Chapter 5: Back to Bacolod
Back in Bacolod, it was as if they were back home again in the best possible sense. The trip to Manila had been everything they could have wished for and more. They had got to know their idols, felt the excitement of a live game, and bonded the friendship in ways they never imagined possible.
Back home it was business as usual, but now there was a whole extra texture to their lives. They told the stories of the trip to family and friends, to anyone who would listen. They acquired a kind of authority on their neighbourhood basketball courts and at their games of PBA, because now they had lived it and seen it and understood it.
For David, the experience of watching the PBA live had ignited a sense of purpose, a desire to engage with basketball through writing, analysis and making predictions. His blog, Courtside Chronicles, saturated comments sections and social media groups, gamely succeeding in breaking into a scene where sportswriting was a cutthroat, established field. It was a different approach from the dry, remote-viewing style of foreign sportswriting – and it involved way more than just keeping score. David, a native speaker of regional dialects who studied at a foreign school and immersed himself in foreign sports, could speak the lingo. His blog featured a daily beat on PBA games, commentary on player statistics and betting odds, all in English. ‘It went viral,’ David told me.
And so there was Miguel, and James, and Paolo, and Renzo, four of his friends, ready and willing to pen their thoughts and share their experiences with him on a new blog they started together. They continued to practise, watch games, and dream. They began playing together again. Now, though, they had a new platform through which to channel their passion to a broader group of viewers.
Their tale became a source of inspiration in the neighbourhood: if diverse people of different ages can work together, with a common goal and a shared desire to succeed, even a bunch of guys from our block can achieve it, too – not just basketball but friendship, perseverance and the joy of doing what we love.
And while they might have faced more difficulties and more dreams yet to come, they were united. It was worth the troubles and the work because, as Paul reminds Yang, ‘You have my five guys, and I have your five guys, and we both still play baiduan [badminton] until now.’ Bacolod was their town, but the world was their court, and they were ready to play.
Kabanata 5 Pabalik sa Bacolod
Pagbalik sa Bacolod, para silang nagbalik sa kanilang tahanan muli sa pinakamagandang paraan. Ang biyahe sa Manila ay nagbigay sa kanila ng lahat ng kanilang ninanais at higit pa. Nakilala nila ang kanilang mga iniidolo, naramdaman ang kasiyahan ng live na laro, at pinalakas ang kanilang pagkakaibigan sa paraan na hindi nila inakala na posible.
Sa kanilang tahanan, normal pa rin ang kanilang gawain, ngunit ngayon may dagdag na kulay sa kanilang buhay. Ibinahagi nila ang mga kuwento ng kanilang biyahe sa pamilya at mga kaibigan, sa kahit sino mang makinig. Nakakuha sila ng isang uri ng awtoridad sa kanilang mga basketball court sa barangay at sa kanilang mga laro sa PBA, dahil ngayon ay naranasan at naintindihan na nila ito.Para kay David, ang karanasan ng panonood ng live na PBA ay nagbigay sa kanya ng pakiramdam ng layunin, ng pagnanais na makisangkot sa basketball sa pamamagitan ng pagsusulat, pagsusuri, at paggawa ng mga prediksyon. Ang kanyang blog, Courtside Chronicles, ay puno ng mga komento at naging matagumpay sa pagsisikap na pumasok sa isang larangan kung saan ang pagsusulat tungkol sa sports ay isang matinding labanan at itinatag na larangan.
Iba ito mula sa tuyo at malayo ang estilo ng pagsusulat tungkol sa sports ng ibang bansa – at ito ay may kakaibang aspeto kaysa sa simpleng panonood. Si David, isang katutubong tagapagsalita ng rehiyonal na diyalekto na nag-aral sa dayuhang paaralan at nabighani sa mga dayuhang sports, ay marunong sa lingo. Ang kanyang blog ay nagtatampok ng araw-araw na balita tungkol sa mga laro ng PBA, komentaryo sa mga estadistika ng manlalaro at mga odds sa pustahan, lahat ito sa Ingles. "Naging viral ito," sabi ni David sa akin.
Kaya't narito si Miguel, at si James, at si Paolo, at si Renzo, apat sa kaniyang mga kaibigan, handa at gustong magsulat ng kanilang mga saloobin at ibahagi ang kanilang mga karanasan sa kanya sa isang bagong blog na kanilang pinagsimulan ng sama-sama.
Patuloy silang nag-ensayo, nanonood ng mga laro, at nananaginip. Nagsimula silang maglaro ulit. Ngunit ngayon, mayroon silang isang bagong platform kung saan maaari nilang ilabas ang kanilang pagnanasa sa isang mas malawak na grupo ng manonood.
Ang kanilang kuwento ay naging isang pinagmulan ng inspirasyon sa barangay: kung ang magkakaibang tao ng iba't ibang edad ay maaaring magtrabaho ng sama-sama, na may iisang layunin at pagnanasa na magtagumpay, maaaring magawa rin ito ng isang grupo ng mga lalaki mula sa aming kalye – hindi lamang sa basketball kundi sa pagkakaibigan, pagtitiyaga, at ang kasiyahan sa paggawa ng ating mga paborito.
At bagaman maaaring harapin pa nila ang higit pang mga hamon at pangarap sa hinaharap, sila ay nagkakaisa. Sulit ang mga pagsubok at ang pagtatrabaho dahil, tulad ng sabi ni Paul kay Yang, "Mayroon ka ang lima kong kasama, at mayroon din ako ang lima mong kasama, at pareho pa rin tayong naglalaro ng baiduan [badminton] hanggang ngayon.
" Ang Bacolod ang kanilang bayan, ngunit ang mundo ang kanilang court, at handa silang maglaro.
