Review: Played in the Ateneo Basketball League 2013

The pictures do better justice than the videos. Cross over? What?!

I have this love-hate relationship with basketball. I think Michael Jordan is awesome. On the other hand, I don't really fancy watching NBA these days. I like playing and being in a game, but its style of contact leads me to think of the high risk injuries that could set me back in other sports and daily activities. I've never also been as satisfied playing in a serious game. That is up until now.

A jump shot? Every game.

My high school classmates yearly join in a basketball league, the ABL also known as Ateneo Basketball League. Every year our high school batch still comes together to play a game of hoops. It is nice seeing old friends during the league but playing in a rather serious league wasn't exactly what I thought would be fun and satisfying. I remember joining and having a measly 1 point for the whole league two years ago. My playing time was almost just a minute of two quarters. I'd find myself spending money and time not being truly satisfied compared to other many sports I do participate in. So I haven't really played since then, plus the fact that my weekends were occupied by work with other sporting activities that also fall on a weekend.

Things changed however early this year. I found it funny finding myself on the court again after my classmates asked if I could join. The fact that my class/team could barely make a proper starting line-up with extra guys to fill in, I said I'll be there to help out for those literally running out of breath. Lucky the schedule for work and play had allowed me to give it another go. I had not expected to have an awesome season of just playing three games out of the seven. I was scoring an average on 7.3 points per game. If it was the official stats, it was 9.3 per game (wherein I am sure the statistician had me mistaken for someone else). Definitely, all of this was far off from the previous seasons and other games. I still do have trouble finding good judgement and proper footwork on the court but I managed to get things done. I found myself also being the highest percentage scorer in the team. I scratch my head how this could have happened. Has a personal Ivan-sanity just happened? Every game, I managed to have a shot from under the ring, a fast break lay-up, and a perimeter shot! Awesome, but how?

Goofy foot fast break lay-ups.

It would find difficult to assess and to considered truth on how I managed to surprise myself. Maybe all this time as a coach and athlete, psychologically, what I have always been telling, teaching, reminding my players and students has actually been a part of how I go through any activity. I could now relate such thought to any sport I could involve myself in. A deep assessment made could only still make me ponder if it is really true, or a thought I'd like to believe in. Other factors are the maturity of the people I was playing with in the team, my classmates have really grown over time. There seems to be this unspoken agreement of how we play. I find it funny we still talk about the same things but, as my classmate, Joboy Quintos would say, "the ABL effect". I think the next step for us is to actually agree on set plays but I see that most are already happy with a system that works inside the court without having to consider the result. Only now is there a matter if we want to be more serious and how we balance having fun and being competitive. A challenge any recreational team would have. But as of now I still think its all about enjoying good competition with good old friends inside the court that makes things worth it. Winning would be a bonus as I always say. We did not manage to get that this year, but I can't say I wasn't happy with how I managed to play this season with the D-boys. I wouldn't mind doing it again.

Thanks guys (D-boys)! I still find it a good run on a personal level. This season just might have been a sacrificial year for the next seasons.