By: Butch Galicia
Canada’s only pro hoops five, the Toronto Raptors (est. 1995) succumbed 2-4 in lopsided losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals on May 27.
Without doubt, head coach Tyronn Lue, LeBron James and the Cavs have asserted supremacy in the NBA’s Eastern Division and have maintained the team’s image as one of the best championship teams south of the border.
The Raptors might have missed bringing the rock back to its roots. However, the quest lives on.
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From up high, Dr. James Naismith would surely be smiling and be so proud to witness how far basketball has fared among the young in his native land and among those who represent Canada’s Raptors.
Born in Almonte, Ontario, Canada on November 6, 1861, Naismith invented basketball in 1891, a year after moving from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec to the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he also served as a physical education instructor.
What Naismith crafted out of two peach buckets and a soccer ball was first played crudely by students. Back then, basketball was simply a school indoor activity aimed at whiling the winter blues away.
In time, basketball players, officials and enthusiasts have honed and have raised the game to a level so as to be a professional sport of global interest and an Olympic event.
Naismith’s first 13 game rules had to be changed.
If he were alive today, I am sure he would have acknowledged the improvements.
Moreover, I am certain that he also would have been very glad, like Raptors fans and supporters across Canada, to see Toronto clinch an NBA title.
So sad, the hard task to bring the rock back to its roots came to an end on May 27. However, the quest lives on.
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By this time, roars of “WeDINOrth” and “Let’s go, Raptors!” have long died down at outdoor Jurassic Park and in the Air Canada Centre.
Yet, candid talks are still going on and are not about to fade, for quite a long time, on how two-time NBA All Stars Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan and a talented bench steered a Toronto Raptors team to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Statistics, only pulled out from the archives for occasional due diligence, have become moot and academic. Only the fact that the Raptors under coach Dwane Casey had a very good and fruitful NBA season matters.
The Raptors might not have ably brought the rock back to its roots; but “we believe” the quest lives on.
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Change is coming! So it was loudly yelled, proudly boasted and firmly assured in every nook and cranny of the Philippine archipelago before the May 9 national elections.
Truly, a change of watch for the Republic of the Philippines is coming by noon of June 30, when elected President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo will take their individual oaths of office which goes: “I,_______________, do solemnly swear before the people that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President [or Vice-President] of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.”
I cannot fathom why my friend Randy, an avid supporter of Duterte, hopes the incoming prexy will not swear during the inauguration ceremonies.
Randy, an anti-corruption and good governance advocate, also prays to high heavens to guide CK politicians with bad habits. CK? It’s Certified Kasumpa sumpa! He insists that the last sentence of their oath should be in Tagalog and should read: “Kasuhan nawa ako ng Diyos.” Vox Dei, vox populi?
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Long before the presidential inauguration comes June 12. Before I forget, A MEANINGFUL PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE DAY!
After June 30 comes July 1. Before I forget, HAPPY CANADA DAY!
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Change is coming! New faces will surely surface among all those in the Cabinet and other government posts attached to the Office of the President.
Loyal and trusted classmates, colleagues, friends and big-ticket political supporters will be asked and be made to occupy choice public offices with huge budgets paid for by taxpayers.
Indeed, the usual negative reaction aptly points to the phrase “to the victor belong the spoils” that New York Senator William Marcy used to refer to the victory of the Jackson Democrats in the election of 1828, with the term spoils meant to be the goods or benefits taken from the loser in that election.
Yahoo! Answers says the phrase “accurately described the spoils system of appointing government workers. Each time a new administration came into power thousands of public servants were discharged and members of the victorious political party took over their jobs.”
Court be like, I say let us give those in authority the chance to prove themselves worthy of their titles and offices … beyond reasonable doubt.
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Biruan sa barberya.
Mokong: Pare, kumusta? Pasok ka na sa bagong Aparador?
Bitoy: Eeoooowwww! Ang daming ipis sa loob!
Mokong: Ipis lang pala, nandidiri ka na?
Bitoy: Yung ipis, tolerable. Eh, yung pinapatungan nilang buwaya?
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However, as far as Johnny is concerned, there is nothing to worry about as this same old, same old practice has replaced the vetting process eons ago. “People are used to it.”
But Mitch has some reservations: “A word of caution, Johnny. The people you refer to are the many who still have no stable jobs; the pitiful lot who still go hungry, are barely clothed and sleep under the elements; and those who still feel that the government has left them to fend for themselves. Under the circumstances, these people will only understand the language of their ill state and poverty. When communication bogs down between the people and their leaders, simply remember Mt. Pinatubo.”
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Napag-uusapan lang sa pansitan.
Saul: Pare, mukhang masaya na sa Pilipinas. Ano’ng prognosis mo?
Solomon: Prognosis? Ano ‘yun, makakain?
Saul: Ay, ambot! Prognosis is defined either as a forecast of the likely course of a disease or ailment or a forecast of the likely outcome of a situation.
Solomon: Alin sa nabanggit, ‘yung una o ‘yung pangalawa?
Saul: Saba diha! Para sa iyo, any of the two will do.
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A philosopher once said that change is the only permanent thing in this world.
Change will surely come. There is no need to text and tell everyone “W8 ka lang, ha.”
When it takes place, change – promised or not – should better be good and must be geared for the best of the Filipino people and the nation.
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Pero mas may patotoo ang wikain ni Pareng Mike na isang jeepney driver sa lansangan ng Maynila.
Araw-araw, sa ginawa ni Bathala, lagi niyang paalala sa kanyang mga pasahero: “Barya lang po sa umaga.”
Welcome talaga sa kanya ang change every morning. butchgalicia@yahoo.com