a springtime of youth (NOT)

my body's aching! every part of it! i slept last night before 9 because of stress, fatigue. (tsk tsk tsk... that's what you get after doing strenuous activity without prior conditioning)


i'm really not good in playing basketball.

i has been almost 3 months since i've last held a basketball. well, last saturday night, having nothing better to do, jay asked me to come with him to daniel fajardo to play hoops with his friends. i didn't even hesitated. i really need some exercise (i'm starting to lose my six-packs because of boredom), so i ran to my house to pack my basketball gear.

along with jay and bodjie we headed to the meeting place, marvin's house. i was surprised that i was going to play with our school varsity players. lucky me! (gnarl) after waiting for enough players, we went to the court. it was just behind our old school, although you have to walk 250 meters around and pass through narrow streets. as soon as the lights were up, we warmed up; taking turns with the ball, stretching our bodies. we divided ourselves into 2 teams via jack-en-poy. lose and win.

ok fine, i was teamed with bodjie, regie, ran and marvin. the other team was composed of jay, carlo, the guy they call "pango", arjo and another nameless guy. not a bad match-up at all. our team having the best (regie) and worst (me) player on the team sure made the proper distribution of skills. (just like team 7 in naruto! with naruto (pathetic), sasuke (tensai) and sakura)

i was really uncomfortable playing with them mainly for two reasons: i am not good in basketball and i don't even talk to them at school because i find them "mayabang" and "astigin". that really became a hindrance for my real skills to show up. let's see...

i did quite good, nailing a trey (after 2 unsuccessful attempts), stealing a couple of possessions, making offensive boards and put-backs. out of the 80 points of my team, i managed to chip-in 11 points. not bad at all. but most of them were uncontested. i think i was not able to play well because i fear pain, i fear being ridiculed, laughed at by doing a bad shot, a turnover. i couldn't drive the ball to the hoop and slam bodies with the other players. no-no. that i was holding back my real skills, my full potential because of fear.

FEAR IS JUST A FACTOR.

maybe next time after i conquer my fears and insecurities, i could become a better player. who knows? it's never too late.

HEADLINE: DROZ CUEVAS slams the ball for the win.
FEU assistant manager, banned for life for hitting CUEVAS on the nape. (more details on page A-26)