SPORTS, ANYONE?

BASKETBALL IN THE PHILIPPINES IS DYING....so goes a column I read somewhere. I ALWAYS WONDER.... why Basketball for Pinoys? SA DINAMI-DAMI ng sports na puwede sa physique ng Pinoy, bakit nga ba Basketball? WHEN I was younger, I used to wonder why my parents never watched Basketball. My Nanay and Tatay both enjoyed Boxing. My young mind cannot fathom that, either. Oh yes, Tatay used to play Basketball with the old men in the community during Fiestas as a special charity treat. And he sure was fast. Although he didn't deliver, his assist was great. After all, he is into martial arts, not so adept at ball games. LOOKING at sports pages in the NW and in this part of the Pacific, BASEBALL ...or SOCCER news eat up the space. SO, back to the question: WHY BASKETBALL? Samantalang ang liliit ng Pinoy compared to their western counterparts? Add to this, our local Teams more often have these imports that spells dollars. Besides, kawawa ang mga local players whose salaries [I believe] do not measure up to those of the imports'. PINOYS need to beef up on sports other than Basketball. We have to. KAYA nmn kung susubukan. TAKE BASEBALL. We have the best Little Leaguers in Asia,if not the world. Why not harness that and start from there? OR SOCCER. Pinoys can outsmart their western foes. Kailangan lang dagdagan ang stamina. This could be done through persistent practice and change of diet. Japan started Soccer les than a decade ago, yet they have made it to the semis for the World Cup in Germany next year. Persistence is the secret. PROPER TRAINING PROGRAM is a must. And QUALIFIED PEOPLE to run the COUNCIL or whatever it is that manages our athletic programs. WALANG HALONG KURAKOT lang and we're off to a good start. PINOYS ARE GOOD. WE EXCEL IN ALMOST ANYTHING F WE PUT OUR HEARTS TO IT. That much I know. SPORTS, ANYONE?