Monday, September 15, 2008 Ready to Rowe By Karl Aries Emerson F. Cabilao
SINCE the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors firmed up their position as a force to reckon with in Cebu’s collegiate basketball after being whipping boys for quite some time, the USC gym (and wherever the Carolinian team plays) have always seen bigger crowds. This year, Carolinians and other Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CeSAFI) basketball fanatics had one more reason to follow all the hard court excitement.
Enter John Emel Rowe. The USC Warriors’ latest acquisition from the Land Down Under lived up to the earlier hype and immediately made his presence felt during his team’s opening game against the defending champions, UV Green Lancers (whom they’ll be meeting again in the league’s best-of-3 semis starting this Thursday, Sept. 18), as he top-scored with 17 points for the vengeful Warriors in their 80-76 victory over their opponents in last year’s finals.
Yet, with all the hoopla and fanfare, Emel maintains that whatever success the team gets, it is because of everyone’s effort. He says of his teammates: “They’re all talented and on any given night, anyone of them could shine and have a big game. So when I think about that, there’s no real pressure on me or on anyone else because if one gun isn’t firing, there’s another 14 just waiting to go off.”
Cebuano at heart. Emel considers it a dream come true for him to play in a local league. “I wanted to play basketball in the Philippines but knew nothing about it,” reveals Emel. “So, I jumped on the forum on the internet and learned about how guys got into the pro league here. While I was there, I heard about USC. I have a lot of family here in Cebu and with all the eligibility requirements in Manila, I felt studying and playing in Cebu was just the right choice for me,” adds the management accountancy freshman.
With a Filipino Mom married to an Australian Dad, he lived and had fond memories of their home in Consolacion, which he says is similar to his laid-back community in Melbourne. He also spent one school year in Consolacion when he was in grade school. “Way back, I visited Cebu every year. My last visit was just last November,” he says.
As a frequent visitor, adjusting with the local culture and people is no sweat for the 6’4 tall Fil-Ozzy. He admits, though, that aside from dealing with the transition from being in a small forward position in Australia’s V-League to being a big man on the center in CeSAFI, he still has to learn to speak Cebuano, which he knows very little about.
Even with the so-called language barrier, Emel still manages to make a lot of friends. Aside from “very welcoming” teammates, his classmates were also accommodating, considering that he’s a 21-year-old college freshman—and a towering one at that. He got the chance to reach out to his schoolmates during the team’s fund raising activities, like selling brownies and T-shirts to fund their daily expenses for games and practices.
Balancing time. To practice six times a week and attend one’s classes is indeed a tough act. Emel tries to make room for both activities in his schedule. “I try to get in about 30 minutes to an hour of study or assignments in a night but I’d be lying if I said I achieved that every night,” he shares in jest.
Seems like this guy is doing well in juggling the things he has to do each day. He still found time to dabble in extra-curricular activities like modeling under Dexter Alazas’ AD Models Agency. In fact, he is one of the guys featured in this year’s Cosmopolitan Magazine’s 69 Bachelors.
But even with all the good things coming his way, he is back in Cebu for just one thing—to play ball.
