state of Philippine basketball today, Mesina believes the country is rich in talent. What is needed, he said, is stronger grassroots development, longer preparation, and a system that allows teams to build chemistry before competing on the international stage.
“We cannot treat it like an all-star game na malapit na ‘yong FIBA. Sige two weeks, kuha ka ng mga stars and then get them together. Doon pa lang sa camaraderie, doon pa lang sa chemistry, talo na agad tayo, and then expect us to compete well against teams which have been playing together for years,” he said.
Mesina hopes his lifetime project will endure long after he is gone—not merely as a collection of memorabilia, but as a permanent home for the history of Philippine basketball.
“You won’t be alive forever so what is the thing that you can leave behind which can be appreciated by your sons and then your sons, your children’s children? So I think ‘yong museum na ‘yon if mabuo, ‘yon ‘yong maiiwan ko,” he said.
At UST, Mesina was editor in chief of a biology newsletter and represented the College of Science in Pautakan, the Varsitarian’s longest-running intercollegiate quiz bee.
“’Yong natutuhan ko rin kasi sa UST is to be well-rounded. Kasi maraming binibigay na opportunities ‘yong university for you to explore your different talents,” Mesina said. With reports from Joaquin Edgardo A. Cortez
