LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Perlas Pilipinas point guard/forward Merenciana “Ewon” Arayi travelled the narrow and inclining roads leading to Bineng, here, to conduct the first ever Jr. NBA basketball clinic held at the barangay level in Benguet last Black Saturday, April 15, 2017, which also coincided with the barangay’s holding of their fiesta.
Arayi gamely sweated out under the scorching morning sun to attend to some 26 young basketeers who answered the invitation as the morning drills were held in the open court of the Bineng Elementary School.
Arayi demonstrated and taught the young cagers the basic basketball skills like dribbling, passing, shooting and defending. She gave them a taste of what big name school athletes and professional players usually had to endure to hone their skills.
“We see some players here that have the right skills to win games but cannot perform at a higher level of competition because they either lack the basic skills or did not take steps to improve them”, she said of her young trainees, who many of them did not experienced any form of formal hoops training until meeting Arayi and her Jr. NBA team this day.
Roy Lamsis, Jr, a college student, and Justin Kurt Lerot, a grade three pupil, two of the participants whom Arayi singled out having shown solid display in performance of the drills, said they never had the change to be involved in any training or competition outside of their game experiences in the barangay and in elementary school level.
The morning drills was followed by a noon session for proper conditioning and endurance building, where Arayi showed her trainees exercises consisting of constant movement and stretching techniques which can not only develop endurance but also improve one’s lateral movement.
Aside from giving the basketball trainings, Arayi always emphasized the need for love of camaraderie and character development. She highlighted the need of the trainees’ respect for the game, the hardcourt and their teammates. She encouraged the participants to aim to make their teammates better, respect game officials, and even reprimanded one participant who spit on the court.
“The measure of how good a player is not on how many points he or she scores but rather how that player made his or her teammates better”, she stressed.
She also accentuated the trainees’ need to be thankful to God for the opportunities given to them and their parents for their support.
“You are in a better position than me when I was at your age because you have a [decent] court to play on. Where I came from, I had to play on a muddy court. That’s why you need to acknowledge the blessings that God gave you and the resources [other people made] for your benefit”, she continued.
On the other hand, the participants and the barangay officials find the clinic meaningful and enjoyable that the requested her for the conduct of more clinics in the future which she gladly acceded to.
The Jr. NBA Basketball clinic was presented by Alaska, in coordination with Barangay Bineng and Cris Bansan.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
OTHER SIGHTS (All photos by ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS):
