Enmity in Dagupan college caging

By Jesus A. Garcia Jr.

SOME college basketball coaches came to me to ask why some of Dagupan City’s well-known institutions do not try to patch their differences particularly in tertiary basketball competitions. The enmity between the two basketball groups (UCAAP and PRISAA) is already affecting the students’ development in this James Naismith invented sport and leading to endless frustrations. I said it’s all about “pride.” They continued to aver that aside from them and their players, the province’s basketball fans are wont to know: Who’s really who the king in the province’s tertiary caging?  They say it’s high time that the teams of the two groups compete against each other in both college leagues to know once and for all who is the best of them all and officially represent our province in Region 1 hostilities,  and eventually the national competitions.

I told them the problem can only be solved by Gonz Duque and Chito Samson. They’re the pillars of the two institutions (LNU and UL). Though the chance may be slim, I still wish and hope that a win-win solution will be reached for the sake of the youth and sports development in the province. Siya nawa.

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I will take a respite from writing in this corner for the next 45 days starting next week. Yes, I’ve been writing here every week non-stop since July 5, 2005, so I guess it’s time for me to refresh and recharge my aging mind. But I will still write some local sports news on this page, if possible every week if I can collect some in the province. For your further understanding, writing a column is a lot harder than writing sports stories. No comparison.

During my break, of course, I will closely follow the Rio Summer Olympic Games that started on August 6. And please pray and hope that our small contingent (13 athletes) will still manage to bag a medal, hopefully a gold. We ‘ve been suffering from a medal-drought for two decades, and never won a gold since Philippines participated in 1924 Paris Olympics in France. The first time we won a medal (bronze) was in 1928 Amsterdam  Games in Netherland through the efforts of swimmer Teofilo Yldefonso. The first time we won silver was in Tokyo Games in Japan done by my friend and my age contemporary the late Anthony Villanueva. The silver was duplicated by another boxer Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco in 1996 Atlanta Games in U.S. That was our last medal win in the quadrennial meet, considered the meeting of ‘super athletes’ in the world.

I’m not belittling our other participants but I believe like in the past, our big chance to win medal/s again are in the hands of our two boxers Rogen Ladon and Charly Suarez. Remember, all the nine medals that Philippines pocketed since 1928, five of them (2 silvers, 3 bronzes) were won by our boxers.

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK: And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding that we know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 JOHN 5: 20

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