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Reader
Gresan Cadao (gresan.adao@gse.ae) is another
kababayan who answered this corner’s call for
possible national players from the bunch of Filipino
communities and other countries abroad.
He
wrote: “Coach E, Hi. How are you sir? I read your
article regarding ‘Call for national players answered”’
and I’m happy to share some posting I made in
interbasket.net. A lot of kababayans are very
active in that web site talking/arguing about the past,
present and future of RP basketball. Also we are
sourcing out prospective Filipino-foreigners playing in
the United States and other countries by browsing the
net only. Here are some names I got from US NCAA
Division 1 Schools (click the link for stories and
profile).
The
links on five-foot-10 sophomore Ryan Wetherell of the
USC Trojans are
http://media.www.dailytrojan.com/media/storage/paper679/news/2007/03/
22/Sports/WalkOn.Walks.Tall-2786349.shtml and
http://usctrojans.cstv.com/sports/baskbl/mtt/wetherell_ryan00.html.
There is also six-foot-six sophomore Philip Martin of
the Radford Highlanders. I cannot confirm if Philip
Martin if he is the same guy as the “half Philippine
boy” mentioned in the 1st link (http://iwillneverusetobacco.com/Basketball.htm).
But when I opened the Radford roster (http://www.ruhighlanders.com/teams/index.php?
category_id=3&season_id=47l) I saw the face similarity
between the old picture and new, so I assumed it’s the
same guy. Well sir, I think you have the connection and
authority to verify.
I hope
you can inquire about them and confirm the bloodlines of
these two players. Also hope they can help to our future
RP team, if ever. Thanks for your time.”
Many
thanks, too, Gresan, for the information, and I will try
to verify the bloodlines of these players with our
contacts in the United States. May I again invite
Filipinos living abroad to e-mail me if they are
interested in scouting for possible prospects in the
areas where they live in abroad. I may not be able to
pay for your services, but you’ll be proud to have
helped your countries.
However,
may I caution our friends against being too giddy about
finding prospects abroad. Well, it’s great to find
players with Filipino lineage abroad, but one should
also be extra meticulous.
When
looking for prospects, we must remember to verify if the
player indeed has Filipino roots. Interview the parents
or immediate relatives to trace the roots of the player.
Do some extra research on the Filipino community they
live in. Even in today’s international basketball scene,
where naturalized players abound, this corner believes
that a drop of blood is very important, meaning the
Filipino lineage.
Determine if the said player is deeply rooted in
Filipino values. Sadly, some of Filipinos abroad lose
not only their nationally but the values and traditions
that go with it. I truly believe the player who’s
playing for the country should have an understanding of
what his mother country stands for. Lack of such
discernment could mean half-hearted effort.
Also
know if the player is interested. Yes, the player might
have the Filipino lineage and the values, but is he
interested to play for the country? Will he ever fall
prey to loneliness and homesickness?
Find out
about the player’s basketball values. Most of the
Filipinos playing abroad are indeed talented and
athletic, but they might be lacking in the aptitude to
learn more about the game. The danger is that they might
think they are too good for the locals. Many
Filipino-foreign players found out the hard way as they
can’t compete in local soil with only athleticism to
show.
Determine if the player is adequate for his position.
There are a lot of flashy guards abroad, but what the
Philippines wants are tall players who could offset the
glaring height advantage that other countries have over
us. That is why I emphasized on height and youth to make
sure that these players would have potential in their
respective spots and also trainable at the same time.
****
SPEAKING
of calls, this corner’s prayers were answered when New
Marketlink Pharmaceutical Corp. threw its support to the
Coach E Basketball School.
As you
all might know, Coach E is the only school that does not
rely on numbers, but quality training. Although it might
be impractical at times, we have strictly adhered to the
one-to-five instructor-to-student ratio in our venues to
ensure personalized training.
New
Marketlink is helping us in this effort as they will
allow Coach E to give discounts on its tuition fees and,
at the same time, help the company market its new
multivitamin Ferlette’s with iron.
So along
with our advocacy to teach basketball, there’s New
Marketlink to help us also send out the message of good
health across to both kids and their parents. |
