In the end, the scoreboard reads: “PAL 93, Cebu Pacific 91”.
In the recently concluded third Philippine Aviation Basketball Association tournament, the Philippine Airlines team, composed of officers from the flight operations department, bested the team from Cebu Pacific in an evenly fought best-of-three finals series. Cebu Pacific won Game One, while PAL won Games Two and Three. Previous Paba champions were Cebu Pacific (2016) and Caticlan International Airport Authority (2017). Players in “Flight Deck”, the team that represented PAL in this third Paba, were relatively taller and heftier than their Cebu Pacific counterparts. To me, Flight Deck had more talent and depth, but their opponents appeared to be faster and considerably younger. I was impressed by the grit and passion exhibited by players from both teams, as if their jobs depended on winning the game. Worth commending was how de facto playing coach Chester Alvarez of PAL motivated the team after an early lead by Cebu Pacific in the first quarter, and how he controlled the nerves of his teammates when the game went into overtime. Most of all, what I found truly admirable is the vision of tournament organizer and Paba Chairman Carmelo L. Arcilla, the current executive director of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
Initiating the tournament three years ago with just eight teams, the third installment of this Paba now has 16 teams, all coming from the aviation and the transportation industry. Director Arcilla, a widely known sports enthusiast, envisioned a venue where stakeholders (government agencies, airlines, freight forwarders, aviation schools and other transportation-related entities) would compete in the fields of friendly strife with the objective of promoting unity through sports and fellowship. During the opening ceremonies of the third Paba tournament a few months ago, I can vividly recall the message of Director Arcilla to all athletes. He said that, while each business and/or agency might appear to have conflicting interests, the love for sports like basketball will always unite everyone.
To me, sports is not just a physical activity where the “Faster, Higher, Stronger” (Olympic Motto) always wins. Contrary to football coach Vince Lombardi’s frequently quoted remark that winning is not everything but the only thing, to me, the essence of sports is neither about winning nor losing. The joy of simply competing transcends the value of medals and recognition. I believe sports competition brings some kind of emotional unity to all contestants. Winning is just gravy, and unity is the main course!
Pursuant to Director Arcilla’s vision, this kind of unity generated by team sports can be used to strategically create social relationships through which professional issues and concerns are addressed in an atmosphere of cooperation. Author and journalist James Dorsey provides examples of countries in the Middle East where sports fans and players form and sustain relationships focused on social and political issues. According to Dorsey, these relationships may be used to “convert the unity associated with sports into relationships and actions that go beyond changing hearts.” My pastor, Gary, once said, “Change starts from the heart, but our hearts can only be changed by God.” And activities such as sports and people like Arcilla are sent our way to help us change how we see others from the other side.
In Philippians 2:3-4, the Bible tells us, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Through these Paba tournaments, CAB Director Arcilla has planted the seeds to change the mindset of all stakeholders in the aviation industry. I can see the passionate sincerity of Director Arcilla as he actively encourages those around him at work and in his community to play sports. Toward economic development, we must be united in words and in deed and, more important, we have to be selfless, knowing that others need us as much as we need them. Similar to a basketball game or any other team sport, talent can get you somewhere, but selflessness can take all of us everywhere. We, as in all of us, are champions!