Mike Limpag
Fair play
I GOT an interesting letter from the inbox a few weeks ago, from an American now based in Cebu.
Orey Higens (ohiggins31@yahoo.com), who used to play volleyball, said he’s willing to help local stars train for a few weeks in Sta. Barbara, California this summer.
Yep, Sunny California in the US of A.
He said he played briefly in college with Butch May, the father of Misty May, who teamed with Kerry Walsh to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals.
Higens, who said Butch has Pinoy blood, is willing to introduce local players to Gorge Richardson, a beach volleyball coach in California.
He can also get them a recommendation from USA volleyball and AVP, the pro tour in California, where the sport originated.
He said he tried to contact Glenn Soco, when the former president of the Cebu Volleyball Association was still not a political player but failed, that’s why he wrote to me.
As to the local players, Higens thinks Jusabelle Brillo can make it in the pro tour.
“I saw the short southpaw Brillo win (at) Wiggies two or three years back...She was the only player with insight and skills, who could prevail to any extent in California.
The men were sad that year; Brillo could have won with almost any competitor there,” he said.
I hope Ceva and Higens can iron out the details so they can work together on this one.
Higens’ mail reminded me of one story I read about one foreigner who got to coach the RP team—it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.
He was just on a stopover in Manila when he passed by a beach volleyball tournament on his way to the hotel. He ditched the meeting, went to the court, and became one of the consultants of the beach volleyball team.
The story of how Phil and James Younghusband, two former Filipino-Brits who played in the Chelsea FC reserve team, got to play in the RP football team, is even weirder.
The story goes that one Pinoy kid—who has never been identified—was playing Fifa 2004 in his playstation, when he found out that the two had a Filipina for a mother.
The PFF was contacted and the Younghusbands, in turn, got a surprise call one day in 2004 from the PFF.
They were still with the Chelsea FC reserves then and after telling the story to their teammates, one of them said:
“Where’s the Philippines?”
This story never came out in any Philippine paper but saw print in Singapore.
Weird, eh?
MEX-AM. The Mexicans, like what the Philippines used to do, is trying to end their Olympic drought through America.
Mexico will hold the Mexican Olympics in LA, hoping to snag another “Oscar dela Hoya,” who this time could represent the motherland.
We tried that route once, starting with David Bunevacz, who turned out to be a big flop, while the Fil-Shams of the PBA and MBA turned off some Pinoy fans.
The UK is also starting a different program, they started identifying tall kids who they could train relentlessly for the 2012 games, which they will host.
As to the Philippines?
We’ll sweep all the medals if politics, back-stabbing and infighting among NSAs become an Olympic event.
For reference, check the ridiculous setup of Teams Philippines in the last Southeast Asian Games.
(mikelimpag@gmail.com)