Pinoy wins FIBA photo contest
A Dubai-based Filipino architect won the grand prize of the equivalent of P165,000 in the second FIBA photography contest with an entry entitled “My Home, My Playground” showing two Filipino boys reaching out for a basketball over a makeshift hoop on an improvised backboard tacked on a vertical panel of crypts in a Manila cemetery with kids sitting on the top edge of the wall looking down.
It was a classic portrayal of how basketball is a big part of every Filipino’s life, regardless of the situation or location. Mario Bejagan Cardenas, 37, explained his concept: “Hundreds of families have made the city graveyard their home as authorities grapple with rising population and housing shortage.”
In the first FIBA contest last year, Filipino photographer Emerson Catindoy took second place. This year, it appears that the majority of the entries came from the Philippines just like in the previous edition where International Basketball Foundation historical collections associate and archivist Luis Rojas Gonzalez said the Filipino participation was 60 percent.
In the FIBA website, several photographs from Filipinos were featured in a gallery. Robert Alvarez, Czeasar Dancel, Gabby Dolor, Joden Pastrana, Riza Lago, Jon Espinosa, Josh Mariveles, Christopher Morada, Randy Perez, Jason Mercene, Jayson Biadog, Glenn Mendoza, Jose Magbanua, Jhon Gianan, Kelvin Leonardo and Patrick Castro were among the Filipinos whose works are now on display at the FIBA headquarters in Mies, Switzerland, as the 40 best photographs in the contest. The exhibit, a showcase of basketball’s popularity the world over, opened last June 16 and will close on Oct. 30. This year’s contest brought in over 1,200 entries from more than 70 countries.
Each participant could submit one or up to three photographs linked to the themes “Basketball Is Everywhere” and “Basketball a Universal Language.” Alvarez, for inMunicipal stance, sent in three entries entitled “Shoot That Ball,” “Dream, Believe and Shine” and “Dunk.” A jury of international photographers was assembled to choose the winners. Second place went to Stepan Chubaev of Russia and third place to J. M. Lopez of Spain.
Cardenas is from Cebu. He attended Muntinlupa High School and earned a BS Architecture degree at UST. Once cited as one of the most influential Filipinos in the Gulf Region, Cardenas has received hundreds of awards from all over the world for his photography. One of his notable awards was the Ani Ng Dangal Filipino this year.
According to Cardenas’ sister Deodalyn, he is an admirer of Robert Jaworski and a fan of the Never-Say-Die Barangay Ginebra team. “Poverty is one of the subjects when he captures pictures and recalls the time when he practically grew up in ‘home-along-the-riles’ in Muntinlupa which prompted him to strive to get to where he is now,” said Deodalyn. “He continues to make a name for himself in the world of international photography since 2010. Mario’s passion and talent in photography are manifested through numerous accolades and honors for his works, garnering more than 200 awards from various international competitions in the US, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Austria, Germany, China, Singapore, Japan, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, UAE, the Philippines and now, Switzerland.”
Deodalyn described her brother as a visionary photographer and self-taught artist. “Mario always ensures distinctive and stand-out images by proper elucidation of the diversity and vibrancy with accurate story-telling captured from idiosyncratic perspectives,” she said. “Never resting on his laurels, he continues to evolve as an artistic photographer. Mario dreams to travel extensively and cover exotic places with essential human elements, curate photography exhibitions and galleries and have his works appear in various publications around the world.”