Mindanao - The Future of Philippine Basketball (Article from Mindaview)

Mindanao - The Future of Philippine Basketball

            This  writer simply agree with then Gold Meir, Israeli Prime Minister on her visit to the country when she quipped   that Yaweh  erred in choosing Israel as Promise  Land. It’s not Israel but Philippines what with all the abundance of the harvest  of the land, she reechoed. Unlike theirs where they have to import top soil yet  to make their vast but barren desert lands productive, ours has very fertile soil all through the years. Rain or shine you may just throw away  seeds anywhere. No need praying. What you sow you will also  reap in due time.

Only in the Philippines, you might say. And what such lofty billing  represented where else  if not by Mindanao, the comedor and breadbasket of the country that could feed all the rest of the nation.

Honestly though, I don’t really take Golda Meir’s words entirety for it. Hers’ was definitely an understatement. It’s  miracle alright having all those fruits of the land growing. For  we might  have all those blessing but if we don’t harness our resources what we want them to be, no way we’ll be able to fully give justice to that miracle let alone deserve it. Fortunately, Mindanao is not only giving lion’s share of economic return and supplier of the sweetest and juiciest fruits in town to Almighty Central Manila but most importantly also, constant contributor of sport icons in as many fields there is in sports.  This is so because the island is virtually top-heavy too with  talents in as many fields and events there are  in Philippine Sports. Full-grown ones and countless others very promising gems. We’re just simply oozing with it.  All we have to do is reward those who have successfully carved their names in the annals of their respective sport events  and  polished those unruffled diamonds among today’s cream of the crop giving them platforms of their talents making them competitive securing that tradition of winning where it  rightfully belongs.

That’s what lately the Cagayan de Oro Basketball Federation (Cdobf) under the helm of Mr. Edgar de la Victoria in coordination with Samahang Basketbolista ng Pilipinas did.  The organization just recently concluded inter-Collegiate Mindanao league in Xavier University gym after staging the Regional Finals at Bulua Gym few weeks back.  Among the four finalist, Davao Agro dribblers emerged as champion after beating mercilessly demolishing at will their opponent ballclubs with their blistering pace running game. Zamboanga was second winning two games against CDO and Gensan but losing a hairline barely one point to Davao, CDO came in third and Blue Marlins of Gen San unable  to show Pacman’s character  winless in their card.

CdoBF according to Mr. de la Victoria is embarking to a very  ambitious plan –harnessing the best in basketball for Mindanao. Not really that big deal given the many talents we have in the field. The potentials itself was shown in that 3 days league. Davao’s triumvirate of Samboy Lim’s  double Ruiz, daredevil Aninao and high leaping Tano along with Blue Fins sotukil tandem of Frias and Canao, Zamboanga’s resurrected Abarrientos number 14 wearing jersey bullet train Trinidad in tandem with sweet shooting Rebollos and spitfirish Porlares are favorite shoo-ins. Add Liceo U’s court general Sullano and MSU’s Tomahawk sporting Arumpac a Tomawis dribbler and almost unblemished in the perimeter territory and you have the best that could beat any best team in their age bracket anywhere. Of  course this excludes those big guns in UAAP and NCAA the likes of Carlo Lastimosa and Sam Marata of CDO, and FEU’s Cawaling. What more with Zamboanga’s Barroca and RR Garcia and Lanao’s Eric Salamat. Group them together and we have a powerhouse of formidable  Mindanao super basketball heroes. Not farfetched idea.

In sum what we  need are equally hardworking and fertile hands to make basketball   productive and competitive in this island. What a plausible compliment giving and sharing  back the tribute and grandeur of the sports where it  rightfully belongs restoring back its lost  prestige offset  and mired by implacable  blight that has been infesting the island. From patronage politics to warlordism, corruption to abduction, adding insult to this peaceful island as Hostage capital in the world – all these bad  publicity  taking aback our tourism potentials and its concomitant dividend of  additional revenue for government.

We’ve been excelling in many fields there is in sports indeed. That’s great. We’ve been really  through it all and hurdled them with feathers on our cap. From track and field to boxing, taekwando to swimming  We had Olympic sprinter Mona Sulaiman in the past. Celestino Mancao Tugot’s incredible six times Phil. Open in golf in four straight years is still unbeaten in the books. Too popular that then US Ike Eisenhower played friendship golf with him in US.   

Indeed as land of promise albeit unfulfilled one, today we are seeing the great transformation of the island unfolding  continually changing landscape of Philippine Sports as in boxing and basketball. We don’t have only Manny the Pacman Pacquiao, the guns of Gensan Navarette, Rene Barientos of boxing the rest – Banal. Melindo, Jason Pagara are waiting in the wings  embarking similarly on that fearless pugilist journey with a bang as they all won their fights in a row.

Let us all participate the advocacy of SBP and CdoBF all the way not just supporting it because that is lip service but participating giving too our best shoot in whatever capacity we could deliver as organizers, sponsors and or viewers. No rumbling of politics just plain service. That’s good for the country most specially to us Mindanaoans. Gov. Oca Moreno has been there so with Gov. Manny Pinol. Let us all contribute in whatever way we can. One island sustaining that big dream. Pacquiao shows us the way. We can also follow suit. Go SBP, go CdoBF. Life is a ballgame.