Parakrama heard his Last Whistle – By Capt. Elmo Jayawardena
I am minting these words with a heavy heart. There are times that words have no more meaning, but I need to do my best for my old friend ‘Para’ who is no longer with us.
We started playing Basketball at the age of 13 and ended decades later. Parakrama Fernando said good-bye to his friends and family and to the world on 21st July. He is gone. The burial was completed two days later.
He was 77 years old.
Both as a player and as a coach, I have seen a lot of basketball in Sri Lanka for more than 6 decades. I categorically state that the best center player I saw in my life in the Sri Lankan basketball courts was Parakrama Fernado. To begin with, he played bare footed almost all the time. The shots he had were unorthodox and he was unstoppable under the basket. He moved so fast and shot with either hand. His pivoting and body balance was excellent, and he had great leaping ability. Just to illustrate to you how good he was – once we were playing against the army which had a very strong team filled with national players. They also had the magnificent ‘Doc. Thurai’ playing as a forward. That day Moratuwa lost the match, but ‘Para’ single handedly scored 48 points. I know this as I was there. I was the “playmaker” for the Moratuwa team. 48 points from the center against the strong army team was something unbelievable.
Parakrama always played his heart out. That was the hallmark quality of his commitment. Shoes or no shoes, sometimes with bleeding toes and feet, he just kept going in his own inimitable way carrying the Moratuwa team on his shoulders. He was a great re-bounder, his timing was perfect and he could control the board on offence and defence and grab balls from either hand and pivoted and shot or passed completely baffling the opposition.
One of the most unique traits he had as a player was, he always did exactly what he was asked to do. He never voiced idiotic opinions when the chips were down. He just fought back following the exact instructions of the coach. That is a sterling quality of a team player. Yes, with him, we as the Moratuwa team won many matches against many a top team. Most of the leading players of that era are no more, but a few alive will remember ‘Para’, the bare foot center who played his own grand brand of basketball. Among them amidst the living are Cosmos Perera of the Bens, Duncan Jayawardena of Moratuwa, Hillary White of the Orients, Christy Fernando of Shamrocks and the Michelman Anton Nadarajah.
‘Para’ played against all these super stars of basketball in the 60s. I repeat what I said before, ‘Para’ certainly was the best center I ever saw on a Sri Lankan court. This is no exaggerated flattery, but the absolute truth as I saw it.
Parakrama never played for Ceylon, simply because he wasn’t interested. He was the Captain of the Western Province team. I remember clearly how he was to hoist the flag at the Opening Ceremony as the Captain of the WP team at the invitational tournament. He didn’t go. Such things didn’t matter to him. He was just a simple plain “Para”. A brilliant teammate who played his heart out at any competition.
He spent almost 30 years in the USA and came back to Sri Lanka to retire. He was single. He became a member of the Carlton Club of Moratuwa, one of the oldest and nicest clubs that I know in Sri Lanka. At the time of his passing, he was the Vice President of the Carlton Club and off and on he used to come and watch younger players play Basketball. ‘Para’ was a kind man, a good friend, someone who walked tall by his own standards.
Yes, I feel sad for his demise, but I think it is for the best, as he was suffering with health problems. ‘Para’ will always be remembered by people who knew him and people who played with him and people who played against him. So long dear Para, you were one hell of a basketball player. I can say it in all honesty and sincerity because I played with you from the age of 13 to the day you retired from Basketball.
It is said in the good book “In my Father’s house there are many mansions”.
Para will find his shelter.
Capt. Elmo Jayawardena
