Our final morning saw a trip to the famed Greenhills Shopping Centre – the mother of all flea markets in the heart of downtown Manila. Shouts from hawkers of ‘Sir! You buy bag!’ or ‘Sir! Buy here’ were interesting and novel for the first 20 minutes, but Michael Valenti’s gruff stares and retorts of ‘What?’ certainly matched the locals for bluntness!
The afternoon saw us head out to Francisville, a small suburb we had visited earlier on the trip, to play Fatima University – a large Catholic university that boasted overseas players and sharp-shooters.
With Danny Cook out with the flu, much of the scoring burden would fall to Conan Prince and Giles Creelman to try and replicate the irreplaceable presence that is Danny Cook. Danny has been the consummate professional on this trip, nightly racking up points, rebounds, steals and slam dunks in a no-nonsense fashion and winning hearts with his happy manner.
Without him we knew that the match would be hard. Fletcher Creelman was a strong defensive presence, blocking numerous shots from the local team and shooting well from long range. Andrew Stock continued to play the point position, shooting and distributing the ball with the aplomb of player who distinguished himself in Perth’s State Basketball League before relocating to Shanghai, China to teach their with his wife in an international school.
Fletcher Creelman ministered to the sizeable crowd at half-time, but spoke more directly to the opposition team about looking past the game of basketball to lasting happiness.
The second half saw the lead see-saw back and forth between both teams for much of the third and fourth quarter. With the Aussies dominant inside and scoring freely from post-play and big-men combinations, the Filipinos played their own brand of basketball, penetrating and swinging the ball multiple times to find the open three-point shot.
Some fine hustle plays from Steve Cressie on the defensive end and Conan Prince on the offensive rebounding front gave Sports Ambassadors the edge in the end, 76-72.
It was a fine way to end our basketball tour for 2012. A great opposition that pushed us to create perhaps our best basketball of the trip and a great time of sharing with the Fatima players after the match.
A detour on the way home to the Faith Academy condominiums and a swim in the pool to end the day gave all the players the opportunity to reflect on the match and the highlights of the trip.
A quick shower and a trip to the famous T.G.I.Friday restaurant marked the goodbye dinner for the players as they were to leave at 3am the next morning for their Singapore flight. Andrew Stock is remaining in Manila for an extended holiday before heading back to China.
For anyone interested in flight returns to Perth, the players will be coming into Perth :
TIGER FLIGHT 2716
Sat, 14 Jan 2012
Perth ( PER ) 9:05 PM
Saturday, January 14, 2012
DAY 12 –Back to Manila
A 7am breakfast with Pastor Gary Visitacion and a trip to the Bacolod Airport for the 10:50am flight to Manila saw us leave the Negros island for the final time on this trip.
It has been an excellent experience in the large cities we have seen (Dumaguete, Himamalayan and Bacolod) and the smaller towns of Amlan, Cibulan, Tanguay, Cubancalan have all had their charms. The people of Negros Oriental, as everywhere in the Philippines, are some of the friendliest in the world. This is a country which much be experienced to be fully appreciated.
Arriving back in Manila in the early afternoon saw us reacquaint ourselves with the Manila smog and the congested traffic, which characterise the city.
With our American missionary contact Joshua Manthe vacationing in Australia at this time, it fell to our friend Pastor Rufo Pong to lead us on the final leg of our basketball outreach tour.
The relatively straightforward journey to play the Cainta Junction at 4pm hit a snag when we encountered a flat tyre half way there. This elongated our journey time but finally arrived just before the start of the match to a covered court right in the middle of this inner-city Manila suburb. With a smaller than expected crowd in the grandstands, we realised that the luxury of large crowds of excited fans does not always extend to the capital city.
The opposing team looked ready to play though. Being Andrew Stock’s birthday, Fletcher found a NBA statistic that the most shots taken by a single player in a game is 47 field goal attempts. Andrew Stock attempted to break this record by shooting anything he could get his hands on. The opposing team did not have much of an answer to inside presence of Fletcher Creelman and the now potent fast-break rhythm of the team following ten days of playing teams together. An eventual score line of 81-57 in favour of the Sports Ambassadors was punctuated by Steve Cressie relating his testimony to the crowd at half-time and a solid performance from veteran Michael Valenti in the low post.
The trip back to the YFC Orphanage saw everyone turn in for an early night with our final day of the tour looming tomorrow.
It has been an excellent experience in the large cities we have seen (Dumaguete, Himamalayan and Bacolod) and the smaller towns of Amlan, Cibulan, Tanguay, Cubancalan have all had their charms. The people of Negros Oriental, as everywhere in the Philippines, are some of the friendliest in the world. This is a country which much be experienced to be fully appreciated.
Arriving back in Manila in the early afternoon saw us reacquaint ourselves with the Manila smog and the congested traffic, which characterise the city.
With our American missionary contact Joshua Manthe vacationing in Australia at this time, it fell to our friend Pastor Rufo Pong to lead us on the final leg of our basketball outreach tour.
The relatively straightforward journey to play the Cainta Junction at 4pm hit a snag when we encountered a flat tyre half way there. This elongated our journey time but finally arrived just before the start of the match to a covered court right in the middle of this inner-city Manila suburb. With a smaller than expected crowd in the grandstands, we realised that the luxury of large crowds of excited fans does not always extend to the capital city.
The opposing team looked ready to play though. Being Andrew Stock’s birthday, Fletcher found a NBA statistic that the most shots taken by a single player in a game is 47 field goal attempts. Andrew Stock attempted to break this record by shooting anything he could get his hands on. The opposing team did not have much of an answer to inside presence of Fletcher Creelman and the now potent fast-break rhythm of the team following ten days of playing teams together. An eventual score line of 81-57 in favour of the Sports Ambassadors was punctuated by Steve Cressie relating his testimony to the crowd at half-time and a solid performance from veteran Michael Valenti in the low post.
The trip back to the YFC Orphanage saw everyone turn in for an early night with our final day of the tour looming tomorrow.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
DAY 11 – UP HIGH IN HIMAMALAYAN AND THEN BACK THROUGH BACOLOD
The 8am convoy of vehicles left La Carlota and passed by Pastor Norman’s house to say final goodbyes to the main pastor in charge of this 60,000 strong city.
There are a number of times on this trip when Pastor Gary, after speaking to local pastors, has identified needs that we have been able to contribute towards with funds raised in Australia or donated by people in Australia. We had this opportunity in La Carlota again this morning and the joy and happiness that radiates from the people who receive these financial donations is simply amazing.
It is also contagious.
You want to help them because you realise that the amount that you or I spend on a night out at the movies could sustain an intern pastor for three months or rebuild a school library ravaged by flood waters.
With teary farewells we took off for the two hour journey from the centre of the island to the large city of Himamalayan (pronounced ‘Hey Mum! A Lion!)
Arriving at the Mayor’s office at 10.15am and the game scheduled to begin at 10am meant that we were whisked through the normal formalities and hustled into some government 4WD’s to be sped to the game. This took away somewhat from the motorcade that the Mayor had set up for us, complete with 24 red-and-blue motorcyclists accompanying us and a Brazilian conga band beating drums on the back of a flatbed truck!
We arrived to hear speeches from the Mayor again and Tito Doden (aka. Mr Basketball, because of his numerous contacts in the world of basketball) as the children from the neighbouring school filed into the grandstand.
As the game was delayed significantly, it was decided that two 12-minute halves would be played rather a full 48 minutes and this brought the game down to style more than substance as the accompanying acts outshone the main performance.
The quick start with barely a warmup shocked the Aussie team and they trailed 17-6 before Giles Creelman (who shared his testimony in front of the noisy school crowd) and Danny Cook came off the bench to steady the scoring and tie the game at the interval. The second half saw a lot of ministry work being down by the players and the game finally ending with a 54-53 Sports Ambassadors win.
The celebrity status attributed to the players was kept in check by Pastor Gary Visitacion who again whisked the players into the 4WD’s and off to lunch with the Mayor.
After lunch the group continued on in the government vehicles for a further hour to our destination for the evening – Bacolod.
This large city is the former home of Pastor Gary Visitacion and he played the ultimate host‘s role in the late afternoon, taking us to visit the Ikthus Church of Bacolod where Pastor Joe met the players and informed us of the work they were doing in helping families recover from the Cagyan de Oro floods which devastated the region at Christmas.
One pastor we spoke to on the phone was helping his local congregation rebuild their houses after losing his fiancée in the floods. He had lost his own house, was supporting 72 families who had lost theirs and stated that he refuses to leave the area because ‘this is where God wants me’. Our final donation on the trip was made here to this pastor over the phone who replied that his ‘soul was uplifted’ by this news.
Gary then took us on to the birthday party of his well-known mother, Ivy Visitacion, a respected print and radio journalist in Bacolod. The party was held in a palatial house with newspaper photographers and the presence of the city’s gentry creating a stark contrast to the unshaven Australians who sat in the corner of the marbled lounge rooms sipping Coca-Cola and nudging each other regularly!
It was a great evening in which Mr Basketball entertained the Aussie troops with NBA tales and his coaching exploits while owning a PBA franchise earlier in his life.
With the photos expected in the press in the next few days, we can only but wonder whether our international presence was a highlight for the well-known Bacolodians or some unwanted invitees who had crashed a high-brow party and ate the caviar thinking they were Pascal lollies!
We leave Bacolod on the 1050 flight tomorrow for Manila and play the Cainta Junction Selection team at 4pm.
There are a number of times on this trip when Pastor Gary, after speaking to local pastors, has identified needs that we have been able to contribute towards with funds raised in Australia or donated by people in Australia. We had this opportunity in La Carlota again this morning and the joy and happiness that radiates from the people who receive these financial donations is simply amazing.
It is also contagious.
You want to help them because you realise that the amount that you or I spend on a night out at the movies could sustain an intern pastor for three months or rebuild a school library ravaged by flood waters.
With teary farewells we took off for the two hour journey from the centre of the island to the large city of Himamalayan (pronounced ‘Hey Mum! A Lion!)
Arriving at the Mayor’s office at 10.15am and the game scheduled to begin at 10am meant that we were whisked through the normal formalities and hustled into some government 4WD’s to be sped to the game. This took away somewhat from the motorcade that the Mayor had set up for us, complete with 24 red-and-blue motorcyclists accompanying us and a Brazilian conga band beating drums on the back of a flatbed truck!
We arrived to hear speeches from the Mayor again and Tito Doden (aka. Mr Basketball, because of his numerous contacts in the world of basketball) as the children from the neighbouring school filed into the grandstand.
As the game was delayed significantly, it was decided that two 12-minute halves would be played rather a full 48 minutes and this brought the game down to style more than substance as the accompanying acts outshone the main performance.
The quick start with barely a warmup shocked the Aussie team and they trailed 17-6 before Giles Creelman (who shared his testimony in front of the noisy school crowd) and Danny Cook came off the bench to steady the scoring and tie the game at the interval. The second half saw a lot of ministry work being down by the players and the game finally ending with a 54-53 Sports Ambassadors win.
The celebrity status attributed to the players was kept in check by Pastor Gary Visitacion who again whisked the players into the 4WD’s and off to lunch with the Mayor.
After lunch the group continued on in the government vehicles for a further hour to our destination for the evening – Bacolod.
This large city is the former home of Pastor Gary Visitacion and he played the ultimate host‘s role in the late afternoon, taking us to visit the Ikthus Church of Bacolod where Pastor Joe met the players and informed us of the work they were doing in helping families recover from the Cagyan de Oro floods which devastated the region at Christmas.
One pastor we spoke to on the phone was helping his local congregation rebuild their houses after losing his fiancée in the floods. He had lost his own house, was supporting 72 families who had lost theirs and stated that he refuses to leave the area because ‘this is where God wants me’. Our final donation on the trip was made here to this pastor over the phone who replied that his ‘soul was uplifted’ by this news.
Gary then took us on to the birthday party of his well-known mother, Ivy Visitacion, a respected print and radio journalist in Bacolod. The party was held in a palatial house with newspaper photographers and the presence of the city’s gentry creating a stark contrast to the unshaven Australians who sat in the corner of the marbled lounge rooms sipping Coca-Cola and nudging each other regularly!
It was a great evening in which Mr Basketball entertained the Aussie troops with NBA tales and his coaching exploits while owning a PBA franchise earlier in his life.
With the photos expected in the press in the next few days, we can only but wonder whether our international presence was a highlight for the well-known Bacolodians or some unwanted invitees who had crashed a high-brow party and ate the caviar thinking they were Pascal lollies!
We leave Bacolod on the 1050 flight tomorrow for Manila and play the Cainta Junction Selection team at 4pm.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
DAY 10 - SPRINGING INTO ACTION IN LA CARLOTA
Today saw as leave the beautiful resort at 8am and head north to La Carlota – a beautiful city of 60,000 people in the middle of the Negros island.
After an hour on the road we came to Pastor Norman’s house, the ruling pastor in La Carlota. He hosted us for an hour or so as we learnt the day’s itinerary and recuperated with an early lunch.
From here we headed up into the mountains of La Carlota to a Christian resort with rudimentary facilities in beautiful surroundings. The owner of the small resort took us on a 15-minute walk to a very cold fresh water spring. With water temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees the swim was refreshing but bracing all the same.
From here we headed back into the city to meet the mayor and then make the short walk to the main plaza for our outdoor game against the 16-man strong La Carlota Selection.
Conan Prince came alive early on in preparation for his half-time testimony which was witnessed by a crowd of 400 onlookers.
Subsequent three-pointers by Rufo Pong and Andrew Stock kept the Sports Ambassadors close in the third quarter before some agile defending and finishing by Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman steadied the match and put the Aussies in the lead for good. The windy night made shooting hard for Stevie ‘Wonder’ Cressie, but he more than made up for this with his work with the Christian tract outreach where he worked tirelessly for long stretches.
The postgame dinner was held at the local church and volunteers who prepared it really knew how to cook! We ate well before heading back into the jeepney and up into the hills for a quiet night’s sleep among the wildlife.
Tomorrow sees an early trip to Himamalayan, two and a half hours away for our final match on the island.
After an hour on the road we came to Pastor Norman’s house, the ruling pastor in La Carlota. He hosted us for an hour or so as we learnt the day’s itinerary and recuperated with an early lunch.
From here we headed up into the mountains of La Carlota to a Christian resort with rudimentary facilities in beautiful surroundings. The owner of the small resort took us on a 15-minute walk to a very cold fresh water spring. With water temperatures between 12 and 15 degrees the swim was refreshing but bracing all the same.
From here we headed back into the city to meet the mayor and then make the short walk to the main plaza for our outdoor game against the 16-man strong La Carlota Selection.
Conan Prince came alive early on in preparation for his half-time testimony which was witnessed by a crowd of 400 onlookers.
Subsequent three-pointers by Rufo Pong and Andrew Stock kept the Sports Ambassadors close in the third quarter before some agile defending and finishing by Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman steadied the match and put the Aussies in the lead for good. The windy night made shooting hard for Stevie ‘Wonder’ Cressie, but he more than made up for this with his work with the Christian tract outreach where he worked tirelessly for long stretches.
The postgame dinner was held at the local church and volunteers who prepared it really knew how to cook! We ate well before heading back into the jeepney and up into the hills for a quiet night’s sleep among the wildlife.
Tomorrow sees an early trip to Himamalayan, two and a half hours away for our final match on the island.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
DAY 9 - GIVING & RECEIVING IN CABANCULAN
Cabanculan City 65 Sports Ambassadors 91
Cabanculan Church 50 Sports Ambassadors 63
A wonderful Monday morning had been planned for us. The culmination of months of fundraising, planning, purchasing and packing came down to today.
Before the main event though, we made an early morning stop at a church school set up entirely from donations. Donations of equipment – books, desks, and classrooms. Donations of time with all teachers working on a voluntary basis.
Sounds crazy, right?
This fanciful concept is made even more difficult when the local history of the area is taken into consideration. For more than twenty years this mountainous area was controlled by communist rebels. These tyrants allowed no education for the people at all. A generation of people who cannot read or write with no appreciation for anything more than daily survival are all that is left behind from this recently-toppled regime.
As such, the new church school has classes of mature age adults learning in the same kindergarten classes as their young children!
All of the donations since the inception of the school just three years ago showed what true community means to these people – each Sunday 150 people travel by foot through the high altitudes to praise and worship God on the grounds of the school to thank these volunteers for this new opportunity – some hiking up to six miles for the service!
A small presentation of donated funds and a tour of the school set the tone for a day of giving and receiving. The short bus ride to the main church building at 9am for the food distribution gave us time to reflect on what we were about to take part in.
Filing into the same church building that had resembled a small factory the night before, we were greeted by 800 people who sat excitedly for a service that would see them receive food to last them for a fortnight.
As guests of honour, we were reserved seats in the front and the lull of the crowd when we entered was akin to the arrival of the bridal party just minutes before the bride.
After opening addresses from local Pastor Ely and Pastor Gary, who again fired up the crowds with Tagalog phrases like ‘Balak Bak’ (clap your hands) and ‘Amen Huber?’ (don’t you agree) we made our way to the stage and thanked the people for the opportunity to come to the mountains to distribute this food.
We pointed out that this money is not from us personally, but from the donations of churches and individuals in Australia who wanted to see the Filipinos thrive and survive in calamitous surroundings. The concept of the universal church united by Christ really crystallises when you are standing before this many people knowing that this is only possible from donations abroad with all parties looking to God for the glory rather than individual motivation.
The packages were handed out to the four lines of people lined up and the joy and thankfulness on the people’s faces alone was worth the flight to this part of the world. Sighs of ‘Salamat’ (thankyou) and old women staring at each other in disbelief as they received their packages was something that our players will never forget.
An exhibition match was scheduled after the food distribution just down the road from the church. Not only did the crowd of 200 make their way down to cheer on the food-giving foreigners, but the local elementary school was let out early to allow the young children to see the game. This filled the outsides of the court about three-deep and made retrieving the ball or moving around the outside of the court quite tricky.
Reaching our end of the court we realised that the rings were only 9 and a half foot high, as opposed to the regulation 10 foot. This changed the usual layup drill for warmups into a slam-dunk fest as almost the whole team could comfortably throw down a dunk by this part of the trip. The roar of the crowd after each dunk only inspired the team to try more outlandish tricks until Danny Cook threw down a monster dunk and almost pulled down the ring, prompting Pastor Gary to start the game before it ended prematurely.
The local selection were entertaining but not overly talented and Conan Prince proceeded to continue his three-point theatrics from outside, knocking down three long-range bombs before taking two giant steps on his next layup and hammering home a heavy dunk for the crowd. His preparation for this trip by training on the bitumen courts of the City of Gosnells had paid off this afternoon and his muscle-man celebrations after each dunk further cemented his cult status with the youngsters of Cabanculan.
Danny Cook shared his testimony at half-time and the crowd, mostly unbelievers who believe in the gospel of food and shelter, listened intently to what he had to say. The usual 3-4 minutes reserved for Christian tract distribution had to be extended to 15 minutes because of the large crowd that was now gathering from far and wide to see an exhibition match which had become something for the local people to treasure for sometime.
The highlight of the second half was Hedley ‘The Thickness’ Taylor taking the ball coast-to-coast and attempting to dunk over the opposition’s largest player! He succeeded in grabbing the middle of the net and coming down in a crumpled heap! After checking that he was not fatally injured, the crowd went wild at his heroics. High-fives on the bench now became a long affair as our team now had 27 children sitting amongst up jumping up and down at every opportunity and slapping players on the back just for the fun of it.
Subsequent dunks from Danny Cook, Giles Creelman and tip-dunks from Andrew Stock and Conan Prince kept the crowd oohing and aarghing as coach-cheerleader Fletcher Creelman roamed the court like a mascot without a uniform, imploring fans to ‘scream louder’ and ‘For goodness sake! Balak Bak!’
With the conclusion of the game and handshakes and formalities aside, the court became a time for the young children to be lifted up by Fletcher and Stocky to experience a slam dunk of their own. This was great fun for everyone to enjoy. The local pastor then had a great surprise for us – a postgame trip to a pure spring up in the mountains.
The photos of this spring have to be seen to be believed. 98% pure water direct from the earth’s core made the water perfect for swimming and enjoying for an hour or so before our second match. This was very enjoyable and a great way to relax.
The second match was a lower-key affair played in the church against the church team selection. With the pastor’s son starting for the Sports Ambassadors, it was a fun game which saw Giles Creelman speak to the half-time crowd about ‘Something Bigger’ in their lives. Having been a stronghold for communist rebels just ten years earlier, the introduction of churches and westerners who spread a positive way of living is something that the locals really seem to appreciate here.
Our final night’s stay in the pastor’s retreat will then see us head off early tomorrow morning for La Carlota – a large city an hour north of here.
Today has been a great day for international church co-operation and the positive style living that a Christian faith can instill within a people.
Cabanculan Church 50 Sports Ambassadors 63
A wonderful Monday morning had been planned for us. The culmination of months of fundraising, planning, purchasing and packing came down to today.
Before the main event though, we made an early morning stop at a church school set up entirely from donations. Donations of equipment – books, desks, and classrooms. Donations of time with all teachers working on a voluntary basis.
Sounds crazy, right?
This fanciful concept is made even more difficult when the local history of the area is taken into consideration. For more than twenty years this mountainous area was controlled by communist rebels. These tyrants allowed no education for the people at all. A generation of people who cannot read or write with no appreciation for anything more than daily survival are all that is left behind from this recently-toppled regime.
As such, the new church school has classes of mature age adults learning in the same kindergarten classes as their young children!
All of the donations since the inception of the school just three years ago showed what true community means to these people – each Sunday 150 people travel by foot through the high altitudes to praise and worship God on the grounds of the school to thank these volunteers for this new opportunity – some hiking up to six miles for the service!
A small presentation of donated funds and a tour of the school set the tone for a day of giving and receiving. The short bus ride to the main church building at 9am for the food distribution gave us time to reflect on what we were about to take part in.
Filing into the same church building that had resembled a small factory the night before, we were greeted by 800 people who sat excitedly for a service that would see them receive food to last them for a fortnight.
As guests of honour, we were reserved seats in the front and the lull of the crowd when we entered was akin to the arrival of the bridal party just minutes before the bride.
After opening addresses from local Pastor Ely and Pastor Gary, who again fired up the crowds with Tagalog phrases like ‘Balak Bak’ (clap your hands) and ‘Amen Huber?’ (don’t you agree) we made our way to the stage and thanked the people for the opportunity to come to the mountains to distribute this food.
We pointed out that this money is not from us personally, but from the donations of churches and individuals in Australia who wanted to see the Filipinos thrive and survive in calamitous surroundings. The concept of the universal church united by Christ really crystallises when you are standing before this many people knowing that this is only possible from donations abroad with all parties looking to God for the glory rather than individual motivation.
The packages were handed out to the four lines of people lined up and the joy and thankfulness on the people’s faces alone was worth the flight to this part of the world. Sighs of ‘Salamat’ (thankyou) and old women staring at each other in disbelief as they received their packages was something that our players will never forget.
An exhibition match was scheduled after the food distribution just down the road from the church. Not only did the crowd of 200 make their way down to cheer on the food-giving foreigners, but the local elementary school was let out early to allow the young children to see the game. This filled the outsides of the court about three-deep and made retrieving the ball or moving around the outside of the court quite tricky.
Reaching our end of the court we realised that the rings were only 9 and a half foot high, as opposed to the regulation 10 foot. This changed the usual layup drill for warmups into a slam-dunk fest as almost the whole team could comfortably throw down a dunk by this part of the trip. The roar of the crowd after each dunk only inspired the team to try more outlandish tricks until Danny Cook threw down a monster dunk and almost pulled down the ring, prompting Pastor Gary to start the game before it ended prematurely.
The local selection were entertaining but not overly talented and Conan Prince proceeded to continue his three-point theatrics from outside, knocking down three long-range bombs before taking two giant steps on his next layup and hammering home a heavy dunk for the crowd. His preparation for this trip by training on the bitumen courts of the City of Gosnells had paid off this afternoon and his muscle-man celebrations after each dunk further cemented his cult status with the youngsters of Cabanculan.
Danny Cook shared his testimony at half-time and the crowd, mostly unbelievers who believe in the gospel of food and shelter, listened intently to what he had to say. The usual 3-4 minutes reserved for Christian tract distribution had to be extended to 15 minutes because of the large crowd that was now gathering from far and wide to see an exhibition match which had become something for the local people to treasure for sometime.
The highlight of the second half was Hedley ‘The Thickness’ Taylor taking the ball coast-to-coast and attempting to dunk over the opposition’s largest player! He succeeded in grabbing the middle of the net and coming down in a crumpled heap! After checking that he was not fatally injured, the crowd went wild at his heroics. High-fives on the bench now became a long affair as our team now had 27 children sitting amongst up jumping up and down at every opportunity and slapping players on the back just for the fun of it.
Subsequent dunks from Danny Cook, Giles Creelman and tip-dunks from Andrew Stock and Conan Prince kept the crowd oohing and aarghing as coach-cheerleader Fletcher Creelman roamed the court like a mascot without a uniform, imploring fans to ‘scream louder’ and ‘For goodness sake! Balak Bak!’
With the conclusion of the game and handshakes and formalities aside, the court became a time for the young children to be lifted up by Fletcher and Stocky to experience a slam dunk of their own. This was great fun for everyone to enjoy. The local pastor then had a great surprise for us – a postgame trip to a pure spring up in the mountains.
The photos of this spring have to be seen to be believed. 98% pure water direct from the earth’s core made the water perfect for swimming and enjoying for an hour or so before our second match. This was very enjoyable and a great way to relax.
The second match was a lower-key affair played in the church against the church team selection. With the pastor’s son starting for the Sports Ambassadors, it was a fun game which saw Giles Creelman speak to the half-time crowd about ‘Something Bigger’ in their lives. Having been a stronghold for communist rebels just ten years earlier, the introduction of churches and westerners who spread a positive way of living is something that the locals really seem to appreciate here.
Our final night’s stay in the pastor’s retreat will then see us head off early tomorrow morning for La Carlota – a large city an hour north of here.
Today has been a great day for international church co-operation and the positive style living that a Christian faith can instill within a people.
Monday, January 9, 2012
DAY 8 - TRAVELLING ON THE SABBATH
Today saw us take off from Dumaguete at 8am for a Sabbath day full of ‘churching’ and travelling.
Our first stop was a church planted by the beach on the way to Cubuncanlun – our final destination high in the mountains dividing the provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental. The service was memorable for the 28 people attending and Pastor Gary delivering a sermon on ‘Unity in Transition’ – a 15-minute spiel punctuated by moments of laughter and implorations to ‘Balak Bak’ which means ‘Please Clap Now’ – it was certainly not boring and no one encountered the Sunday Morning Snooze sometimes experienced in Australian churches!
A donation was made to the church by our group from financial support raised in Australia and the pastor was extremely grateful for the resources tis would provide for his small but fervent congregation.
Jumping back into the jeepney, the heavy diesel fumes became the smell of the moment as we journeyed for an hour up the into the high altitudes of the middle island landscape. High rising mud steppes and the view of the large active volcano were the picturesque scenery for a journey that is best experienced riding atop the jeepney waving to locals along the roadside, who smile and yell excitedly “Hey Joe!” – a reference to the liberating World War Two G.I.’s who all westerners are colloquially referred to in the Philippines.
A quick stop for native ‘Chicken-On-A-Stick’ in a roadside shanty that made Bunbury Shell Roadhouse look like Hygeine Heaven gave way to two more hours on the road until we reached the beautiful settings of Cubuncanlun and the official retreat known as Beulah-Land, a place for pastors and wives to spend time together and for small conferences.
A large sign signalled our welcome to the townfolk who stopped to see the whitefolk in their diesel jeepney.
After settling into our rooms, we admired the majestic volcano as we walked to the evening service, a 400-strong congregation who sang Hillsong numbers in English – just for us!
Pastor Gary spoke again at the evening service and all the players were invited onto the stage to say a little about themselves and their experiences on the trip so far. Many of the small children looked quizzically at the white Australians and then chuckled at colloquial, gravelly voices of the foreigners.
The congregation have known for some time that our presence here is not simply basketball – we are here to undertake a large food distribution program on Monday in which 700 parcels of food are to be handed out to the most needy families in the region.
The conclusion of the service saw the church hall converted to small production line of trestle tables and cardboard boxes for the packing of the food.
With great help from the church members, the Sports Ambassadors team packed the sardines, noodles and rice in just over an hour in preparation for the morning.
Hedley Taylor was in his element as he lugged the 50kg bags of rice from floor to table in his West Coast Eagles jersey. Nicknamed ‘The Thickness’ by the Filipinos for his rugged, brawny appearance, Hedley has been the silent veteran on this trip, pitching in wherever is necessary and working very hard in all manual tasks.
Many of the Filipino women were swooning during the packing process as Pastor Gary announced from the microphone: “Hedley Walang Osawa” – meaning ‘Hedley does not yet have a wife!’
The excited cheer sent the shy Hedley bright red as he scurried to find more rice in a back room somewhere!
By 10.30pm all the work had been finished and the team headed back for the best night’s sleep they had enjoyed in days.
Our first stop was a church planted by the beach on the way to Cubuncanlun – our final destination high in the mountains dividing the provinces of Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental. The service was memorable for the 28 people attending and Pastor Gary delivering a sermon on ‘Unity in Transition’ – a 15-minute spiel punctuated by moments of laughter and implorations to ‘Balak Bak’ which means ‘Please Clap Now’ – it was certainly not boring and no one encountered the Sunday Morning Snooze sometimes experienced in Australian churches!
A donation was made to the church by our group from financial support raised in Australia and the pastor was extremely grateful for the resources tis would provide for his small but fervent congregation.
Jumping back into the jeepney, the heavy diesel fumes became the smell of the moment as we journeyed for an hour up the into the high altitudes of the middle island landscape. High rising mud steppes and the view of the large active volcano were the picturesque scenery for a journey that is best experienced riding atop the jeepney waving to locals along the roadside, who smile and yell excitedly “Hey Joe!” – a reference to the liberating World War Two G.I.’s who all westerners are colloquially referred to in the Philippines.
A quick stop for native ‘Chicken-On-A-Stick’ in a roadside shanty that made Bunbury Shell Roadhouse look like Hygeine Heaven gave way to two more hours on the road until we reached the beautiful settings of Cubuncanlun and the official retreat known as Beulah-Land, a place for pastors and wives to spend time together and for small conferences.
A large sign signalled our welcome to the townfolk who stopped to see the whitefolk in their diesel jeepney.
After settling into our rooms, we admired the majestic volcano as we walked to the evening service, a 400-strong congregation who sang Hillsong numbers in English – just for us!
Pastor Gary spoke again at the evening service and all the players were invited onto the stage to say a little about themselves and their experiences on the trip so far. Many of the small children looked quizzically at the white Australians and then chuckled at colloquial, gravelly voices of the foreigners.
The congregation have known for some time that our presence here is not simply basketball – we are here to undertake a large food distribution program on Monday in which 700 parcels of food are to be handed out to the most needy families in the region.
The conclusion of the service saw the church hall converted to small production line of trestle tables and cardboard boxes for the packing of the food.
With great help from the church members, the Sports Ambassadors team packed the sardines, noodles and rice in just over an hour in preparation for the morning.
Hedley Taylor was in his element as he lugged the 50kg bags of rice from floor to table in his West Coast Eagles jersey. Nicknamed ‘The Thickness’ by the Filipinos for his rugged, brawny appearance, Hedley has been the silent veteran on this trip, pitching in wherever is necessary and working very hard in all manual tasks.
Many of the Filipino women were swooning during the packing process as Pastor Gary announced from the microphone: “Hedley Walang Osawa” – meaning ‘Hedley does not yet have a wife!’
The excited cheer sent the shy Hedley bright red as he scurried to find more rice in a back room somewhere!
By 10.30pm all the work had been finished and the team headed back for the best night’s sleep they had enjoyed in days.
DAY 7 - DUMAGUETE'S FINEST : DAUIN COUNTY
Game 1: Tanguay City Sports Ambassadors
Game 2: Dauin 58 Sports Ambassadors64
Today was our last day of games around Dumaguete and the Saturday morning brought the crowds out in force. In the marketplace, on the streets and at the covered court we were set to play the Tanguay City team on.
Being an enclosed structure, we thought nothing of the heavy rain that began as we were travelling to the match. The loud noise from the crowd also deafened the pitter-patter overhead. However, by the time we had completed warmups, the national anthem (sung by Stevie ‘Wonder’ Cressiein G-flat) and the starting lineups, the small holes in the roof had let in some unstoppable drops at one end of the court.
Determined to continue as far as possible, two men with mops stayed at one end and cleared the water when possible. Steve Cressie continued on from his national anthem heroics with a smart start, hitting four three-pointers in the first quarter as the Sports Ambassadors kept pace with the excited hosts. By half-time, with the score 25-28, the game had become unplayable at one end.
Steve Cressie, the man of the moment, aptly gave his testimony to the crowd. The young Filipino boys looking for tips on how to shoot like Steve instead heard of his life’s search for something lasting after basketball games came to an end.
Instead of playing a second half, a three-on-three competition was held with Mike Valenti dominating for the victorious Sports Ambassadors.
The highlight of the morning, however, was yet to come. A three-point-shootout between the two teams was organised with sudden-death knockout. Amazingly, the winner was Perth’s Conan Prince, who had entered as a rank outsider who could barely make the distance in practise. His muscle-man celebrations more than wowed the crowd, who screamed for his autograph and some of his protein shake mix to emulate his Adonis-like frame!
A Saturday morning which could have been rained out turned out to be a great celebration of basketball and a triumph for the unexpected.
The final game in the Dumaguete district was held at 6pm on the Saturday night in the basketball-savvy district of Dauin.
The church group who had organised the game had set the facilities up perfectly for the gathering crowd. A balmy weekend night saw entire families arrive by motorbike and scooter-trike to the sounds of a local DJ and outdoor court perfect for night basketball.
The Dauin team were eager to control the game with some ex-professionals on their team and a reputation for winning matches on their home court.
Some early shooting from Rufo Pong kept the Aussies in the game and then Andrew ‘The Clutch’ Stock took over the game. 25 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds only displays part of the control ‘Stocky’ exerted over the match. After sharing his testimony at half-time of the sacrifices that must be made for a Christian life and the subsequent rewards promised in the Bible, Mr Clutch continued his great work in the third and fourth quarters as he combined with Danny ‘The Carpenter (he-can-fix-anything-on-the-court)’ Cook to bring the game to 56-apiece with a minute to play.
The final minute saw free throws from both sides before Stocky stepped up to shoot a long three-pointer that Paul Beacham would be proud of. The win completed a clean sweep of the Dumaguete region for the Aussies as they take off early tomorrow morning for the mountainous region in central Negros to begin the feeding program.
A perfect Saturday for basketball and ministry.
Game 2: Dauin 58 Sports Ambassadors64
Today was our last day of games around Dumaguete and the Saturday morning brought the crowds out in force. In the marketplace, on the streets and at the covered court we were set to play the Tanguay City team on.
Being an enclosed structure, we thought nothing of the heavy rain that began as we were travelling to the match. The loud noise from the crowd also deafened the pitter-patter overhead. However, by the time we had completed warmups, the national anthem (sung by Stevie ‘Wonder’ Cressiein G-flat) and the starting lineups, the small holes in the roof had let in some unstoppable drops at one end of the court.
Determined to continue as far as possible, two men with mops stayed at one end and cleared the water when possible. Steve Cressie continued on from his national anthem heroics with a smart start, hitting four three-pointers in the first quarter as the Sports Ambassadors kept pace with the excited hosts. By half-time, with the score 25-28, the game had become unplayable at one end.
Steve Cressie, the man of the moment, aptly gave his testimony to the crowd. The young Filipino boys looking for tips on how to shoot like Steve instead heard of his life’s search for something lasting after basketball games came to an end.
Instead of playing a second half, a three-on-three competition was held with Mike Valenti dominating for the victorious Sports Ambassadors.
The highlight of the morning, however, was yet to come. A three-point-shootout between the two teams was organised with sudden-death knockout. Amazingly, the winner was Perth’s Conan Prince, who had entered as a rank outsider who could barely make the distance in practise. His muscle-man celebrations more than wowed the crowd, who screamed for his autograph and some of his protein shake mix to emulate his Adonis-like frame!
A Saturday morning which could have been rained out turned out to be a great celebration of basketball and a triumph for the unexpected.
The final game in the Dumaguete district was held at 6pm on the Saturday night in the basketball-savvy district of Dauin.
The church group who had organised the game had set the facilities up perfectly for the gathering crowd. A balmy weekend night saw entire families arrive by motorbike and scooter-trike to the sounds of a local DJ and outdoor court perfect for night basketball.
The Dauin team were eager to control the game with some ex-professionals on their team and a reputation for winning matches on their home court.
Some early shooting from Rufo Pong kept the Aussies in the game and then Andrew ‘The Clutch’ Stock took over the game. 25 points, 12 assists and 8 rebounds only displays part of the control ‘Stocky’ exerted over the match. After sharing his testimony at half-time of the sacrifices that must be made for a Christian life and the subsequent rewards promised in the Bible, Mr Clutch continued his great work in the third and fourth quarters as he combined with Danny ‘The Carpenter (he-can-fix-anything-on-the-court)’ Cook to bring the game to 56-apiece with a minute to play.
The final minute saw free throws from both sides before Stocky stepped up to shoot a long three-pointer that Paul Beacham would be proud of. The win completed a clean sweep of the Dumaguete region for the Aussies as they take off early tomorrow morning for the mountainous region in central Negros to begin the feeding program.
A perfect Saturday for basketball and ministry.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
NEW PHOTOS ARE AVAILABLE !
Photos for the trip can be accessed under...Current Trip Photos....My Photos...
Friday, January 6, 2012
DAY 6 – AMLAN & TANGUAY
Game 1:
Calvary Eagles 45 Sports Ambassadors 61
Game 2:
Amlan City 64 Sports Ambassadors 72
Today was a slightly easier day in terms of our schedule with an 8:45 roll call seeming like a luxury.
We headed to the typhoon-struck town of Amlan, we saw firsthand the damage done just weeks before. The trip to the Mayor’s office and a conversation with the man himself only confirmed the damning statistics of how many people had lost homes, livestock and even family members during the Christmas period.
Our goodwill match against the Calvary Eagles, a smaller community team, was more of an exhibition match than the previous tough encounters we had experienced in the last week.
The match was a chance for the locals to come out and support something positive in their community and the local church was supportive in helping to hand out tracts after Mike Valenti gave his half-time testimony.
The Sports Ambassadors ran out comfortable winners in the end but the town felt like they had made some international friends on this day and we felt like we had lifted their spirits.
An early afternoon swim in the waters between Tanguay and Amlan provided more relief for our players and gave us the opportunity to spend more time with local church pastors and their families who are planting a church in this area at the moment. From here we ventured onto the Amlan City Plaza where a large audience had gathered for our match against the main team in the city.
With Pastor Gary Visitacion on the microphone to rev up the crowd, the match became z feast for the spectators with slam dunks, fancy dribbling and plenty of showmanship for the onlookers to marvel at. Giles Creelman gave his testimony at half-time, reminding the Filipinos that, in the midst of personal challenges, there is always someone bigger than ourselves. In a basketball game a bigger person can be a scary opponent, but having Jesus Christ on your side is the biggest teammate of all. Many of the crowd showed their affirmation by filling out the information cards during the second half and the conversations had after the match were very positive and enjoyable.
The end of the week sees our time in Dumaguete come to an end and we are heading into the mountains on Sunday to begin our food distribution program there.
We are hoping that, with a little more time between games, we may be able to upload some photos from our trip onto this blog.
Thanks for all your prayers and comments so far.
Calvary Eagles 45 Sports Ambassadors 61
Game 2:
Amlan City 64 Sports Ambassadors 72
Today was a slightly easier day in terms of our schedule with an 8:45 roll call seeming like a luxury.
We headed to the typhoon-struck town of Amlan, we saw firsthand the damage done just weeks before. The trip to the Mayor’s office and a conversation with the man himself only confirmed the damning statistics of how many people had lost homes, livestock and even family members during the Christmas period.
Our goodwill match against the Calvary Eagles, a smaller community team, was more of an exhibition match than the previous tough encounters we had experienced in the last week.
The match was a chance for the locals to come out and support something positive in their community and the local church was supportive in helping to hand out tracts after Mike Valenti gave his half-time testimony.
The Sports Ambassadors ran out comfortable winners in the end but the town felt like they had made some international friends on this day and we felt like we had lifted their spirits.
An early afternoon swim in the waters between Tanguay and Amlan provided more relief for our players and gave us the opportunity to spend more time with local church pastors and their families who are planting a church in this area at the moment. From here we ventured onto the Amlan City Plaza where a large audience had gathered for our match against the main team in the city.
With Pastor Gary Visitacion on the microphone to rev up the crowd, the match became z feast for the spectators with slam dunks, fancy dribbling and plenty of showmanship for the onlookers to marvel at. Giles Creelman gave his testimony at half-time, reminding the Filipinos that, in the midst of personal challenges, there is always someone bigger than ourselves. In a basketball game a bigger person can be a scary opponent, but having Jesus Christ on your side is the biggest teammate of all. Many of the crowd showed their affirmation by filling out the information cards during the second half and the conversations had after the match were very positive and enjoyable.
The end of the week sees our time in Dumaguete come to an end and we are heading into the mountains on Sunday to begin our food distribution program there.
We are hoping that, with a little more time between games, we may be able to upload some photos from our trip onto this blog.
Thanks for all your prayers and comments so far.
DAY 5 – THREE GAMES IN ONE DAY!
RESULTS:
Ciluban City 60
Sports Ambassadors 69
Norsu University 64
Sports Ambassadors 70
Silliman University 56
Sports Ambassadors 64
Three games presented themselves today in very different forms. The first was held outside of Dumaguete in the neighbouring city of Ciluban, where the mayor inviting us to her office for photos and then led us down to the court next to her office for the game against her City Selection team. The game was held in high spirits as many locals came out to support their home team.
Their lack of height was apparent from the outset, but their was some talent there to keep the game competitive. Conan Prince gave a typical workmanlike performance, blocking six shots in the first half before giving his testimony at half-time to the crowd.
The short trip out to Norsu University in the afternoon presented us with a very large and jovial crowd of college students eager to see the foreigners in action. The game was played at a very uptempo pace throughout with Norsu employing traps and presses to combat their lack of height. It remained close until big men Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman began to dominate inside and the Sports Ambassadors pushed out to an unassailable lead. The game was memorable for the many students who received gospel information and the fellowship meal after the match.
Perhaps a ten minute bus ride away was Silliman University, an indoor gymnasium with a team of 20 players. They were warming up as we filed in and their energy levels were very high. Fighting off fatigue, the Sports Ambassadors steadied themselves after going down early and at half-time had drawn level with the home team. Danny Cook spoke to the gathered audience about his life and his relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Gary Visitacion also spoke about how he had given his life to Christ in this very building some 25 years earlier after playing against a visiting Sports Ambassadors team.
A concerted effort in the second half by point-forward Andrew Stock and strong interior play from Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman enabled the Aussies to get up and stay up and Rufo Pong’s long range three-pointers sealed the deal.
The team spent some time after the game handing out gospel tracts and meeting local students and church goers who had attended the match. It was a very enjoyable experience to see everybody fellowshipping together.
On the bus and back home to an early night in our five foot beds!
Ciluban City 60
Sports Ambassadors 69
Norsu University 64
Sports Ambassadors 70
Silliman University 56
Sports Ambassadors 64
Three games presented themselves today in very different forms. The first was held outside of Dumaguete in the neighbouring city of Ciluban, where the mayor inviting us to her office for photos and then led us down to the court next to her office for the game against her City Selection team. The game was held in high spirits as many locals came out to support their home team.
Their lack of height was apparent from the outset, but their was some talent there to keep the game competitive. Conan Prince gave a typical workmanlike performance, blocking six shots in the first half before giving his testimony at half-time to the crowd.
The short trip out to Norsu University in the afternoon presented us with a very large and jovial crowd of college students eager to see the foreigners in action. The game was played at a very uptempo pace throughout with Norsu employing traps and presses to combat their lack of height. It remained close until big men Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman began to dominate inside and the Sports Ambassadors pushed out to an unassailable lead. The game was memorable for the many students who received gospel information and the fellowship meal after the match.
Perhaps a ten minute bus ride away was Silliman University, an indoor gymnasium with a team of 20 players. They were warming up as we filed in and their energy levels were very high. Fighting off fatigue, the Sports Ambassadors steadied themselves after going down early and at half-time had drawn level with the home team. Danny Cook spoke to the gathered audience about his life and his relationship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Gary Visitacion also spoke about how he had given his life to Christ in this very building some 25 years earlier after playing against a visiting Sports Ambassadors team.
A concerted effort in the second half by point-forward Andrew Stock and strong interior play from Danny Cook and Fletcher Creelman enabled the Aussies to get up and stay up and Rufo Pong’s long range three-pointers sealed the deal.
The team spent some time after the game handing out gospel tracts and meeting local students and church goers who had attended the match. It was a very enjoyable experience to see everybody fellowshipping together.
On the bus and back home to an early night in our five foot beds!
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