Day 4 – FIRST DAY IN NEGROS ORIENTAL : 2 GAMES

The 7.25am flight to Dumaguete saw us meet Pastor Gary Visitacion, a bull of a man who has been running sports ministry in the Philippines for more than 25 years. He had scheduled two games for us on this day, a seaside game out in rural Dumaguete and a game against the City team during the evening.

The drive out to the seaside village in a jeepney (large Filipino bus) was great for team unity and the people of the town greeted us warmly. For the large majority of the crowd gathered there it was the first time they had met someone from Australia. The game was played by the sea, with a stray pass sending the ball into the water! No problem at all. The ball was dried off and we began again!

The Sports Ambassadors prevailed against Antonio Ramas 56 -50 in a game that saw excellent performances from Conan Prince and Michael Valenti. Steve Cressie gave his testimony as Pastor Gary translated his words into the local dialect for the people.

The afternoon saw us meet the mayor of the city of Dumaguete in his office and this provided photo opportunities for the local press as well as cross-cultural gifts and pleasantries to be exchanged. The mayor even organised a motorcade around the city to raise publicity for the night game with an announcer calling out the details to all onlookers!

The game at the Dumaguete Plaza began at 6pm and a day that had begun overcast gave way to a clear, hot night in the middle of the city against the best that Duamaguete could offer. The opposing players were great shooters but were overawed by the height and strength of the Australian players and every time Fletcher Creelman threw down a slam dunk the crowd went crazy! The Filipinos replied by shooting three pointers from long range and the match was very close throughout.

When Hedley Taylor gave his testimony at half-time the large crowd listened intently to his life story and his life as a Christian. Many Christians from the local churches, who had been instrumental in setting up the high-profile match were clearly moved by what he had to say.

The handing out of gospel tracts took quite some time and the game resumed at break-neck speed. Clutch shooting from Andrew Stock and timely steals from Rufo Pong kept the game in the Aussies favour until the Dumaguete team rallied behind more long range shooting.

The score was 92-90 in favour of Dumaguete when Steve Cressie hoisted a three-pointer for the winner with 8 seconds on the clock – it rimmed out but was thrown home by Fletcher Creelman to tie the scores at 92 apiece.

The Filipinos threw the ball the length of the floor as every player raced back down the other end and a great catch and finish by Dumaguete’s best player sealed the game as the final siren sounded –
Dumagete City 94-92 Sports Ambassadors

The crowd loved the game and it was a special night for everyone involved. The church leaders were happy, both teams were happy and the mayor was happy.

We left there with out heads held high knowing that we had provided a great contest in which we had lost the game but won the people.