ABL, ALAB in Cebu
It’s a home game we’ve been looking for….for the longest time. Picture this. You’ll have professional Pinoy players, American imports and Chinese players. Playing in an air-conditioned venue before a pre-dominantly Pinoy crowd and with foreign referees calling the shots, two countries will be represented in a regular basketball game. Welcome to Cebu ASEAN Basketball League (ABL). That’s happening tonight!
Cebu Basketball gets started on a high note tonight as it hosts its first-ever ABL game featuring home team San Miguel Alab Pilipinas against the Zuhai Wolf Warriors of China at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City. With the passing of the MBA, the natural deaths of the regional leagues NBL, NBC, MVBA and Liga Pilipinas, a huge vacuum has been left and hasn’t been filled up yet. Cebuano fans have been thirsting for live basketball action at the highest level. The good news is that the MPBL has brought two games of Cebu City/Casino to Cebu twice in 2018. And now Alab Pilipinas has come to Cebu.
Why should we be excited about this? Cebu hasn’t had a game of this magnitude in the longest time. Since it's a first, it’s a historical first on all fronts. It’s the Philippines against China on the court. When was the last time we had a game like this before? Don’t worry. This will be a peaceful game and the Western Philippine Sea isn’t on the line. And since the ABL is regional in nature, this is an international game, just like those played in the FIBA tournaments. The Pinoys will be speaking to each other in Filipino and English while the Chinese in Mandarin. Looking back, we’ve had many foreign-flavored events in triathlon, running, boxing, dancesport and football. But basketball? We’ve had more basketball games with showbiz personalities than the real pro games here, haven’t we?
From a basketball perspective, I’d like to see how deep and talented the Alab Team really is. Although Renaldo Balkman and PJ Ramos have led the team, Coach Jimmy Alapag has relied heavily on his deep line-up that includes Bobby Ray Parks, Ethan Alvaro, Lawrence Domingo, Caelan Tiongson, Brandon Rosser, Pao Javelona, Tomas Torres Josh Urbiztondo, Prince Rivero and Brandon Rosser. Cebuano Oping Sumalinog, a product of Don Bosco, is part of the team but is nursing an injury at the moment. It’s so deep that any of them can start for any other ABL team if the “local import” rule was still in effect. The tough part for Pinoys is that the ABL no longer implements the “heritage import” rule that allows ASEAN players to play for any other team (a cap of two per team). This is why many Pinoys played as “local imports” for almost all ABL teams since the league started. The import rule has now been revised, allowing three “world imports” but taking out the ASEAN imports. I’m also excited to see Jimmy Alapag coach a game. We’ve seen him play countless times in the PBA and for Gilas Pilipinas. His near mid-court triple that knocked South Korea out and sent the country to the 2014 FIBA World Cup will stand out as a most memorable moment. How will his playing style carry over to his coaching?
As a bleacher bum, I’d also like to see how Cebuanos receives the Alab team. I hope we give them a warm Cebuano reception that they’ll never forget. I hope we’ll cheer our lungs out, shout “D-Fense” every time the Wolf Warriors have ball possession and give Alab its much-needed sixth man on the floor. How I also wish we could organize a pep squad for them (ala Azkaleros). If Alab makes the playoffs -and I’m sure they will- we pray that many of these games be played in Cebu. But what will convince them to come play in Cebu other than our beaches? That responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Cebu fans. We all need to make the team fall in love with Cebu; by watching the games (paying for tickets not asking for freebies) and filling up the Hoops Dome; by keeping in touch with them through social media; by following their journey this season; by maintaining a relationship with them. Let’s all make Alab Pilipinas learn to love Cebu. And before I forget, let’s also support Cebu’s local organizer of the games by buying tickets and by providing sponsors who can help defray the cost of staging games.
My ultimate wish is that Cebu will embrace Alab Pilipinas as a true home team. If we can do that, we can even change their tagline to “Alab Cebu” and sing this to the rhyme and song of “I Love Cebu.” So sing with me……”Alab Cebu, bahandi ka ‘ning gugma ko. Alab Cebu, i-singgit ko ‘ning kalibutan…..”
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