After years of completely ignoring the call of dipping my feet at the hard court, I’ve played my first full court basketball game again last night. The court didn’t change at bit but the players did significantly. The moves are still there but they came seconds later after the mind was done processing the next coordinated shift. The spirit is still over eager to reach the air but the legs just can’t give enough lift to power a backboard tap or a shot block. Age has slowly showed its toll on the man who used to spend his hay days at the basketball court.
Fifteen years ago in summer, my friends who eventually became my super friends until now, won our 3rd Championship Trophy in a local league organized by the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) of Maangas. It was a Grand Slam for us friends, and our team - "Brat Pack", which later on became our group’s official street name. The latest victory we had back in 1995 was the sweetest of all victories having won it at the expense of a powerhouse team lead by kumpareng Aldous and Mac Frondozo. We were down by as many as 20+ points entering the second half, yet we managed to pull a come-from-behind win and claimed our Grand Slam trophy.
Brat Pack is composed of Dan Hilo, Jay Cuadro, Tiw de Vera, Tommy Teoxon, Emer Villanueva, Er Villareal, Vince Jardin, Glen de Mateo, Mark Pante, Roderick Royo, Salvador Royo, Ibo Canillo, August de Vera and me. We were heading to our Fourth Championship Trophy in the summer of 1996 but the group decided not to play in support of my SK Chairmanship Bid. I won the election but it also signaled the end of our basketball “career” as a team. As a group and as a team, we didn’t play any basketball game during my incumbency as SK Chairman.
The game last night was a reminiscent of the good old days where the basketball court has been literally my playground. The days where making shots were a product of creative rhythm and some slight acrobatic maneuver. Gone are those days I must say. Going up and down the court had be catching for my breath and holding my knees in a sign of exhaustion in just 2 minutes of the game. My second wind came in moments after that. I felt extra relieved of the exhaustion and started taking and making shots. Few shot I would say are products of sheer luck and the rest are out of the remaining tiny amount of confidence in taking jumpers and lay ups. The turnovers are given and the rebounds are a plus. I’m not a good rebounder in my prime but can snatch a ball in mid-air when need arises, but I’m not looking forward to doing it again now, not that I don’t want but I honestly can’t.
My body aches enormously when I woke up today. But as Rihanna and Eminen would phrase it, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn, but that's alright because I like the way it hurts”. I love the body pain I’m feeling today. It reminds me of the joys in playing basketball. Before I became a fan of Dwayne Wade and James Yap, the basketball court used to be my playground. The competitive nature of basketball had a part in molding me into what I am today. A Brat Pack in nature and an athlete by heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment