Looking back at GMA-7
It has been twenty years since the anime series Slam Dunk was first aired on the Filipino TV station GMA-7.
GMA-7, which always bragged itself to be the most-awarded TV station, always came in second place behind ABS-CBN in terms of TV viewership and TV program recall. The former only ruled Metro Manila or the Greater Manila Area, while the latter ruled nationwide with its high-quality, memorable TV programs.
The fortune of GMA-7 changed with Slam Dunk in the summer of 2002, and it quickly became the most-talked TV program. The basketball / coming-of-age anime series filled in the afternoon TV slot left by Ghost Fighter (YuYu Hakusho). When GMA-7 ended Slam Dunk’s run, another anime series, Flame of Recca, took over.
When it comes to anime broadcast in the Philippines, GMA-7 was the authority. The TV network will always be remembered for its anime programming. But despite ruling the anime slots, the TV network would always come second to ABS-CBN until the summer of 2020, when the Duterte administration denied ABS-CBN a new franchise to operate as a broadcasting network. Since then, GMA-7 has ruled Philippine television but no longer has authority over anime programming. (That now belongs to YouTube and anime streaming websites.)
Memories of Slam Dunk
On the day Ghost Fighter ended, it was a gloomy Friday afternoon. And on the day Slam Dunk debuted, it was a fine Monday afternoon. I remember GMA-7 did not tease viewers for Ghost Fighter’s replacement. We were expecting a new anime but something like fantasy, action, and mystery – with plenty of comedy. We expected something like Dragon Ball Z, Detective Conan, and Ghost Fighter. We didn’t expect something like Slam Dunk.
Now that I’ve come to think of it, Slam Dunk paved the way for sports-themed anime programming in Philippine television. In 2003, GMA-7 broadcasted Hajime no Ippo (titled Knockout in the country) and Baki The Grappler.
As usual, the neighbors came over to our house to watch anime. (Back in the days, we had anime weekday afternoons and evenings.) As far as I can remember, I was unsure whether Ghost Fighter would continue with a new adventure or arc. And then came Slam Dunk, which its first 15 minutes already won me and my neighbors.
Our summer weekday afternoons got more exciting with Slam Dunk. Soon enough, the redhead hardheaded Hanamichi Sakuragi became a household name, and so did Kaede Rukawa, Takenori Akagi, and Haruko Akagi. The anime series quickly became a routine; we should be done with our chores by the time Slam Dunk starts or should be ready to drop what we were doing. My former upperclassman-neighbor (who once courted Lucy) even ran to my house, shouting, “It’s time to watch Slam Dunk.)
At the time Slam Dunk debuted, it was fiesta season, so there abounded basketball leagues in many different villages. The Slam Dunk even reached those people who had never played basketball but loved the sport. Many teens and young adults were trying to unleash their inner Sakuragi or Rukawa.
Unfortunately, months before, I had already stopped playing the sport due to my lack of physical stamina. (The spirit was willing but the flesh was weak; the love of basketball was strong but the body was lame. What can I do? I wasn’t an athletic type but some people really wanted me to try any sports, especially basketball and taekwondo.) I still had people that time coming over to tell me to resume playing basketball. A schoolmate even dropped by to recruit me as ‘Sakuragi’ on his way to another village to play basketball; he was lacking two more players to complete his 5-man lineup.
I remember that on the day after my grandmother passed away, my mother arrived home for the wake and funeral. (She had to come home as she was the one who shouldered my grandmother’s hospitalization and funeral expenses.) She arrived while we were watching Slam Dunk. One of the gifts she brought home was the book Guinness World Records 2002, in which the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Westlife, and Eminem appeared.
My grandmother’s funeral took place on a Monday, and I was grumpy because I didn’t want to go, but my parents made me and my siblings come. Not that I didn’t care but I wasn’t told that the funeral would take place on that day. So, at my grandmother’s village, I had to control my temper and forced myself to get along with relatives. But I spent most of the time reading a cousin’s books and magazines.
After the funeral, I got restless because I wanted to go home right away and watch Slam Dunk, the episode where Sakuragi and the Shohoku team battled Ouzumi, Sendo and the Ryonan team in a practice game. Thank God, there was no after-funeral chit-chat, so I did not miss that exciting episode, which started just when we arrived home. It was a memorable Monday. It made me forget the bad mood I had throughout that day.
Slam Dunk – aside from music – was also on my mind on the first day of my junior year in high school. I can’t recall talking about the anime series with my classmates, but I remember leaving early. I didn’t wait for the closing flag ceremony because why wait when Slam Dunk was waiting for me? Throughout the run of Slam Dunk, I never stayed late at school due to Slam Dunk, among other things.
Slam Dunk after high school
Twelve years later, during my break at work, I read Slam Dunk manga on a manga hosting website.
Thirteen years later, while strolling with a former classmate at his town’s fiesta, I came across a Slam Dunk merchandise at one of the stalls that were put up for the festivities. I quelled the urge to buy due to my financial struggles that year.
Fourteen years later, I watched AKB48’s former sister group SNH48 performing WANDS’ “Sekai ga Owaru made wa,” the second closing theme of Slam Dunk. In the same year, I downloaded the manga from the Internet.
Fifteen years later, I downloaded the opening theme song “Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai” by Baad, which has become one of my most memorable tracks.
Thank you very much, Slam Dunk, for the memories!
Basketball in the Philippines
Basketball is the second-largest ‘religion’ in the Philippines, where almost every Catholic chapel is located near or beside a (makeshift) basketball court. We Filipinos love basketball, whether NBA or PBA, and we immediately fell in love with Slam Dunk. Basketball in the Philippines had become synonymous with Slam Dunk.
Basketball is part of Philippine culture. Plus, we love comedy. We Filipinos love to laugh, even in the most stressful situations, and we would love a bit of comedy (or even more) in our TV or radio programs. Slam Dunk is a perfect combination of basketball and comedy.
(By the way, congratulations to Team Indonesia for winning the men’s 5×5 basketball gold in the recently concluded Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam. Gilas Pilipinas would bounce back, stronger, better, and more powerful.)
Music and Memories 