Now, you may ask, what inspired me to suddenly write an article about Filipino Teenagers and their love affair with basketball? Well... first of all, I am a Filipino teenager, and I love basketball. I mean, that's why I created this blog! So that I can get to write about the game that I love playing. Second is well... because of this kids I play with at our local court and at our very own court at the province. Now on to my little essay.
If you didn't know, I'm 16 years old, and I love playing basketball. I've played the sport ever since I was 4 years old (I think hehe), and I've been playing it ever since. Fine, my parents made me learn swimming. I got good at it, but it just wasn't the same. I liked it, but I didn't love it the same way that I loved basketball. I grew up watching Kobe Bryant score 81 points, Derek Fisher shooting that 0.4 buzzer beater on the Spurs, and on a more local note, Doug Kramer beating the buzzer against the UST Growling Tigers during the 2006 UAAP Finals.
I also study in a prestigious school here in the Philippines, the Ateneo. It's college team has won 5 straight basketball championships, and it's high school basketball program also has history of winning championships. So, you'd probably expect me to play in them fancy arenas and gyms like typical basketball players who are blessed to be in a school with a good basketball program?
Well, sad to say, no. First of all, I am not part of the varsity team of our school. Why? Well, maybe because I'm not as good as my other schoolmates. Second, I didn't grow up playing basketball using fiberglass boards or gyms that are used by professional players. I played basketball in the streets, just along the sidewalk. Literally.
The picture above, is the place I practically learned how to play Basketball. That's our very own court at Binan, Laguna. As you can see, the basketball hoop was placed just along the sidewalk. So you can expect some by passers complaining when my cousins and I play ball. The board is just made out of wood and my uncle just painted it so that it looks nicer. The hoop is probably only 9 feet above the ground, as opposed to the FIBA size that is 10 feet above the ground. The cement road, is well, the court. That's where all the action happens. It may look perfectly cemented but, it's not that perfect. It's actually quite a rocky road, so you can expect to get a lot of bruises when you do dives there. And broken slippers. In front of the court is a grassy field. It could have been safe to do suicide dives there a la Jared Dillinger, but some by passers throw trash when they pass by. Oh and some drunk neighbors end up throwing their bottles there. So if you don't want to get bubog, might as well not dive.
If you didn't know, I'm 16 years old, and I love playing basketball. I've played the sport ever since I was 4 years old (I think hehe), and I've been playing it ever since. Fine, my parents made me learn swimming. I got good at it, but it just wasn't the same. I liked it, but I didn't love it the same way that I loved basketball. I grew up watching Kobe Bryant score 81 points, Derek Fisher shooting that 0.4 buzzer beater on the Spurs, and on a more local note, Doug Kramer beating the buzzer against the UST Growling Tigers during the 2006 UAAP Finals.
I also study in a prestigious school here in the Philippines, the Ateneo. It's college team has won 5 straight basketball championships, and it's high school basketball program also has history of winning championships. So, you'd probably expect me to play in them fancy arenas and gyms like typical basketball players who are blessed to be in a school with a good basketball program?
Well, sad to say, no. First of all, I am not part of the varsity team of our school. Why? Well, maybe because I'm not as good as my other schoolmates. Second, I didn't grow up playing basketball using fiberglass boards or gyms that are used by professional players. I played basketball in the streets, just along the sidewalk. Literally.
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| The place where I play ball in the province. Just along the sidewalk. |
My cousins and I learned to play basketball in that very court. We don't want to call it a street. We treat that as our playground now. We learned to play in those types of courts because of our fathers, and we hope we get to pass it on to our brothers as well.
Now, dear reader, if you live in the West, or any foreign country in fact, you are probably stunned by the idea of playing basketball in the street (Unless you have read Pacific Rims by Rafe Bartholomew), where cars pass by. Well, here in the Philippines, it isn't quite a rarity. Thousands of kids play basketball in the street here in our country. They don't care if the chances of them getting hit by a car. They just want to play basketball, even if it means that they have to play in the street.
As you can see, I am not the only teenager who loves to play basketball here in the Philippines. In our beloved country, thousands, heck, millions of other teenagers play basketball. It is very much evident especially during summer. Thousands of teens here in the country join Basketball camps such as Milo Best. There are also those who join the liga in their respective Barangays. And of course, there are those teens, like me, who just go out, and play basketball just because they love playing it.
It seems really nice right? The love affair of Filipino teenagers with basketball, it seems so... perfect and crazy. Teens go out and play basketball, whether it be in the liga or just along the sidewalk. They don't care if it's hot, they just go out and play.
So.... what makes this love affair so confusing?
Let me share you a story.
Just this past Tuesday, there was a dancing competition being held in our local court. Of course, dozens of people came there just to watch. I got intrigued by it, so I decided to check it out. There was a lights set up, and there were two kids dancing. The spotlight was theirs. But.... I didn't notice those two kids in the spotlight.
While watching, I saw two of the kids I played basketball with. They were probably my age, but they were around 6 inches smaller than me. I smelled a bad scent around me. Was it a fire? Or.. did a dog just take a dump? Nope. It was those two kids who I played with. No, they were not taking a dump in public. They were smoking.
I thought.. "Wait a minute.. these are the two kids, I see almost everyday in the court, having fun playing the sport that they love. Yet... here they are, smoking?" So I decided to look around my surroundings even more.
I looked to my left. I saw the 12 year old kid I usually get to play with during the afternoon. He was also holding a cigarette. And, if I saw that correctly, he was sharing it with his brother, who was probably 4 years younger than him.
Then... it hit me. What I was seeing was actually a reality. Teenagers smoking even though it isn't even legal... it's a reality here. Not only is it a reality, but it is also quite prevalent here in the country, especially in rural areas.
But what makes the case of these kids even worse is that, these are kids who could very well be the future of Philippine Basketball. They may not be exposed to top of the line basketball programs such as those of Ateneo, La Salle and San Beda, but they have one thing that can't be measured by how good their school is, and that's their immense love for the game of Basketball.
Yet, even though they love the game so much, they are still exposed to different kinds of vices. Whether it be, smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs or pre marital sex, it is still quite prevalent for Filipino teenagers nowadays, even those who aspire to be basketball players someday. Why do they do this, even though they are playing a game that is supposed to be a distraction from the aforementioned vices?
Honestly, we can never really conclude what the real reason is. There are so much factors to this, whether it be family problems, struggles in academics, abuse or bullying by peers. And, what's sad is, the abuse that some of these kids get from their peers is because of their skill (or lack of skill) for the game of basketball.
These kids can be called, bano, supot and whatever mean remarks by their peers. These are kids who hope to play basketball professionally, yet, their self esteem is diminished because of remarks such as those mentioned. Family problems and struggles in academics will forever give teens stress and pain, so as a way to remove or lessen the stress, they choose to do the vices mentioned above.
So can we say that, they don't really love basketball since their technically destroying their chances of making a career out of basketball by smoking, drinking and having pre martial sex? Can we say that, the love that they say isn't real because they became selfish, and decided to prioritize pleasuring themselves?
We can't really accuse these kids of not loving the game wholeheartedly. Personal problems will always be there, and, basketball can always be their priority. We can't really do anything to completely wipe away this problem. It will always be there.
Maybe the least that we can do is to help these kids avoid or stop these vices. How? You can start by simply telling a kid that you play with to stop smoking or drinking, or whatever vice he does.
You can also dedicate some time to teach the kid. With that, not only does he learn to play basketball, but he also dedicates his time with something productive rather than that of something that can destroy not only his dreams of becoming a pro player like his idols, but also his life.
Encourage kids in your neighborhood to join the liga in your barangay. It's a good venue to develop one's skill in basketball by competing against other players.
I would actually like to commend the PBA's efforts to give less fortunate kids the opportunity to play basketball. Their program, Barangay AKTV, is actually a great venue to develop the skill of these kids who may be the future of Philippine Basketball.
If you haven't noticed, I've mentioned a lot of times in the post that, these kids who play basketball just along the sidewalk may just be the future of Philippine Basketball. It's true actually.
But what makes the case of these kids even worse is that, these are kids who could very well be the future of Philippine Basketball. They may not be exposed to top of the line basketball programs such as those of Ateneo, La Salle and San Beda, but they have one thing that can't be measured by how good their school is, and that's their immense love for the game of Basketball.
Yet, even though they love the game so much, they are still exposed to different kinds of vices. Whether it be, smoking, drinking alcohol, drugs or pre marital sex, it is still quite prevalent for Filipino teenagers nowadays, even those who aspire to be basketball players someday. Why do they do this, even though they are playing a game that is supposed to be a distraction from the aforementioned vices?
Honestly, we can never really conclude what the real reason is. There are so much factors to this, whether it be family problems, struggles in academics, abuse or bullying by peers. And, what's sad is, the abuse that some of these kids get from their peers is because of their skill (or lack of skill) for the game of basketball.
These kids can be called, bano, supot and whatever mean remarks by their peers. These are kids who hope to play basketball professionally, yet, their self esteem is diminished because of remarks such as those mentioned. Family problems and struggles in academics will forever give teens stress and pain, so as a way to remove or lessen the stress, they choose to do the vices mentioned above.
So can we say that, they don't really love basketball since their technically destroying their chances of making a career out of basketball by smoking, drinking and having pre martial sex? Can we say that, the love that they say isn't real because they became selfish, and decided to prioritize pleasuring themselves?
We can't really accuse these kids of not loving the game wholeheartedly. Personal problems will always be there, and, basketball can always be their priority. We can't really do anything to completely wipe away this problem. It will always be there.
Maybe the least that we can do is to help these kids avoid or stop these vices. How? You can start by simply telling a kid that you play with to stop smoking or drinking, or whatever vice he does.
You can also dedicate some time to teach the kid. With that, not only does he learn to play basketball, but he also dedicates his time with something productive rather than that of something that can destroy not only his dreams of becoming a pro player like his idols, but also his life.
Encourage kids in your neighborhood to join the liga in your barangay. It's a good venue to develop one's skill in basketball by competing against other players.
I would actually like to commend the PBA's efforts to give less fortunate kids the opportunity to play basketball. Their program, Barangay AKTV, is actually a great venue to develop the skill of these kids who may be the future of Philippine Basketball.
If you haven't noticed, I've mentioned a lot of times in the post that, these kids who play basketball just along the sidewalk may just be the future of Philippine Basketball. It's true actually.
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| The Beast also used to play in the streets every afternoon when he was a teen. |
Two examples are current PBA players Calvin Abueva and Ryan Arana. Fine, these two players ended up studying in high profile colleges/universities (most notably Ryan), but the very reason they ended up in those school were because of their past in the streets.
Ryan Arana was discovered when he was playing in their liga. So he ended up in La Salle. He would end up being instrumental in the championship runs of La Salle in the mid 00's. Now, he is a key cog in Rain Or Shine because of his physical defense, shooting, and on court smarts.
Calvin Abueva's case is more popular, since he is the more popular one of the two aforementioned players. Everyone must somewhat know the childhood story of The Beast. His favorite player was Robert Jaworski. He idolized Jawo. So the day after Jawo's games, he would go out in the streets to copy the moves The Big J did the night before. He would continue doing that, and he would eventually end up playing in their liga in Pampanga. He would be discovered, and well, the rest is history. He would tear the NCAA with his all around play, and now he is making waves in the PBA as a candidate for MVP. Yes, MVP, not just Rookie of The Year.
As you can see, the idea of a kid from the streets playing in the PBA in the future isn't that far fetched. Ryan Arana and Calvin Abueva are just two great examples of that claim. Anyone can indeed make it to the big leagues. Even if you don't receive world class training from prestigious schools, yet you have an immense love for the game, you can make an impact in Philippine Basketball.
So I hope that you, reader of this post, can do something to stop Filipino Teenagers from partaking in the vices I mentioned above, because, who knows? The kids who play in the street may just be the future of Philippine Basketball. That doesn't sound too far fetched right?
It's reality.
Ryan Arana was discovered when he was playing in their liga. So he ended up in La Salle. He would end up being instrumental in the championship runs of La Salle in the mid 00's. Now, he is a key cog in Rain Or Shine because of his physical defense, shooting, and on court smarts.
Calvin Abueva's case is more popular, since he is the more popular one of the two aforementioned players. Everyone must somewhat know the childhood story of The Beast. His favorite player was Robert Jaworski. He idolized Jawo. So the day after Jawo's games, he would go out in the streets to copy the moves The Big J did the night before. He would continue doing that, and he would eventually end up playing in their liga in Pampanga. He would be discovered, and well, the rest is history. He would tear the NCAA with his all around play, and now he is making waves in the PBA as a candidate for MVP. Yes, MVP, not just Rookie of The Year.
As you can see, the idea of a kid from the streets playing in the PBA in the future isn't that far fetched. Ryan Arana and Calvin Abueva are just two great examples of that claim. Anyone can indeed make it to the big leagues. Even if you don't receive world class training from prestigious schools, yet you have an immense love for the game, you can make an impact in Philippine Basketball.
So I hope that you, reader of this post, can do something to stop Filipino Teenagers from partaking in the vices I mentioned above, because, who knows? The kids who play in the street may just be the future of Philippine Basketball. That doesn't sound too far fetched right?
It's reality.
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