It has been called “the game of a thousand thrills.” Being a bit familiar with the sport, it boggles why the game of jai alai as been dubbed as such when other sports like basketball or football can also lay claim to that tag. Nevertheless, Filipinos seem to have such an understated love affair with this game, overshadowed as it is these days due to the popularity of the aforementioned sports.
Being a sport of Basque origin, (jai alai means “happy feast” in the Basque language) it was fitting that the Basques, or at least Hispanics with Basque heritage, would introduce this sport in the country. Some accounts relate that jai alai made its way into the country in 1899 courtesy of the prominent Elizalde family, themselves having Basque lineage, who many today would know as the ones behind one the country’s prominent broadcasters that is the Manila Broadcasting Company.
Over the years, the jai alai sport has become popular not only among the elite but among the common folk as well. Soon, Spanish (mostly Basque) players were being imported to play jai alai in the country. Its popularity began to outgrow the confines of the small fronton in Casino Español, and a new, larger venue was needed.