Playing with Fire
Pozorrubio basketball star saved PH from FIBA fiasco!
By Gonzalo Duque
HAIL this Pangasinense, Jean Mark Pingris, a 6’6” basketball star of Gilas Filipinas from Pozorrubio, Pangasinan.
We were told he was sleeping in the Pozorrubio public market being the “errand boy,” of his vegetable vendor nanay who was “abandoned” by his French father due to the machinations of his mother’s amiga who had a crush on the father.
So much has gone by, and Pingris, a close buddy of former Jess Garcia and two former Tour of Luzon champs—Arnel Querimit—was the star of the Philippine team (GILAS) believed responsible for its triumph against Senegal in the FIBA World games. FIBA, in case you don’t know, stands for Federation Internationale de Basketball, a French word.
We’re told Raffy Baraan—at the suggestion of Youssef Velasco of PMS Malacañang—is firming up the idea to make Pingris an ASNA Awardee this year. Very deserving.
Raffy, put it on record, that we are nominating him for the ASNA.
By the way, Pingris’ wife, the former Danica Sotto, daughter of entertainment Vic Sotto, is a good friend of our daughter Pebbles.
What Pingris demonstrated was heroic spirit, a virtue we need to cultivate always. But a heroic spirit should be steeped in humility. Pingris showed it when he told Philippine Star columnist Kathy Moran that he is the son of a humble vegetable vendor.
Talagan satay baley na Pozorrubio arawi lan maong so abatik to awa?
Let’s not forget that Ana Julaton, the world’s reigning woman boxing champ, also is a native of this town, once belittled with a joke “tangay tangay ed Pozorrubio.”
Hindi na ngayon. Fact of the matter is those epic movies “The Brave Heart,” “Gladiator,” and the like are connected with Pozorrubio because the thousands of swords or sabres used in those films were made in Pozorrubio.
Ang galing ng bayan na yan.
Congrats, Mayor Art Chan!
* * * *
Back home, we have our own local heroes—these basketball players who are seeing action in the University College Athletic Association of Pangasinan (UCAAP) on September 18.
Those participating are UPANG-PHINMA, Philippine College of Science and Technology in Calasiao town; International College of Excellence of Urdaneta City, Asian Institute of E-Commerce (AIE), PIMSAT, Lyceum-Northwestern University-Urdaneta, and the main LNU-Dagupan.
The grand opening of the games will be graced by basketball stars of Pangasinan playing in the PBA.
If you ask, the games are the best training for healthy competition.
Sport, you know, is one human endeavour where deceit and fraud are not allowed.
Very common sa pulitika, but not in sport.
We expect winners in the games will see action in the North-Central Luzon and Cordillera competitions, and the champions there will take part in the Philippine Colleges Champions (PCCL) League, and later to join the games of the “Sweet Sixteen” en route to the grand competition in the NCAA, UAAP and others.
We’re happy to report that we in Dagupan-Pangasinan will host the Battle of Champions on Nov. 2-5, this year.
* * * *
We were just talking of values. Yesssireee! There’s a very critical need of values in those tasked to enforce the law.
Corrupt politicians? We’ve long been engulfed by flagellants on this account.
Kailan pa kaya titino ang mga opisyales natin?
Look at the headlines these days!
The policemen—officers and men—are giving our country a severe, big black eye.
That’s why we really sympathize with DILG Secretary Mar Roxas due to the police organization’s being described now as a Rogue’s Gallery.
Nakakahiya! Nakakapanlulumo, mga agagui!
At this point, we remember our chat with Congressman Pol Bataoil, he who is being clamoured to run for governor but is too circumspect so as not to step on the toes of his elders (?).
Pol, you know, is knowledgeable of policemen, their illusions, delusions, etc., having been their national deputy director-general and national PNP spokesman.
We intimated to Pol and now to all officials in charge of policemen to isolate the cops with cases. There’s really a need to rehabilitate these people—like requiring them to undergo or participate in value formation or reformation workshops.
We agree that it’s tough to re-educate or reform them—but what can we do? They are part of our society, and in fact, they are being symbols of public trust being in the frontline of law enforcement.
Ang nangyayari naman ay “suni” (reverse), sicaray dapat ya bantayan!
It takes the genius of our heroic Filipinos and herculean effort to extract out the virus that has permeated the psyche of our policemen… this craze or mania for money which, by the way, finds its giant counterparts among our power-seeking national politicians.
Mahirap na trabajo ito, mga igan, but we have to bite the bullet!
As we wrote this, we received a report about the harrowing experience of the families of eight Quezon City policemen who were arrested by their peers for robbery—abduction on Edsa last Thursday.
For a while, they were the idols and exemplars in the community for which their family members were proud of. When they were unmasked, their loved ones felt like they received a death-blow.
These cops accosted their victims who were in a Toyota Fortuner on Edsa and took the P2-million in cash they were carrying.
Because of their “crime,” the suspects were disowned by their classmates at the Philippine National Police Academy Class of 2001.
Nakakahiya!!!
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