Love for the game

played a round of hoop today. it's been two weeks since i last played in our court here in the subdivision where i live in. enjoyed the sweat, the trash talking and the company of old friends which have been there through the years.


i owe so much to the game. it has been in my blood for so long. well, maybe not much. i started playing when i was in 3rd grade. nothing serious, just like any kid i would venture outside the 3-point line and heave the ball with all my might hoping that it would hit the iron of the ring. (of course that was the wrong thing to do, because later on i worked more on my midrange and post up game. haha.) my cousins introduced me to the game. i only had lukewarm interest in it, and did not envy those other kids which showed prowess early on.


my love for the game started when i was in 2nd year high school. i had classmates who had a love affair with basketball. everyday we were together there would always be stories of players, teams and games. it was infectious. they played whenever they could get a chance. while i wasn't allowed to because back then i could not get my parent's permission to go to silang or dasmarinas to play ball. we had fun that year, eventually making it to 3rd place in the intramurals. i surely wished we should have won it back then, but no regrets. we had a good game. by the next year, many of them (my classmates) continued on to play for the school varsity.


i remembered getting a first taste of the action then. i was subbed in around midway of the 2nd quarter. the moment i held the ball i was whistled for a traveling violation. i walked. i didn't even remember how i did it, but that event engraved into my mind how far back i was in terms of skill level. and how allergic i've been to traveling calls (ever since i've never been whistled for it. as far as i know).


after 2nd year and every summer after, i started taking ball seriously. and my friends did too. we formed a team which also led to the forming of our group. we didn't really have a name yet, and i will always remember those years when we used to get up every morning at around 6am and play until 9am. and get beat up over and over again by the other teams we played with. it was always a challenge for us back then, up to now. we've basically played all of the people here in our place. and whenever our team was found around the court, they're the ones inviting us to play. this part of ball is what i love. respect between teams, as individuals, respect for the game. although sometimes there would be jerks who are just too flamboyant for their own good and for which i took personal satisfaction in beating their team up.


aside from seeing the team grow and mature through the years, i simply amaze myself by looking back and seeing how far my game has come. basketball has been the true example of hard work paying off for me. something that i would wish to emulate in my studies. the attitude to always learn and look for some things which would improve my game to the endless hours spent in front of the pc watching videos of players teaching their skills. i especially like to watch Kobe videos. he's the most complete player of his generation and has a ton of moves to teach. he also possesses the killer mentality that MJ had, and is really the best Jordan since Jordan. 


i would really like to go on and on and on about my love for the game and my basketball story. but as of today, my love for the game has been the only thing that i would be able to talk about. maybe i'll save my story as a player and write it here next year. whenever the mood strikes me. 


Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. this is the most important thing i think basketball taught me.






random:
* i have finished watching Entourage. season 7 begins next year and it has been kinda epic that there is nothing in my bittorrent client to be downloaded.
** i really have to upgrade to windows 7. i hope my classmate can give me a copy.