The Road to 40 Day 89/365: The “Minsan” of Basketball Minsan

Got together with some fellow titos to play a game that has always bound us together.

Whenever I go home to the Philippines, I try to set up a game to catch up with my friends. It’s a chance for me to catch up with the boys while not being intoxicated and actually sweating it out.

Back when I was working in the PH – and especially when Che went to SG – I was kind of a basketball whore. I’d play with different groups of people, of different age groups, and different skill levels.

At some point, I was playing with the Solar Sports/BTV group so regularly, they already asked me what department I’m in. Even the guards in the office are surprised why they are still taking my details when people passing by are greeting me.

I’ve played with our drivers in the office, my fantasy basketball group who I only talk to in group chats, my older sister’s college classmates, and even with a group of randoms to play against a team looking for a tuneup.

If there was a basketball game somewhere, I can be present if I don’t have anything going on as long as there’s at least a day’s notice so that I can bring my gear.

It’s why I’m so comfortable just hanging out on basketball courts in SG even if I’m alone.

Setting up games in the PH was not a regular thing initially, but as the years went by of reaching out to different people to set up a game, I decided to make a group chat of usual players who show up.

There were not a lot of courts available, as leagues and practices were happening everywhere. Luckily, Coach Itoy, one of Christian’s close friends and a part of our Vietnam contingent, was a member of an exclusive sports club and could endorse someone when reserving a court.

With the help of Atty. Me-an, Itoy’s wife, we were able to secure a slot for August 6th.

I planned on bringing the car home to Cainta since we don’t use it much. However, there was a bit of rain on this day, and I thought it would be difficult to get a Grab ride. Vino slept through the one-hour trip to Cainta, which was fine, as I got to catch up on my podcast.

Once we reached home, I brought returned the cooking pan I took and caught up a bit with my sister. We usually have our sidebars when our parents are not home, talking freely about a bunch of things.

I learned that my mom will go with dad on the weekend of Aug 15-18 for his cataract treatment. It’s the exact timing of my trip with Vino back to the PH after his first week of school. So I waited for my mom to see her at least before we leave this Saturday.

Our game was set for 8-10pm, and I assumed the drive to the place was around 30 minutes or so. Josec said there was something up at Ateneo, which might cause traffic. Vino and I left shortly after talking to my mom.

From the estimated 8:22pm arrival, we got there at around 8:05pm. We played four 10-minute quarters. There were only 11 of us, so one of us operated the game clock and scoreboard.

Caleb, Che’s brother, had a pretty good game. We usually let kids shoot, but the kids actually have to make them, and he was making them quite a bit. Josec, who is arguably the most active among us, decided not to give 100% to make it fair. Got a good few bumps from him, which hurts, but it’s what we know Josec gives.

Francis gave a vintage performance of pushing the pace and dropping incredible dimes. We always teased him as Paul Artadi, but at this point, he’s more of a Japs Cuan because he admittedly can’t drain threes anymore.

Ros was on fire at one point, stringing 9 straight points for our team on three consecutive baskets. Mack was cherry-picking, but did get a lot of rebounds, which is great to see after he injured his foot a while back.

Verge, my brother-in-law, was a mid-range assassin and drained a couple of threes as well. The rest of the guys who came all played their roles well and played with a mix of seriousness and fun. Even the ref was good, calling the game with a fair whistle.

I had a mid-range jumper fall and followed it up with a three-pointer. A lot later in the game, I at least finished a 2-on-1 fastbreak. But I got a lot of good looks that didn’t go in. I just couldn’t find the range. Even my put-backs and under-the-goal stabs weren’t going in.

It was a surprisingly competitive matchup, with the lineups complementing the players well. In the dying seconds, Josec had a chance to tie the game, but missed on two three-point attempts.

We had enough time for another 10-minute game, so we decided to go on the same lineups and continued the game. My team started strong, but we lost our legs and couldn’t buy a basket.

After the game, I talked to Pao, one of Francis’ friends who joined in, and we agreed that it was a fun experience. There was no trash talk, no heated exchanges, no blaming each other for missed shots or missed assignments. It was just basketball for fun, healthy competition, and really just an opportunity to sweat it out.

We wrapped up at around 10:30pm. Because I was running late, I wasn’t able to buy water for me and Vino, so we had to stop by a 7-Eleven for drinks. We also got some Peach Mango Pie for Che.

I got the three-pack, because Che likes it. Vino asked for one, and later said “honestly, I kinda like to have another one.” He didn’t want to ask because he thought I only got two. When he learned there was one more for Che, he didn’t hesitate to eat his second pie.

Amazingly, there was still some traffic at C5 road, so we reached home at 11pm. Che was still working, so the Peach Mango Pie was just perfect for a side snack.

We prepared for bed, and even if Vino was still running on adrenaline, we ultimately had to convince him to sleep because it was almost 1am already.

He has a few more days of sleeping late, but we’ll be back to school on Monday, so hopefully, his system doesn’t get shocked too much with the sleep timings. 

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