When it’s not about winning

This is the familiar story of every cager. He picks up basketball as a kid and learns to dribble, pass and shoot for fun. He wants to win because it would earn him and his teammates bragging rights among friends. After two or more summer programs, he decides that he wants to be a professional player. Inspired by his idols in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), he starts taking the sport seriously. He’ll work harder for every win so teams may see his potential and draft him. The PBA, after all, is the ultimate dream. . . the final destination. And it accepts only the best. It welcomes to its fold only those who can deliver the "W".

And then the dream is slowly realized. He makes the cut and begins a promising career in the popular league. The hardcourt is the stage where he proves his worth to every adoring fan in the crowd. He has to win. Every victory they achieve will add to the popularity. And there would be financial rewards, too! To him, winning is everything.

But indeed, "some good things never last." As he ages, his game starts to dip. He starts to slow down. The wear and tear of body parts will start to manifest through injuries. The spirit would still be willing but the flesh would grow weaker by the day. Nevertheless, he would still play to win. He has to take his team to victory. And then everyone will see that he still has what it takes. But it’s not as easy as that. New blood is infused to the 29-year old league every season. And as these new stars shine with every win, victory will elude him.

What happens next?

"They will still play. That’s all they’ve known for years. But winning won’t be the main goal," says Eric Altamirano, project director of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Basketball Goodwill Circuit. This league is actually the brainchild of SMC president, Ramon Ang who saw the need to accommodate good professional ballers who are unfortunately displaced each year because of the influx of younger and fresher legs in the PBA; while at the same time adding a boost to the marketing of SMC products.

More than playing to win, basketball greats like Hector Calma and Samboy Lim will play to promote SMC products. "They are now not only players but salesmen," explains coach Eric of this smart and fresh take on advertising and marketing. While common practice is to produce television commercials, radio and print ads, billboards, and the like, SMC has tapped another tool for product promotion, a tool that is close to the hearts of every Filipino - - - basketball. And this promises to be a marketing strategy that would make SMC a winner.

But it’s not only the company. Individual players would also benefit a lot from this. They are provided with livelihood, a career outside the PBA, a venture other than basketball. And SMC also hopes to give these players opportunities to be business partners. Life need not end when the basketball career does. Players can be winners outside the playing court, as well.

But the biggest champions will be the public. Travelling to the different provinces would bring these basketball idols closer to the people. Apparently, these players would also be ambassadors of goodwill. They will be reaching out to fans every time they visit the different provinces. Simply, the goal is to make people happy. As coach Eric puts it, "You can not measure the happiness and enjoyment in the faces of the people in the crowd."

Indeed, the SMC South All-Star launch in Cebu recently was a huge success. It became obvious that the team still had impact on the people. And why not? It was a rare opportunity to see players from three generations of basketball play as one team. The time of Bernie Fabiosa, to DonDon Ampalayao, to Tonyboy Espinosa, all age brackets were covered. Even Coach Eric says that the practices are so much fun. Younger players even use "po" when talking to the veterans. And the jelling is just awesome. They definitely have a thing or two to learn from each other. The coach also adds that there are a lot of reminiscing and swapping of stories that go on during the Monday-Friday training sessions.

The SMC South selection ended up defeating the Cebu Selection. But more than the victory, our basketball heroes had fun playing in the professional basketball atmosphere once again. "This is my first serious game in five years. And I’m really happy that I get to play now. Nawo-workout din yung katawan ko," revealed Dondon Ampalayo who became popular during the Anejo days.

The star of the night was Bonel Balingit who played in front of the adoring Cebuano crowd. He was familiar with the court, yes, after having played in it so many times when he was still part of the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball League (MBA). But more than that, he was inspired to play in the province where it all started for him. "Dito talaga ako nagsimula. Wala nang iba pa. At dapat hindi natin kalimutan ang pinaggalingan natin." Everyone cheered and screamed everytime the Gentle Giant got the ball. And he didn‚t disappoint his fans as he went on to score fifteen points.

Could there be a re-entry of Balingit in the PBA? Could his performance in the SMC games prove that he still has a lot to offer? Noli Locsin was not signed at the start of the season. He ended up playing for the SMC circuit. He was part of the group who heeded the call of the Davaoenos to play in the terror-stricken province and show everyone that it was safe even after the airport bombing and numerous threats of terrorism. And that‚s what they mean when they say they want to make people happy. They want to build goodwill. They went to make people feel at ease in Davao.

After that game, Locsin was signed by the Talk and Text Phone Pals. And a lot were witnesses to how he played against the Red Bull Thunder. Even Asi Taulava who was then seated at the bench, jumped up to cheer for the Tank as the latter scored a difficult basket. He had a total of 10 points that night.

I was doing the interview with Coach Eric at the hotel lobby when Locsin walked up to him. They shook hands and all Coach Eric said was, "I‚m proud of you." And to that, Noli simply smiled. "That’s another thing SMC could do for a player, encourage them to get their shine back. They are playing well because there‚s no pressure. The idea is to enjoy the game and make people happy," ends Coach Eric.

SMC is happy. Players are happy. The fans are happy. That‚s a win-win-win situation right there. And that’s all the "W’s" you‚ll ever need.

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