Courtside charmer

By Giovanni Paolo J. Yazon

BEAUTY and brains are “two Bs” that’ll always be attached to the name of Catherine Untalan.

Beauty: This 21-year-old came close to winning a world beauty title. Cathy, her nickname, finished second runner-up in the Miss Earth pageant in November last year, which makes her the highest-placing Filipino candidate in this prestigious global search, to date.

Brains: She graduated cum laude with a degree in psychology at the University of the Philippines in Diliman; she’s now pursuing further studies in environment and natural resource management at UP’s Open University.

Add another B for basketball!

No, this six footer’s not an inclusion in this year’s lineup of the UP Lady Maroons, but she’s a delightful addition to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines’ new breed of courtside reporters along with Tracy Abad (University of the East), Rizza Diaz (National University), Vanna Lim (Ateneo de Manila University), Andi Manzano (Far Eastern University), Diane Querer (University of Santo Tomas), Sharon Yu (De La Salle University) and Aaron Atayde (Adamson University).

Cathy gives details on just about everything that happens on court—that sports commentators don’t get to see—like when one of the Fighting Maroons slashes his way to the basket or posts defenses!

The beginning

“It’s my fondness of basketball that motivated me to give courtside reporting a try. [I said to myself that maybe] it’d be interesting to see a courtside reporter that’s as tall as the basketball players,” she begins. “I auditioned during my last year in college [May of 2005, when ABS-CBN Sports advertised that they’d be having a screening].”

Cathy got a call from ABS-CBN after a year. “When they called me, they were unaware that I was already a beauty queen (she smiles).” As the cliché goes, the rest is history. She became a courtside reporter for the San Beda Red Lions team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association last year.

When asked if her NCAA stint helped her express ideas impeccably during her interviews at the Miss Earth pageant, Cathy says she thinks so. Months after she relinquished her crown as Miss Philippines-Earth of 2006, she again received a call from ABS-CBN Sports, inviting her to be a courtside reporter in this year’s season of UAAP, but this time for the UP Fighting Maroons. “I just hope that I’d be given another chance next year… it’s our [UP’s] 100th year!” she enthuses.

Her role models include sports anchors Dyan Castillejo and Luigi Trillo.

Must-haves

“You must be a college student, you have to look good in front of the camera, you have a working knowledge of the game [especially the terms commonly used], and you must be able to handle the pressure on court… because you will write your own spiels. We [courtside reporters] are also required to attend the practices of our respective teams. But overall, it’s fun!”

And speaking of fun, Cathy reveals some of her bloopers: “I read wrong names [of players] or swap the names of sports anchors. [While reporting for the Red Lions], I walked towards the camera while talking. The crew then asked me, Cathy, bakit ka naglalakad? I also used to say ‘thank you’ [after every report]. So they would tell me na kung mag-report daw ako pang-beauty pageant (she giggles).

“[But] what I like most about this job is that I get to show another side of my personality—the active [sporty] and cowboy side, especially when I tag along with the players. Frustration na rin, because I never had the chance to pursue any sport.” Cathy’s recruited to become part of the UP women’s basketball team. “…But I just tell them courtside reporter na lang ako (she smiles).”

The challenging part

“[There are times that] I tend to lose myself… nadadala ako ng game, but I still have to report. Coming from a champion team in NCAA last year, it’s [like it’s] hard to accept that my [present] team lost,” she sighs.

Should a courtside reporter come from the school that he or she is giving an account of? “There are two advantages: First is the school spirit, mas feel mo kasi and you’ll fight for your school through thick and thin. Second is the accessibility, since you know some people in your school, mas madali ang access to attend meetings or practices ng team. [On the contrary] you still have to deliver your reports well [than just having these advantages].”

And if you want to be a courtside reporter, Cathy says: “Do it not because of a vested interest [that you have a crush on a certain player, which is actually a running joke]. Do it for your school and do it for yourself. Practice a lot.”

Before we parted ways, Cathy gave this writer a sample of her favorite spiel: “I may be too optimistic in saying this, but I believe that even though it’s already the last quarter, the UP Fighting Maroons are still ‘gonna try and give all their best ‘til the very end of this game!”

Source: Manila Standard Today