DUBAI: Filipinos grew up playing basketball – be it in improvised street side courts or indoor gyms.
So, what better way to ward of weekend boredom and homesickness than by joining tourneys that Dubai has no shortage of?
One tournament organizer is Roland Crisostomo, an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who started off coaching and whose team clinched 35 championships after championships. Crisostomo obtained a license from Dubai Economic Development (DED) and in 2014 started holding basketball leagues.
“Malaking tulong ang basketball sa pang-alis homesick at yun iba nakatulong din makahanap trabaho kapag may bagong kakilala,” Crisostomo said.
He added that basketball, aside from helping OFWs stay fit, also promotes camaraderie and keeps Pinoys away from vices.
Popular among the tournaments are the inter-emirates league, as well as professional groups like architects and so on.
Amor Echague, who sits is a committee that has been regularly holding basketball tournaments since August last year, for his part, said they have voluntarily been organizing games as a way of community advocacy.
“Lagi naming ine-emphasize yung team work para di maging selfish, which relates sa araw-araw na buhay natin bilang OFW na kung saan ay kailangang tayong mga Pinoy kahit saan tayo sama-sama din palagi,” said Echague, whose day job it is being a medical claims supervisor.
