I’ve always been fascinated with the game of basketball. When I was a kid I’d watch the PBA with my father and we’d root for Purefoods. My favorite PBA player then was Alvin Patrimonio. In the NBA, I was an Indiana Pacers fan when almost all of my friends rooted for the Chicago Bulls. At a time when Michael Jordan was hogging the headlines with his flashy plays above the rim, I admired Reggie Miller’s feathery stroke from behind the arc. I especially enjoyed the countless times Miller hit the game winning three-pointer under pressure.
Ours is a basketball crazed country. Everywhere you look—side streets, backyards, dirt roads — you’ll never fail to see makeshift basketball hoops with eager kids playing three ball; annual town fiestas would not be complete without a basketball league; and in an effort to pull in votes, politicians would put up cemented basketball courts where they can stamp their names on, not unlike the abundant skywalks that are labeled “love projects”. Even Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao plays basketball in between his training days, much to the chagrin of his trainer Freddie Roach.
In basketball where height is might, being short is often seen as a liability (unless of course you are extremely quick or talented, as in the case of an Earl Boykins, a Muggsy Bogues, or even a Johnny Abarrientos). What’s surprising is that even though Filipinos are a naturally small race, basketball is the national sport and favorite pastime. Consider this for perspective: the average height of a PBA power forward is about 6’3” to 6’5”, which is the equivalent height of a point guard or shooting guard in the NBA. NBA power forwards, on the other hand, tower at 6”8 or 6’9” in height. In the recent FIBA Asia tournament, Team Pilipinas — despite a pretty strong start — bowed out to stronger and taller teams, and in fact, it’s been a long time since we’ve won a medal in international basketball tournaments. But obviously, this doesn’t deter our sports officials from pouring in a lot of taxpayers’ money into national basketball teams.
Perhaps the mentality behind this seemingly blind and bordering-on-the-fanatical following among us basketball hobbits stems from the adage “It’s not really how tall you are, it’s how hard you play”. Miller, Boykins, Bogues, and Abarrientos proved that basketball can also be played below the rim; the teams that played in the recent iCOMM International sports fest promptly followed suit.
There were four basketball teams this year: the Green Stars (Marketing and Software – Web), Maroon Stars (Software – VB and Accounts), Black Autobots (Systems and Admin) and Blue Autobots (CSC).
A week before the sports fest, a couple of elimination games were staged to determine which teams will play in the game for third and championships. The two teams in each bracket faced-off in the eliminations: Green Stars vs. Maroon Stars, and Black Autobots vs. Blue Autobots.
The Green Stars and Blue Autobots barely scraped by their opponents, winning only by one point and two points respectively. In the first game, the Green Stars managed to overcome a 17-point deficit in the first half and won in dramatic fashion when Jeffrey Padernal completed a three-point play with six seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The final score read 55-54. In the second game, the Blue Autobots survived a three-point shooting barrage by the Black Autobots to take the last slot in the finals against the Green Stars, with a final score of 52-50.
Like the eliminations, the two games that were played in the sports fest proper were both hotly contested although not as close in terms of scoring. In the game for third, the Maroon Stars dominated the paint and outmuscled the undersized but game and hardworking Black Autobots, dealing them their second loss in as many games. The game ended with the Maroon Stars enjoying a 16 point margin, 66-50. In the finals, the sweet-shooting Green Stars plucked the championship plum after defeating the relentless Blue Autobots in a game that saw the former leading the latter by at least 20 points before a late run by the Blue Autobots in the last quarter cut the Green Stars’ lead down to eight. When the final buzzer sounded, the scoreboard read 66-58, in favor of the Green Stars.
In the end, height be damned, it was the players’ competitive spirit and will to win that spelled the difference and gave excitement to all those who watched the ball games. But of course to the victor belongs the spoils, and as a member of the champion Green Stars team, it came in the form of a buffet lunch (and, needless to say, a year’s worth of bragging rights). Yes, defeat is necessary and a learning experience: it is humbling and teaches one to be gracious. But victory, especially as a result of hard work—notwithstanding a mild ankle sprain and aching muscles– is indeed, undeniably sweet.
