By Rex Catubig

 

I HAD ballers for company one night a couple of years back. Over a jug of Alfonso which has superseded Empe as the populist liquor of choice, and a hearty pot of chicken fricassee, and grilled pork belly and tilapia over charcoal, our athlete guests easily eased up on their defenses and just dribbled away with their inspiring life stories laced with poignancy.

One left home and family at the tender age of 13 to play ball in the big city owing to a family circumstance that saw a reversal of fortune. For three years, he survived on an athletic scholarship as he clutched his heart and sacrificed his longing for home. Upon finishing high school, he came back and resumed his basketball romance by securing a slot in one of the local universities’ team which has earned a niche in the regional basketball hall of fame. And he became the star player.

A turning point was when he became involved in community service and was elected a youth leader. It’s not clear yet which path he would eventually take, but he has reached the age where he is at the tail end of a basketball career and he has to eye his options.

Another had lost his father at a very young age and his mother quite recently. Officially an orphan, he has managed to live on his own by way of the scholarship he earned by doing coaching job of a school team–which he had successfully rallied to championship wins. For a while, he had lived in the athletes’ barracks where he was assured of a meal. Despite this situation, he shows no sign of grudge against the world. He has retained the survivor’s mark of indomitable spirit. And his smile shows that.

The third dashes from one court to another in his own survival game. While he does some coaching as well, mornings find him putting on the apron and cooking for his mother’s small canteen. On the side, he does odd jobs like doing transport and delivery service with the garung that he owns. Transporting motorbikes to a holding yard yields a hundred pesos per trip, he said. And on a good day, he could easily wind up with a thousand-peso bonanza–more than enough to keep body and soul together, he proudly proclaimed.

I have my biased view of the Filipino youth today. All I’ve been seeing are these kids hooked on gadgets, social media, and TikTok. At best just colorful jelly fish in the murky web of life.

Yet, because I’m no avid sports aficionado, I have failed to look at the basketball court as a fertile ground in nurturing unbitter, independent, strong-back, courageous persons who continually run and dribble, pass and throw ball, and aim for a dunk in the ring.

It could be a tiring thing to do–especially with the distractions that youth offers. But our newfound ballers have their game plan and hold the ball under tight grip.

How does it go again? “It’s not the winning, but how you played the game”. And our young ballers are playing quite well. And winning, too.

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments