Standing the test of time: Hardcourt friendship blossoms into business venture

CEBU, Philippines — They were collegiate basketball stars at their respective leagues on opposite sides of the country in their heyday.

Through that common ground - and both bankers at that, they formed a bond that transcends beyond the playing court and eventually blossomed into something special in the field of business.

That’s the storyline of Cebuano ballers Paul Alelu Flores and Joven Cid Cortes in establishing the NorthSports Apparel, a one-stop shop for specialty basketball jerseys, authentic shoes, gym equipment, trophies and medals among other sporting goods that formally opened its doors to the public yesterday.

Located just beside Jollibee in Barangay Poblacion Oriental, Consolacion town north of Cebu, NorthSports also offers a wide array of sports uniforms, full sublimation jerseys, t-shirts, polo shirts, and shorts.`

“Me and my partner were both bankers and a friend since our basketball pick-up games,” shared Flores, a two-time University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champion with the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws back in mid-2000s. “Then because of the same passion, we talked and tried to put up this business.”

Cortes, a four-time Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) All-Star while donning the trademark green and gold uniform of the University of San Carlos (USC) Warriors nearly a decade ago, spoke the same of their humble beginnings.

Doing business entails a lot of challenges, but what hit them the hardest was the outbreak of the global health crisis brought by Covid-19 in March 2020, just a few months after their fledgling enterprise took off.

“We had to shut down our shop for a while because of the pandemic and then transferred it to another place as we could not sustain it in the long run knowing the uncertainty of the situation,” said Flores, who once played alongside PBA superstar Arwind Santos during his golden years with FEU where they won back-to-back UAAP titles in 2004 and 2005.

But armed with resilience and positivism in the face of adversity, Flores and Cortes took their frustrations constructively and eventually used it as a ladder to breathe new life into their entrepreneurial spirit.

“It was a big challenge for us. We just opened our business and in three months the pandemic broke out,” Cortes recalled. “But we kept on pushing. We didn’t quit. We have employees and they also have families to feed.”

Flores chimed in, ”During those hard times, we did not think of gaining income. What matters most for us is how to survive and be not among those who will close shop for good knowing that a lot of businesses, big or small, were wiped out at that time. And of course, we want to help our employees on their basic needs.”

“We’re just so blessed and fortunate enough that some well-meaning friends, relatives and clients helped us get through the difficult situation and keep us afloat. Looking back from that moment, we only cling on to hope that everything will be fine one day,” Flores continued.

Now that things are slowly getting back to normal, a new hope has dawned on the tandem of Flores and Cortes.

“Because of pandemic, we were forced to innovate and come up with new products. We hope that basketball and sports enthusiasts especially from Consolacion and the northern part of Cebu will try our affordable and quality products. They will surely get their money’s worth,” assured Cortes.

“In time, we realized that God’s plan is bigger than our plan,” Cortes ended.