Bleacher Talk

SBP: No Games? Ok lang! When you have a full calendar of activities all laid out and ready for implementation, it makes things easier in terms of planning, managing and eventually running these events. Right? Wrong! The calendar may be ready for implementation but if it didn’t foresee the arrival of COVD 19, it’s totally useless. This is the scenario that the sports world found itself in this year. How ironic it has been indeed for what should’ve been a “perfect vision” year 2020. This was exactly the dilemma that hit the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and all other national sports federations that already had 2020 locked and loaded, only to find out that around 90% of its activities would have to be either cancelled or postponed. And like all organizations, they asked themselves, “What do we do?” With everyone pivoting and finding other platforms for its activities, the SBP paused, scanned the scene, re-grouped and navigated through the pandemic. When it was clear that no real ba

Holy OLY! Have you met OLY or an OLY? Or OLYs? “What is OLY,” you ask. According to Wikipedia, “OLY (Olympian) are post-nominal letters granted by the World Olympians Association (WOA) to athletes who have participated in the Olympic Games. The World Olympians Association’s initiative allows Olympians to use the OLY lettering on any official documentation after their name much like when one gets a degree. The initiative is open to all athletes who have competed at the games and who uphold the values and practices of the Olympic Charter and the World Olympians Association Code of Conduct.” This bleacher bum has been following the Olympics ever since my father told us that it was THE competition of all competitions. I looked up the history books and even memorized the cities that hosted every edition in the 20 th century. If the Olympics were the peak of all competitions, then it was only logical that it gathered the best athletes of the planet. Getting the chance to meet them will al