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Sunday, April 06, 2003
Cariņo: Kublai and Basketball
By Linda Grace Cariņo
I AM often asked why my son is named Kublai. The last time I was asked this was while having my hair done last week by the one and only Eugene of that mainstay salon, Gemini's.
I replied as I always do.
It's because I happened to be reading a novel about Kublai Khan, conqueror of the world, when I was pregnant. The novel I was reading then had it that a woman could walk from one end of China to another without being molested during the reign of the great Kubla Khan because his army was so disciplined that they simply would not have it, a woman being molested.
Of course, they were likewise under the great Khan's orders. I found this to be so the mark of exceptional leadership that I determined to name my baby Kublai if it turned out to be a boy. A boy it was, and Kublai it became.
Actually, the name thing came about because Tony del Monte of Milo BEST fame happened to be in Gemini's too, and he was the one who asked how Kublai got his name, Kublai being a regular of the Milo BEST clinic.
Tony remembers that Kub first joined it when he was just out of second grade, and then continued on to levels two and three in successive years. When it was time for him join level four, there weren't enough participants, if I remember right, so my then not so little khan had to review level two.
It was thenabouts that he also made the Small World School basketball team that won the city-wide Milo basketball tournament. This team went on to represent Baguio in a regional competition somewhere in Pangasinan. While they did not place in the regionals, it was a great experience for the whole team to be able to play outside of home turf.
I forget which year it was that the Alaska Power Camp first came to Baguio. It was a summer that Kub joined both the Milo and Alaska camps with his cousin Marmar, who was joining both for the first time. Of course, Marmar went on to join up with the Milo clinics in Manila after that summer.
At any rate, the Milo BEST clinic holds its regular session this summer, its 14th, according to Tony. For those who wonder what BEST stands for, it's Basketball Efficiency Scientific Training, and it has on its alumni roster a veritable who's who of basketball greats. To name some: Benjie Paras, Jerry Codinera, Zandro Limpot, Poch Juinio, Alan Patrimonio, and the list goes on and on. It even has members of the RP Women's Team that won a silver medal out of the 18th SEA games: Julie Amos, Justine Arias-Bacarisas, Caroline Mindo, Emilia Vega. The female list likewise goes on.
Interested parties can call 442-7054 and/or 09185618364 (cellular line) to make reservations. The clinic costs P1,300.00, and is on from April 21-26 at the Easter College gymnasium. Levels one and two have a morning schedule, three and four have an afternoon schedule. If a level four class does make it this year, Kublai will probably join it this time around.
In the meantime, he has just come from another basketball camp, this one called Camp David, where a Christian character formation agenda is worked into the curriculum, a project of Athlete's Haven, led by Brother Leo Arnaiz. Brother? Perhaps, haha, because he is the brother of the other Arnaiz, Francis, of whom I was a fan in the days of Meralco versus Crispa. What are Meralco and Crispa? Hey! Look it up, bud. Levity aside, it looks like Kublai came home quite pleased from this Camp David, and suitably refreshed from the retreat.
And in this period of my life that I have to deal with so much teenage stuff, (sigh) angst included, I must say that I am likewise quite pleased.
(April 6, 2003 issue)
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