No, I was not a player at the Palarong Pambansa. I was an athlete at the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) games in high school, but it was a short, unsuccessful, and forgettable stint.
The opening of the Palarong Pambansa, the national meet in Cebu last week, brought back memories of my CVIRAA experience. That experience taught me that the games were about the athletes and their love of the sport, not about anything else, such as the venue—Cebu, in the case of the ongoing Palaro.
The CVIRAA was the qualification round that an athlete must pass to proceed to the Palarong Pambansa.
My “near-Palaro” experience decades ago showed me how strong Filipino athletes are and how they can succeed through sheer determination and dedication to their sport. The word “player” did not mean playing around or along, but rather practice, discipline, and sacrifice over the years, in some cases disrupting their childhood.
I was a softball player and the captain of our high school varsity team. I played as a shortstop, not because of my height, but because I was good at catching fast and ground balls. My response was quick, and I could throw the ball to the bases before the opponents slid to the plate.
During my CVIRAA, they combined the high school varsity teams of the Colegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion and St. Theresa’s College to form the Cebu women’s softball team. We are all now in our retirement years, and among my teammates was Atty. Maria Jane C. Paredes.
Our first CVIRAA game was against a strong team from another Central Visayas province. Our opponents were tough, obviously well-trained, and had their eyes on winning. On our part, we were just happy to reach the regional games and to play with friends from the other school.
Our opponents somehow knew I could bunt or tap a pitched ball to make it difficult to catch, and the best way to stop me was to hit me to force a walk. The fastball caught me on my left side, by the ribs. It hurt so much I thought I cracked a rib. I would have cried from the pain, but I had to walk to first base. My reward for getting hit. We lost our first game, and I have no recollection of moving on to a second game. We realized quickly that our opponents were stronger and faster.
They were determined and hardened players from the other provinces. They were fierce and they knew what the game demanded of them.
My “near-Palaro” experience trained my reflexes, taught me leadership, and gave me lifelong friendships.
To the Palaro players now in Cebu, good luck! The games are about you. But it would help for organizers to acknowledge and act on the complaints.