Over the weekend, I got converted to being a fan of women's basketball.
Yup, thanks to the idea of relative by affinity (hahaha! isinakay bilang "extended family"), we had a refreshing discovery over the weekend. Tito Rene has a niece who is a basketball star in her own right.
The whole family was abuzz with activity this weekend. An extra-special reason to convene after Sunday mass and the big family lunch that followed Michelle's Fil‑Am cousin, Melissa (Sison) Jacob flew in to begin training as an "import" of the Philippine Women's Basketball Team in preparation for the Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.
True to Pinoy rah-rah fashion, the whole family (extended and by consanguinity included) as well as little kids-in-tow, neatly packed into two vans and trooped to the Adidas Sports Camp at The Fort to watch her first real game on Philippine soil. Never mind that it was just for an exhibition match, we were ready to cheer our hearts out for the women's team pitted against the Filipino-Indian men's basketball league.
Julian with Tito Rene, BJ and Papa (with Fanny too!) waiting for the game to begin
I looked forward to the game because (1) I am still finalizing my choices for extra-curricular activities of Julian (whaat? first Piano, then Theatre, then TaeKwonDo,now E-Basketball?) Poor overscheduled Julian!
OK so the towelheads beat them (obviously bitter!). It was still fun. The match had all the festive trimmings of a PBA game. Loud buzzers, blaring music and fans in a-frenzy.
Julian and Mica enjoyed themselves. Joaquin, who complained saying we should have just gone to the movies, bawled a few times.
Julian seemed pretty excited to meet Melissa. I wonder if this means more extra-curricular expenses, this time for E-Basketball at the Montessori??? Hahaha!
Heck, I gotta admit I was starstruck myself. To hell with showbiz celebrities, gimme a female sportsjock anyday.
A day or two later, Julian saw Melissa at a TV interview...
...and then, another two days later OJ and BJ had their turn to be featured in an ABS-CBN Feature on "Bigatin" Twins of Philippine Tennis
