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Sunday, November 26, 2017
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Relying too much on imports
I’M NOT so sure about school leagues in the rest of the Visayas and Mindanao but in Manila and Cebu, basketball in particular, we see tall and large African athletes playing major minutes for their adoptive schools. We also see athletes of mixed parentage but they’re more logical as they are at least 50 percent fuelled by Filipino blood.
Personally, MVP awards should be given to local talents who had proven themselves capable despite the presence of foreigners. With a very few exception, most of these college imports dominate the hard court and more likely than not also battle for MVP honors.
They come to the Philippines for free education and whatever perks and freebies the school can think of. They probably receive allowances larger than their college deans. And, quite frankly, had they ever seen and greeted their classmates or what a classroom looks like? It’s not about the beauty of the country or its people. It’s all about the economics that they can’t get from their mother countries. They come here because, back home, they can’t shine.
They get recruited because, hey, everybody’s doing it and a school who had gone import-free since I can remember now has joined the bandwagon. The mantra here is “if you can’t beat them, join them.”
We long for those days past when students pack the playing venues because they really support their teams. Today, people go to games only to see which team has the strongest and the best import. Local talents play second fiddle, become part of the supporting cast for an import who can’t or refuses to speak our native tongue. Often, these guys do mercenary work and play in small leagues for several thousand reasons.
The UAAP Finals between La Salle and Ateneo will be a battle on who has the best support crew to back up their imports. To stop Ben Mbala of La Salle, a defensive alignment of the PNP’s elite antiriot squad is needed. Because he’s so dominating, he won the UAAP’s MVP award for the second straight year. It shouldn’t be this way. Best Import lang dapat.
Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena, La Salle’s Ricci Rivero, FEU’s Richard Escoto, and UP’s Paul Desiderio are all deserving of the MVP recognition and UAAP should consider this. Our local boys worked their butts until they’re sore, grinding their way through those imports. This makes them very valuable assets to their teams.
With more than 100 million people spread around 7,100 islands, it is unthinkable not finding any raw talent be it in basketball, football or any other sport. Sports officials, with the cooperation of local government units, only need focus and diligence in discovering homegrown talent. Only then can we end this practice of imports and mixed-breeds dominating the local sports scene. When these foreigners finish their tours of duty, they will pack their bags and maybe go back home. A few will find employment in overseas leagues.
In another development, Senator Manny Pacquiao recently broke ground for the construction of a university dedicated to sports in Laguna. It aims to provide world-class training to athletes and at the same time provide sports medicine through its medical center. It was advertised as world-class with high-tech equipment, and was scheduled to be completed sometime in 2020.
It will be called Pacquiao University of Sports and Health or PUSH. Wise guys already are calling it Pac-U. So what will we call the student-athletes, Packers? And if Mommy D gets an admin post, will she be the Mother Packer? There is a strong chance another branch will be opened in Mindanao in a few years and yes, you got it, it’s Pac-U 2./PN
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