Meet the doctor who preserves PH’s greatest basketball collections

In the medical field, Dr. Michael Rico Mesina is known as a radiologist, helping diagnose and treat injuries and diseases through medical imaging such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasound.

He also serves as a professor in the Department of Radiology at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Outside his profession, however, Mesina is an avid basketball fan. So passionate, in fact, that he has dedicated his life not only to saving lives, but also preserving the Philippines’ rich basketball history through an extensive memorabilia collection.

“This is a lifelong mission for me,” Mesina told Rappler. “But then I realized I’m into something big and something good.”

Mesina’s collection dates back to the pre-war period in the Philippines, including one of the earliest basketballs made in the country. 

He also possesses memorabilia from the national team’s first Olympic appearance in the 1936 Berlin Games, as well as artifacts from the 1948 London Olympics, where the Philippines finished 12th.

From the 1950s to the 1960s, his collection features items linked to legends such as Carlos Loyzaga, Lauro Mumar, Mariano Tolentino, Francisco Rabat, and Edgardo Ocampo.

Perhaps his most extensive collection comes from the 1970s to the 1990s, when the rise of magazines and posters allowed him to preserve more visual material. Among these are memorabilia tied to icons like Ramon Fernandez, Robert Jaworski Sr., Abet Guidaben, Alvin Patrimonio, Allan Caidic, and Samboy Lim.

His archive also includes artifacts from the PBA, featuring teams such as Toyota, Crispa, Gordon’s Gin (now Barangay Ginebra), Alaska, Sta. Lucia, Purefoods (now Magnolia), and San Miguel. 

In addition, he holds UAAP and NCAA memorabilia, including old newspapers, magazine clippings, toys, jackets, game-worn jerseys, books by Filipino authors, medals, pins, and even cassette tapes.

Name it, and Mesina likely has it, like a doctor with his own pharmacy of basketball history.

“This makes me happy,” he said. “Collecting and preserving stories from different generations of Philippine basketball gives me great joy.”

Part of what drives Mesina is the thrill of the hunt. Over the years, he has built a network across the country to track down rare and forgotten items, steadily expanding his collection.

“It is also a thrill to hunt these memorabilia,” he said. “I’ve been watching Philippine basketball since I was a toddler, so I’m very familiar with its history. There are times you find an item you thought was gone, but you’re able to get it.”

“But of course, the satisfaction is different when you exhibit,” he added. “You have friends who recognize the items, or parents who share stories about them with their children. Those moments are priceless. Those are the things that keep me going.”

Mesina pointed out what he sees as a growing gap in historical appreciation, even for a sport deeply embedded in Filipino culture.

“With all the forms of entertainment today, Filipinos don’t spend as much time tracing the roots of Philippine basketball,” he said. “Looking back at the old days and the legends is something we might be lacking.”

Through his collection, he hopes to address that gap and inspire a deeper appreciation for the sport’s history.

“I want to fill that lack and possibly influence the next generation to do the same,” he said.

That vision has evolved into a more ambitious goal: building the country’s first dedicated basketball museum. Since 2022, Mesina has been working with fellow collectors, including Aristotle Garcia and Marc Lyndon Cruz, to bring the idea to life.

They aim to gather between 25,000 and 40,000 pieces of memorabilia. For more than four years, the group has been cataloging items and searching for a suitable location, ideally one accessible to the broader basketball community.

Mesina revealed that several leagues have already expressed interest in collaborating on a potential museum in Metro Manila.

“Building a basketball museum large enough to hold more than 25,000 items of Philippine history is certainly a challenge,” he said. “But little by little, people are getting to know the advocacy. There are also those willing to help.”

“The idea is already out in the open, and the fact that some entities are showing interest means a lot to me.”

For Mesina, basketball is a reflection of the Filipino identity.

“We’ve ingrained basketball so much into our culture that everywhere we look, there’s something that connects it to our daily lives,” he said.

He also sees parallels between the country’s history and its basketball journey, both marked by triumphs and struggles.

“We’ve had a golden era, but we’ve also had difficult times,” he said. “Both in basketball and as a nation, we are resilient. Despite challenges and disadvantages, we continue to push forward.” – Rappler.com