Where are those brave interstate Filipino ballers have gone?
Along with the retirement of indefatigable Filipino community sports promoter Mr Manny Castillo from leading the Philippine Australian Sports and Culture (PASC) Inc, was also the retirement from the community scene those yearly interstate sportsfest of Filipino basketball aficionados.
Mr Castillo was prime mover of the Philippine Australian Sports Association (PASA) the Australia-wide network of basketball aficionados.
Another comp promoted by Filipino Communities Council of Australia (FILCCA) also suffered the same demise,
One recalls those times of state sporting teams of basketball aficionados meeting up in one state to compete in a two-day basketball extravaganza, showing their sports skills and at the same time meet up and bond with avid ballers.
Possibly those were the days when NBA basketball cards were considered more than pricy collectibles in boyhood neighborhoods.
And when equally pricy “pump” basketball rubber shoes were the dream of almost every avid basketball carzy kids.
That’s why yearly there were those interstate expeditions of brave young men jampacked in one or two roadsters and enduring some six to seven hours drive up state for their destiny in the hardcourt.
Plenty of stories to tell like ballers without money and surviving only thrugh the hospitality of interstate hosts all for the sake of gold plated basketball trophies and memorable interstate friendships.
But those times were before the advent of smart phones, and could even before the arrival of Nokia I would say.
