Boys & Basketball

The San Mig Coffee Mixers are once again in the finals of the PBA. I have been an avid fan of the franchise since its Purefoods days with Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, and Jojo Lastimosa. My interest in the sport began when I was in grade school. I only had two younger brothers then. Oddly, our father was abroad working when we were introduced to the game. So interestingly, it was our mother who got us hooked to it. I can clearly remember us four (mother, me, and the 2 boys) watching on TV all together in our sleep wear. Yelling "defense". Even praying on our knees to make our team win. It was only a few years back, as an adult, did I finally make sense of what our mother did.

Our father instructed our mother, who was not a big fan of the game, to deliberately watch PBA on tv. We had two boys then. And as my father knew that he won't be around in the growing years of the two, he had to get the help of my mom to get them started into the famous sport. She then bought a basketball and had someone make a shooting ring in our garage. So since then, basketball has become a family affair. We now have four boys. Three are into basketball. The youngest, however, chose another sport -- volleyball.

In retrospect, what my parents did can be an example of intentional parenting. They did not have to see our boys grow to become teenagers who are not hooked to a sport just because of an absentee father. They had the foresight to compensate for what was missing at that time in our lives.

Today, my three brothers play the game as much as they could. They watch the game as much as they could. We still cheer for the same team. And when my father and brothers play together in a team, my mother is sure to be in the bleachers as their number 1 fan.

Thrilled to watch it live.