Catering to hoop-crazy Pinoys

TV 5 is hitting its target right. It’s giving televiewers a reality show that goes beyond the song-and-dance or acting requirement via a type of sport most Pinoys love best — basketball.

Titled My MVP, the sports reality show gives every hoop-crazy Pinoy the chance to strut his stuff on the hardcourt and be the country’s next star cager.

From over 2,500 basketball star wannabes who recently showed up in the auditions held in key cities of Mega Manila, only 400 were chosen to undergo the endurance test called the Scrimmage Rage. Here, four courts were installed for the participants to shoot balls as many as they can under a time limit or until they drop. As the buzzer sounded off, the number was down to 50 as Coach Norman Black, with some of his counterparts from different schools, chose those who have the potential to reach all-star status in the big league.

“It was hard to choose from 400 down to 50 in one day,” Coach Norman says. “The guys were really playing hard. They knew it was an opportunity to make it to the Top 50 and everybody’s goal was to make it to the tryout in Clark but we can’t have them all.”

“And the number was cut to 15,” producer Sienna Olaso says.

She also reveals that the show gives second chances to those whose basketball career was interrupted and find the reality show a good avenue to start from where they had left off. One of them is Luis Palaganas, one of James Yap’s batchmates in UE. Luis, however, did not make it to the PBA the way James did.

“He now has a master’s degree but he wants to play some more. Luckily, he is one of the finalists. Coach Norman saw his potential. But of course, even if you are good, Coach (Norman) is not the only one who decides. The public also has a say,” Sienna adds.

Aside from the various training — from ball handling to passing to dribbling and shooting — participants go through in the training camp, Coach Norman also reminds them about the ability to take instructions and being able to execute them.

“Basketball is not just about throwing the ball. One must have strategies and should know his defenses,” the Ateneo coach says. “Discipline, I think, is a given because without it they won’t last long.”

The finalists were also trained to improve their personality and required to face the Urban Challenge.

“We just don’t create a team. The show also leaves something they can use eventually. They are taught how to deal with other people and be physically fit without going to the gym,” Sienna offers.

In between the grueling test of hardcourt skills is comic relief from host Bayani Agbayani who cheers up the gloomy atmosphere whenever elimination time comes.

“I can relate to their sad stories because I myself went through hardships before I became what I am today,” Bayani says.

He even went out of his way to give one of the wannabes a pair of rubber shoes who only had a pair of slippers to wear for the games.

He, too, says life is like a game where competition never sleeps. One must not give up to survive.

Former PBA player Jason Webb, on the other hand, is tasked with announcing who among the participants were booted out.

My MVP airs Sunday nights at 6.