December Basketball
Bleacher Talk
December 9, 2007
December Basketball
I’ve always believed that many activities are supposed to take a back seat to the usual December itineraries whenever this time of the year rolls around. Malls are filled. Stores are swamped with Christmas shopping. Restaurants enjoy their peak days. Every weekend of the month is filled with at least a party that one has to attend, whether this be for the office, a supplier, school or a friend.
And sports? Did you ask about basketball? Will basketball also take a back seat? Believe it or not, it’s actually just as busy as all this Christmas shopping.
On this day alone, you have the opening day of the CESAFI Partners Cup at the Cebu Coliseum. Five teams are seeing action here. Last Friday, M.Lhuillier wrapped up the Visayas Division championship of the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) and will face MisOr in the MVBA Finals. Game 1 will be played in Cagayan de Oro, but all the succeeding games will be played here in Cebu within the next two weeks. I surely don’t think they plan to play beyond Christmas. Somewhere in between, games of the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA) are supposed to be played, with the Cebu-based schools hosting visiting teams from our neighboring provinces. I also discovered that the Futures Basketball League is ongoing, featuring youth age group teams from different private schools.
And if that’s not enough, Manny Pacquiao is arriving today to grace the finals of the MP “Pacman” Cup Invitational Basketball Tournament at the USC Main Gym. His very own Team Pacman is in the finals against USC-M.Lhuillier. Playing for third place are Punta Prinsesa Sports Association and CECABA. As an appetizer, there will be an exhibition game between Milo BEST SBP national runner-up Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHSJ) and the University of San Carlos North Campus (USC NC). This is actually a rematch of their championship game at the Cebu leg of the Milo BEST tournament which SHSJ won.
So far, all those mentioned above were all locally-related basketball events. Cebu will also be touched with outsiders coming over for a visit. An indirect offshoot of the successful SHSJ basketball program is a visit to be made by Ateneo Coach Norman Black to Cebu. He’ll be meeting with the basketball leaders of SHSJ to exchange notes and to also check out the scene for potential blue chip prospects for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Cebu will then host the visit of Coach Eric Altamirano who’ll be conducting try-outs for the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) next weekend. Scores of teen-agers are expected to troop to the covered courts of the SHSJ Mango campus, with the hope of being considered as future carriers of the country’s tri-colors.
For the record, these are the basketball activities that we’re aware of since we’ve either read this in the news or were advised about it by a friend or colleague. I’m sure there are other activities out there that go unnoticed to the “naked” eye of our media.
This is where I take my hats off to these basketball fanatics. Not even the Christmas season will get in the way of all these taking place. It’s as if it’s all “business as usual” with the Christmas season being a mere background or “timing” to all that’s happening. If you analyze it, there are many advantages for going this way.
For starters, being basketball busy also means staying fit and away from all the food, drinks and hype of all the celebrations for the season. Being basketball busy also means staying away from those shopping spurts simply because we don’t have to time to go out and shop. That means we keep our budgets in check and don’t end up spending for extraordinary and possibly unnecessary stuff. And that means savings for the pocket.
Now I know why it isn’t too bad to be busy with basketball or sports this Christmas.
And before I forget, Christmas day also happens to be just around the corner of all these basketball activities. You can bet that all this will come to a stop for the biggest sports fan of them all.
***
Time-out: You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
December 9, 2007
December Basketball
I’ve always believed that many activities are supposed to take a back seat to the usual December itineraries whenever this time of the year rolls around. Malls are filled. Stores are swamped with Christmas shopping. Restaurants enjoy their peak days. Every weekend of the month is filled with at least a party that one has to attend, whether this be for the office, a supplier, school or a friend.
And sports? Did you ask about basketball? Will basketball also take a back seat? Believe it or not, it’s actually just as busy as all this Christmas shopping.
On this day alone, you have the opening day of the CESAFI Partners Cup at the Cebu Coliseum. Five teams are seeing action here. Last Friday, M.Lhuillier wrapped up the Visayas Division championship of the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) and will face MisOr in the MVBA Finals. Game 1 will be played in Cagayan de Oro, but all the succeeding games will be played here in Cebu within the next two weeks. I surely don’t think they plan to play beyond Christmas. Somewhere in between, games of the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA) are supposed to be played, with the Cebu-based schools hosting visiting teams from our neighboring provinces. I also discovered that the Futures Basketball League is ongoing, featuring youth age group teams from different private schools.
And if that’s not enough, Manny Pacquiao is arriving today to grace the finals of the MP “Pacman” Cup Invitational Basketball Tournament at the USC Main Gym. His very own Team Pacman is in the finals against USC-M.Lhuillier. Playing for third place are Punta Prinsesa Sports Association and CECABA. As an appetizer, there will be an exhibition game between Milo BEST SBP national runner-up Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHSJ) and the University of San Carlos North Campus (USC NC). This is actually a rematch of their championship game at the Cebu leg of the Milo BEST tournament which SHSJ won.
So far, all those mentioned above were all locally-related basketball events. Cebu will also be touched with outsiders coming over for a visit. An indirect offshoot of the successful SHSJ basketball program is a visit to be made by Ateneo Coach Norman Black to Cebu. He’ll be meeting with the basketball leaders of SHSJ to exchange notes and to also check out the scene for potential blue chip prospects for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Cebu will then host the visit of Coach Eric Altamirano who’ll be conducting try-outs for the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) next weekend. Scores of teen-agers are expected to troop to the covered courts of the SHSJ Mango campus, with the hope of being considered as future carriers of the country’s tri-colors.
For the record, these are the basketball activities that we’re aware of since we’ve either read this in the news or were advised about it by a friend or colleague. I’m sure there are other activities out there that go unnoticed to the “naked” eye of our media.
This is where I take my hats off to these basketball fanatics. Not even the Christmas season will get in the way of all these taking place. It’s as if it’s all “business as usual” with the Christmas season being a mere background or “timing” to all that’s happening. If you analyze it, there are many advantages for going this way.
For starters, being basketball busy also means staying fit and away from all the food, drinks and hype of all the celebrations for the season. Being basketball busy also means staying away from those shopping spurts simply because we don’t have to time to go out and shop. That means we keep our budgets in check and don’t end up spending for extraordinary and possibly unnecessary stuff. And that means savings for the pocket.
Now I know why it isn’t too bad to be busy with basketball or sports this Christmas.
And before I forget, Christmas day also happens to be just around the corner of all these basketball activities. You can bet that all this will come to a stop for the biggest sports fan of them all.
***
Time-out: You can reach me at bleachertalk@yahoo.com.
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