THE VisMin Cup is in full swing and, so far, it seems the league is doing great. That’s despite what the MPBL did just days before the launch, which was nothing short of sabotage.
By the way, a short group chat with some classmates reminded me of something and of someone.
April is when the usual summer tournaments back in our place start, to culminate in the fiesta in May.
And, of course, basketball is king in town fiestas. I remember, before the town fiesta, there was this guy in our place who seemed so good with his Jordanesque moves he seemed to be a touch above everyone else. He was just more on flair and more on fancy moves, but those caught my attention.
But when the fiesta came, one guy made him look so amateurish and he didn’t do it with “hey-I-can-hang-like-Mike” moves. I remember being impressed because I thought the guy played so good and so extraordinary but at the same time he wasn’t flashy.
There was something about him.
“He’d be in the PBA if he only had the chance,” one dude told me.
Mind you, back in the mid-’90s, when we had Captain Marbel and when all of South Cotabato thought Alvin Patrimonio was secretly raised in our province, that wasn’t something you’d easily say.
But yeah, the guy never made it to the PBA. There were some rumors, later on, that he almost made it to our MBA team but by then, he was a bit old for the tryouts.
If he was at his peak right now, with the Vis-Min Cup, I’m sure he’d make the roster. But as to making the PBA, I think it would be a stretch and ironically, it would be because of another hometown hero, Captain Marbel.
Since then, I’ve seen good and has-been players and I’d put that guy as good enough for something of a Vis-Min roster and depending on his Vis-Min showing, he’d be good enough for an MPBL stint, which means a stepping stone for the PBA. But thanks to the MPBL, he’d be treated as an ex-pro should he want to be in the league, but between guys like him and real ex-pros who are a conference removed from the PBA, who would coaches pick?
That’s just sad, isn’t it? A league like the MPBL should pave the way for local legends to find their niche and not bar them.
Makes you wonder why.