Filipinos in UAE gear up for spectacular experience
This is the annual ‘Congen’s Cup’ on August 6 at the Al Ahli Sports Club near the Al Mulla Plaza in Dubai
Filipinos in Dubai and the Northern Emirates are gearing up for an activity which, from 2016 to 2019, had recorded over 3,000 participants and spectators.
This is the annual “Congen’s Cup” on Aug. 6 (Friday) at the Al Ahli Sports Club near the Al Mulla Plaza in Dubai, though on a smaller scale and only dedicated to one specific sport due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19). Thus, the “Congen’s Cup Basketball 2021: Ang Huling Kabanata” (“The Last Chapter”) in coordination with the Dubai Sports Council.
According to Organising Commitee chairman Ace Lester Quijada on Thursday and from the Philippine Consulate General in Dubai, in the current line-up are 10 teams of basketball hobbyists or enthusiasts – either solidly representing Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah or Fujairah, or mixed teams: “These players are what we classify as the Class D Unrated with maximum height of 5’10”. We have witnessed a deluge of entries since our announcement over Facebook and other social media outlets in June. But we also have to be strict in the selection process in relation to the pandemic health protocols. Of course, we have to abide by the requirements of the Dubai Sports Council (as per the COVID19 measures laid out by the Dubai Supreme Commitee of Crisis and Disaster Management).”
To ignite more of the crowd’s adrenalin, the Organising Commitee is set to have an exhibition game with an all-filipino women basketball team, just before the championships scheduled before 6 pm. This exhibition game is a first-time event in the history of the Congen’s Cup, which since its inception in late 2015 by Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, in partnership with community leaders, gender equality and specifically women’s participation, has been encouraged in all the bowling, billiards, darts, chess, volleyball, mountain-biking competitions, including the twiceheld (2018-2019) Dragonboat Regata at the Ras Al Khaimah International Marine Sports Club, in collaboration with the UAE Rowing Federation.
“The idea came from Ronin (an Organising Commitee member) for we have Filipino women here in Dubai and the Northern Emirates who used to be basketball varsity players (even from their high school). We met them. They said they would challenge us as one solid all-female basketball team,” said Quijada.
Consul General Cortes, whose six-year tenure ends this late August – thus, the “Ang Huling Kabanata” (“The Last Chapter”) tagline -- said: “We want to help instil among our fellow Filipinos not only an active lifestyle for (optimum health) but physical and mental discipline as well; and which we hope our children also imbibe. We are not hoping for Olympians but I hope our next generations (are going to be more conscious of their health, their cholesterol levels or the condition of their gallbladder (as examples).”
Incidentally, the annual PRE-COVID19 community event had even charmed the Filipino youth who used to watch their parents or relatives in all the PRE-COVID19 sporting activities. In March 2019, the one-day “Congen’s Cup Inter-school Basketball and Volleyball Tournament” which also saw Philippine schools in Dubai and Sharjah vie for the “Best Drum-and-bugle Corps,” was held at the Al Ahli Sports Club.
On Thursday aternoon, Adam Vital Hospital (Dubai) Orthopaedic Surgery consultant Dr. Ossama Abdalla told Gulf Today that active participation in all types of sport brings “uncountable benefits, resulting in much beter physical and mental health: “Sport lowers the risk of heart atack. These may help with the stretching ability of the ventricles of the heart to pump more blood with each beat. When the heart pumps more blood with each beat, the heart becomes more efficient and effective. Sport and physical activities are important to keep blood pressure normal. These aid in maintaining low cholesterol levels, prevention and management of Type 2 diabetes, aid in weight loss and management, improve blood circulation, increase haemoglobin count and blood volume. The immunity becomes beter as the rate of white blood cells increases significantly. We sweat and so a lot of toxins (are excreted). Bones become stronger, muscles are toned.”
Following are the COVID-19 health protocols: complete doses of vaccination for all participants and spectators at least two weeks before Aug. 6; mandatory wear of the face masks at all times unless engaged in sport; observance of the twometre social distance; provision of sanitisers and masks all around the venue; the presence of a health and safety officer including security and marshalls that implement all safety and health measures; the provision of isolation rooms in the event of positive cases; and the utilisation of smart payment channels.
Meanwhile, on the fondness of Filipinos for basketball even if their height is below the requirements and across the Philippine archipelago, any open space may become a full or half court, the “Culture Trip” website states: “The Filipinos’ love for basketball may begin at any time, but it is definitely nurtured by the school system, from primary school up to the collegiate level. In 1938, the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) was born. This varsity league is still alive and kicking, and many non-players get roped into the passion and excitement of the game during their university years, as long-standing rivalries come to a head and thousands of students troop to the Araneta Coliseum for the heated finals of each UAAP season... experts point to the basketball’s accessibility, its entertainment factor, and its fast pace as the main reasons why it has merged so well with Filipino culture.”