This weekend has been a basketball weekend for
me. Lots of basketball games since
Maundy Thursday. Starting with the Miami
Heat’s 27 game streak come to an end with a loss at the hands of the
short-handed Chicago Bulls, the LA Lakers losing again to the Milwaukee Bucks, the
NCAA sweet 16(at this time of writing), Turkish Euroleague, and a lot more.
This is my version of the term ‘staycation’,
staying at home during the long weekend vacation. After doing cleaning chores and nothing much
to do anymore, turning on the tube would be my alternative for relaxation.
Basketball is so much fun. As a citizen of this basketball crazed country,
I fully admit that I am aficionado of the sport. Since elementary days and up to the present,
my most number one TV show has always been about basketball, whether NBA, PBA, FIBA….anything
associated with the sport. My most
favorite competitions are of the international competitions, like the Olympics
basketball, FIBA World Championships, Eurobasket, FIBA Americas, FIBA
Asia. I love to watch and see how the
bests of the world meet and compete for a coveted title. That is why I always opt for a cable
connection, so that I can watch the best matches available, as part of my de-stressing
when I am relaxing and resting at my crib.
I do play the game of basketball also, though not
that much anymore. My younger years saw
me get involved in ‘high level’ competitions.
These past few years saw me playing the game only during sportsfest
activities. I haven’t had much time to
playing the games as much as before, as it is hard for me to find playmates, as
the game needs at least 10 players for full-court basketball.
I also enjoy critiquing, analyzing the game of
basketball. I would involve myself into
smart discussions to to the performance of a team, a player, a tournament. I love devising plays, as a strategy, for
defeating opponents. So much of this
that when I was given to chance to coach our intramurals college basketball
team. I accepted it willingly and enjoying much the chance of skippering an entire
team. Haven’t won a championship though,
but finishing second is already an accomplishment.
Some would wonder on my passion to the game where I
am not even a professional basketball player, a professional basketball coach,
a professional basketball analyst, or even a basketball owner. I am just a computer engineer in the profession
of teaching.
Basketball is not just a game. There is more a lot to it. There are experiences, and lessons which are
very viable, that can also affect our lives.
A lot of people even enjoyed success after hanging their jerseys, to
another field, applying the principles that they learned from the game.
Michael Jordan, considered as the greatest
basketball player of all time, having won 6 NBA titles from 2
three-peats(1991-93, 1996-98), is now the majority owner of the NBA basketball
team Charlotte Bobcats, Larry Bird is the current president for the Indiana
Pacers, Shaquille O’ Neal is a Doctor of Education and is also an NBA TV
Analyst for TNT, Kevin Johnson is the current mayor of city of Sacramento,
Magic Johnson is a successful businessman, and a lot, lot more. Even here in our country, we have the likes
of Robert Jaworski, who was a senator, Freddie Webb, also a senator. Some became very successful coaches. They have succeeded in life after the game of
basketball because they considered basketball as a way of life, that there are
lessons to be learned, that can be very useful to whatever road they might want
to take.
As being able to play, and coach the game of
basketball, there are three valuable lessons that I really learned and lived
through each day of my life. These are
the value of Patience, the value of Teamwork, and the value of Embracing your
Role.
The Value of
Patience. The game of basketball
needs a lot of patience. As a player, I experienced playing games wherein our team
is doing catch-up with our opponent. As
long as we kept our heads together, just playing the right way (playing tough
defense, execute offense efficiently with less turn-overs, making good shot
selections), and waiting for the enemy to lose momentum while we slowly come
back and give ourselves a chance to win, it needs a high level degree of
patience. Getting into frustrations,
blaming others, are very disastrous to an ongoing game. As a coach, you have to be patient to how the
game is played. You have to be the
pacifier, the calmer, the leader, the director for the team. The game is full of emotions. If things go bad, it is important to keep
eveyone’s focus on the game and not lose their cool.
In life, patience is always a virtue. Not all desired results come
immediately. It might not come now, but
it doesn’t mean it cannot be attained.
What is important is doing the right things in your work, your
relationships, your life, without letting frustration come ahead of it. Life always has struggles along the way. We just need to go through to these
struggles, be pro-active with it, and adjust our way of living and working, by
focusing on our available strengths to make it through. Patience always reaps good harvest for those
who wait and persevered.
The Value of
Teamwork. Teamwork is about team
chemistry. Each personnel in the team
needs to learn from each other, their strengths, their weaknesses, their likes
and dislikes, and create a positive approach to create a strong bond amongst
the diversities. Everyone should agree
to the primary objective of the team, and everyone should accept the roles
given. Coherence to an objective is a
must. If the team aims to win, everyone
should agree to it. If the team loses,
blaming should not happen, and instead, work again to pick up the pieces, identify
together what made them lose, learn from the mistakes, and play again together
with the same objective in mind.
Much like in the professional field, you will be
working on a team made up of persons mostly you did not even know while you
were growing up. A team’s success is
dependent on the team’s oneness. Each
one should be comfortable working for each other. His responsibility is also my
responsibility. Be a team player.
The Value of
Embracing your Role. I consider
these as the most critical of all. Patience
and teamwork, for me, comes along with this.
A player’s acceptance to the role given to him is important for a team,
even it means a sacrifice. One should
not whine because he is just given a lesser role, or just a bench player. He should realize that his role is
important. If he’s role is just to wait
outside the three-point area and shoot when the ball is passed to you and shot
is available, then he should accept it.
His role is important as he has created space, a workable separation for
an inside player to operate the lanes, for a higher percentage points. If the player’s role is to back-up the team’s
superstar, then he should embrace it as equally important also. Player’s are still humans, who can still feel
the exhaustion of the game. Giving quality
minutes while the star player is resting, as it allows the latter to get much
needed rest and have much gas left to lead and finish the game for desirable
results. Even the ‘waterboys’ play an
even equally important role to the team.
All of us are given different roles to fill in our
present work. We must accept it
willingly, unconditionally. We must bear
in mind that the job is given to us because we are fully capable of doing it. When we are given a task, it is important
that we accept it, accomplish it with full responsibility and ownership. We should realize that are several tasks or
jobs to prioritize, for the good of all, even if it is very important to you
personally. While others do the job and
whine because they say that the pay grade does not match their work, just learn
to live and love the current job you are now having. Remember, patience is always a virtue. Cultivate with what you have now, and the
rewards will be reaped later, least you expect it.
So again, basketball is not just a game, but it
also has lessons embedded with it. Those
who play the game of basketball maybe can relate to this. This also can be found in other team sports,
like football, volleyball, rowing….
I can’t say I have already succeeded in life. There is still much to achieve, a reason to rise up in
the mornings. I am just living through
my life, living with work, valuing my relationships, with the valuable lessons
that I have learned from the game of basketball. It is important to have positivity, whether
playing the game or living your life.
And most of all, putting God within us, thanking him always for the
blessings He is constantly giving.
End Note:
Rest-In-Peace Bobby Parks Sr., 7 time PBA Best
Import Awardee. He will always be
remembered for the contributions he has given to Philippine Basketball.
