Successful basketball officials’ seminar

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

I ARRIVED late and attended only half of the first of the two-day seminar-clinic and accreditation event organized by the National Amateur Basketball Referees Organization (NABRO) last November 6 and 7 at the St. John’s Cathedral covered court. The occasion was not only for basketball referees but also for coaches, table officials and organizers, and it drew 120 participants from all over the province. My town Mangaldan had three representatives.

Despite having spent only five hours listening attentively to the two international referees who facilitated and interpreted the new FIBA rules, I honestly learned a lot from them. The duo, Bryan Tabanag and Jerry Jimenez, clearly explained all the innovated set of laws by the world governing FIBA that’s now being implemented in national amateur games in the country. I can say I’m now more educated about these new rules that puzzled me during this year’s PRISAA-UCAAP tournament. My friend Phil Celi who also attended the seminar said Saturday’s sessions were the most important because all the new rules were clearly explained plainly with demonstrations by Tabanag and Jimenez, assisted by national referee Jorge Ceralde.

The two also explained the rules of the new game in basketball competition called FIBA 33, or also better known as “Three-on-Three.” FIBA 33 was already introduced during the First Youth Olympic Games (for 14 to 18 years old) in Singapore last August which I watched with PDI columnist Recah Trinidad where Serbia and China were the winners for the boys and girls divisions, respectively.

Latest reports say the FIBA 33 will now be contested in the 2012 London Olympic Games. And soon, I believe next year, a tournament for this game that will start at the barangay level, then town, provincial and up to the national level. In fact in my village, our SK officials are contemplating a plan to include FIBA 33 as one of the sports activities that will be contested during our barangay fiesta in April next year. And I guess others are thinking about this too. Let’s wait and see.

Congrats to you guys, especially to NABRO Pangasinan chapter commissioner Jon Cansino, who initiated the project and supervised the event. Sana maulit pa daw, sabi ng mga hindi nakarinig ng balita. I do hope there will be another one.

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Pangasinan lost a national athlete. Chess national master Solomon Serrana Bautista of San Fabian who met his untimely death on November 2 this year in a freak accident. My reliable sources who attended the wake said the bread winner Solomon, 38, just bought ice water at barangay Tempra when a speeding Isuzu Elf truck hit him. He was immediately brought to the hospital by some concerned citizens but Solomon succumbed just five minutes after reaching the hospital. Solomon left his wife, the former Marie Reverie Escama, and his three children, two girls and a boy. Interment was November 13.

Our deepest sympathy to the family.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” JOHN 3: 35 and 36.

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