Always behind the scenes, but always behind the team—this would probably be the best description for the steadfast young men and women who have been drumming and cheering to support the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team in the Fiba Asia campaign, which started last Aug. 1 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Last July 17, Prof. Michael John Y. Rubio, mentor and moderator of the San Beda College Band, got a call asking the band to play for the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team for the duration of the Fiba Asia tournament.

After several days, on July 25, the gig was confirmed, and the San Beda College Band was now the official drummers for Gilas Pilipinas. The next day, Rubio sent audio files of the beats and the cheer to be used, for approval. In an interview, he said that he was happy to be given the opportunity to play for the country and for the Philippine team. This gig coming unexpectedly, the band immediately went to work and had uniforms made, and practised the new beats and the cheer to be used in the games.

In the 81 years of the band’s existence, this is probably the highest level at which the San Beda College Band has played. It has played in almost all the sporting events in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), in every championship, in the preseason and postseason basketball games, in all school events.

It has also played for the Meralco Bolts and the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Band president Jayson Leodones, asked how he felt about the chance to play for the national team, said, “I feel very lucky and honored to play for this team. Masarap magtrabaho kapag mahal mo ang ginagawa mo, lalo na kapag  ito ay para sa bansa.”

With the games of the 2013 Fiba Asia tournament being held here, the home crowd is expected to go all out in cheering for the national team. However, on the first day of competitions, in the matchup between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Gilas Pilipinas, it was noticeable that the seats weren’t filled up. There were possible reasons for such poor attendance—it was a weekday, or the crowd didn’t see the match as close, though they did give us a scare.

In contrast, the game against Jordan was jam-packed. It was a seesaw battle as they led at half time, until the home team staged a furious rally in the third. By this time, the crowd was already joining the cheer.

In the match against Chinese Taipei, the tickets were sold out. The crowd attendance in the bounce-back game against Japan and in the win over Qatar was also solid. The Philippines has entered the third round.

In the local collegiate leagues and tournaments, the band’s task was limited to playing beats, cheers and songs. However, the band realized soon enough that the NCAA and the Fiba Asia Championships were worlds apart.

Aug. 2 probably marked the first time the band acted out of character and its members spread out among the crowd, shouting their lungs out, cheering for the team which was then trailing behind the Jordanians. I asked several members why they went among the crowd and how they pulled it off. They said that it was out of necessity, and that they were there not only to play the drums but more important, to rally the crowd.

Indeed, they were like “sparkplugs” for cheering. They would shout “Laban Pilipinas,” then play the accompanying beat during offense, and shout a resounding “defense.”

And since hosting the Fiba Asia Championships doesn’t happen often, the band decided to add a very distinct flavor to the event by playing its signature beat, the Indian Yell, in one of the games, just so people would know from what school the drummers are from.

This year, students and alumni of San Beda have been proving their worth in the international sporting scene. With the San Beda Alabang Junior Cheerleading Squad winning silver and bronze in the 7th Cheerleading Asia International Championship last May in Tokyo, and LA Tenorio, a former Red Cub, being selected as one of the players in the Gilas Pilipinas national basketball team, the “lion’s den” seems to be realizing its vision to be globally competitive.

Now, as the “sixth man” of the national team, the San Beda College Band aims to rev up the crowd behind Gilas Pilipinas, all the way to the top of Asian basketball. With school pride temporarily set aside, the band has also stayed true to the Bedan Hymn—“for San Beda, our country, and God. ”