Pastilan, Palestine!

This is it pancit. The day has come. Buhay na naman ang mga Pinoy basketball fans.

It's Gilas time!

The game was to start at 11:45 AM. Punyemas, sumakto pa sa oras ng paghatid ko sa school. Ano ba yan! Hindi pwedeng #COC (Country Over Child). So mananaig yung kabaligtaran, no choice. Pero sige lang. Palestine lang naman. Unranked. Sa-sampung player. No formal training camp. Low budget pa nga. At higit sa lahat nasasadlak sa isang mas matinding kaguluhan sa kanilang homeland. So okay na 'to. Mukhang light-sparring partner 'to. 

So tuloy ang maneho. Kamay sa manibela, mata sa kalsada. But pag may chance (and safe, pero mali pa rin), pa-simple ng score update sa twitter. End of 1st. Kinse lamang natin. Ah, sure win na 'to.

Sa wakas nakarating din sa school ni anak. Kiss, sabay babay sa gate! Excited na makauwi agad para makahabol sa laro. Ganun pa din. Traffic light means twitter score update (salamat sa countdown timer, promise!).

Whaaat?!?

Humahabol sila. Anong kaguluhan 'to. Mahirap usisain ang twitter feed. Konting minuto at nasa harap na ng TV. Halftime nang nakauwi. Pero relax pa din. Dumikit si Palestine. Ang su-suwerte naman. Walang kalamig-lamig ang laro nung Shamalamig. Pero higit dyan, ang alat ng nilalaro natin pagdating ng 3Q.

Malas yata ang panonood ko. O dahil sa kaka-twitter ko habang nanonood. O baka naman napaka-monotonous lang talaga magsalita ni Andy Jao. Walang excitement and sense of urgency. Naapektuhan tuloy ang shooting ni Don Don. Parang nagko-commentate lang sa isang tune-up game ng Gilas si Dr. J. Ibahin ko kaya pwesto baka sakaling magbago momentum natin.

Pagdating ng 4th, ay salamat at lumamang na ng sampu. Panalo 'to. Pero, parang napalingon lang ako sa twitter feed ko, hu-whaat?! Baliktad na yung inihaw! Lamang na sila. At ayoko nang sariwain pa ang mga masasaklap na pangyayari.

Olats men. Pano na ang araw na 'to? Ang init naman. Pero parang umuulan sa labas at loob ng bahay. Buwiset, ang hirap talaga maging Gilas fan! Ang hirap talagang kampihan ang koponan ng bansa natin. Pero walang iwanan (wait, parang narinig ko na 'to sa political ads). Yung conversation bago yung game eh kung ilan ilalamang natin. Pero iba naging resulta. Sabi nga ni Coach Tab sa post game eh, "This was a mistake." Buti nalang hindi 'to take one. Buti nalang may take two. And so on.

We all wanted to see our team speeding through and blowing out opponents. And win. How we wished there was time to showboat, do some alleyoop plays, or bastusan move from Terrence. Yun ang gusto natin. Siyempre masarap ang pakiramdam nun. But we're not here to sprint, ika nga. It's a marathon we're in. And we need to keep getting better. And better. And betterer, sabi ni Bossing.

Ayun, nakita ko na yung araw. Hindi naman pala umuulan. Nag-senti mode lang ako. At balik na muna tayo sa mga trabaho natin. Mahaba pa ang araw (o kaya'y malalim na ang gabi diyan sa kabilang dako). Wag sana tayong paapekto ng todo mga ka-fans. We have jobs and tasks to finish today (and some sleep to rest our tired body and soul). Find a way to smile. Yung Spain nga diba, natalo din muna sa first round. Si FPJ nga nagpapabugbog... (oops wag nalang). Yown, we just need those things to cheer us up. Maybe hug your kids and feel better? Or buy ice cream. Or mag-buffet after office hours. Up to you, just find a way to feel good. Otherwise, lugi tayo diba.

Kitakits uli bukas sa game. Good vibes everyone!

Laban Pilipinas. Puso!

Post Script:

I just fetched my five year-oldie from school. And I told him about the game. We were on our way to the car when I broke the bad news. "Son, Philippines lost." He calmly inquired if Romeo played and made an amazing shot. I was in the affirmative. Inside the car, he started to break down. He was so upset and I was lost for words of comfort to calm him down. Until I told him about Palestine being a war-torn country. And perhaps they just needed the win to cheer them up a bit. Took him a while to settle down. But I was happy he gladly took that and finally understood as a sympathy win for Palestine.

Below is a short video I took of my kiddo's Gilas tantrums:

... follow @labapilipinas on twitter for some sports laundering!