Collegiate basketball season ends

As we write this column, the first game in the three-game championship series of this year’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season would have already been played. It was scheduled for yesterday, Saturday. It is expected to take place before a sellout crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.

This battle royale between the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers and UAAP defending champion Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles marks the end of the season of the major collegiate leagues.

As we write this column, the second game in a similar best-of-three championship series in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) would have also already been played. A new champion would have been crowned if the Knights of Colegio de San Juan de Letran had won game two of the series slated for last Friday. If the defending champion San Beda University won that game, a third encounter will happen this week.

This collegiate basketball season has been a storied one, full of emotions and heart-rending vignettes.

Antipolo City is privileged to have been part once again of this dramatic season. Many of the unforgettable matches took place in the now-history-filled Sports Center located in the Capitol grounds of Rizal province in this city.

It was in this Sports Center where the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons made it to the final four for the second time in two years, eliminating the Dela Salle University Green Archers from the semis. This was also where the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws outscored the Archers in a crucial match. Unexpected finalist UST also displayed its shooting prowess here as it beat one or two of its major rivals.

The annual collegiate basketball season appears to have captured major public interest over the past few years, rivalling the seasons of its professional counterpart in terms of print and broadcast media coverage, as well as social media attention. No question, collegiate basketball has now become a breeding ground of stars which produces sports icons who give the matinee idols raised in the world of show business a run for their money.

It can be said that collegiate basketball has become partly showbusiness – in the good sense of the word.

It used to be that the media coverage of basketball was all about scores, breaks of the game, strategies and the emotions that took place in the hardcourt on the day of the match.

Today, both traditional and social media give extensive coverage to the human drama-filled moments that happen before and after the game, outside the playing venues.

Such coverage create massive following for the teams and the individual players who stand out among their peers. Many of these stand-outs become stars and heroes in the eyes of both fans and followers. An adoring public follow them as they go through the ups and downs of the season. Fans and critics alike comment on their on-court and off-court feats, foibles, follies, and failures. Their words and actions are scrutinized. Every tear they shed in the aftermath of an injury, a fall, a win or a defeat are perfect for a photo or video that can go viral in the internet.

In other words, they become, as it were, “public property”.

They are like stars born in the era of reality TV.

We have no objection to this current phenomenon. At the end of the day, many of these young hoopsters are really stars and heroes in their own rights.

Many of them come from underprivileged families. Their sterling performance on the hardcourt are, in many ways, influenced by their ardent desire to lift their families out of poverty and to create for themselves a future better than what their families face today.

One example is Dela Salle’s brilliant center Justine Baltazar.

We learned that Justine is an orphan who struggled through hardship with his siblings following the death of their parents. Justine got his break with the National University Bulldogs. Dela Salle honed his skills into near-pro levels.

National University’s hardworking shooter John Lloyd Clemente has a personal story similar to that of Justine’s. Both come from underprivileged families from Pampanga. It is inspiring to note that these young players give their heart to the game to fulfill powerful aspirations for a better life than the one they grew up in.

This year’s biggest star in the UAAP is no doubt one of the smallest guys in the league – UST’s Renzo Subido.

Renzo is UST’s starting point guard. Yes, he was that short player whose fearless, ringless shot from the threepoint area ended the dream of the UP Men’s Basketball Team to get into the finals for the second straight year.

Renzo is a product of two schools with great grassroots basketball programs – the Lourdes School of Mandaluyong and Dela Salle Zobel. Basketball aficionados would remember Renzo as the small, crafty, playmaker in the juniors division with what experts would call a high basketball IQ.

It appears he caught the attention of basketball scouts when Renzo played with elementary school contingent of the National Capital Region during the Palarong Pambansa held in Puerto Princesa City years ago. The kid is hardworking and is a no-nonsense person. He has no antics in the playing court and goes through a game with the same focus and ice-cold intensity of Dela Salle’s LA Revilla.

It appears that Renzo’s winning three-point shot is something he has waited for patiently for years. Prior to that memorable moment, he has had to contend with disappointments, frustrations and even rejection.

The UST star, however, is not one to stay down.

In a message from his twitter account shared by his fans, Renzo said:

“My strength did not come from lifting weight. My strength came from lifting myself up when I was knocked down.”

A cute post, some would say. To those who know the kid from UST, they would recognize the story behind the post. The statement is a description of the young player life. It is one inspiring quote we can all live by.

Congratulations to the organizers of the collegiate leagues, to the schools, the coaches and coaching staff, and to all the players who shared with us their brilliant games, both on and off the court.

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