HW5: CHAPTER 2

Chapter 2

DISCUSSION

What can badminton do as a sport to be successful as basketball?

Adaptation of Filipinos into the sport

What looks like a challenge is the process of making badminton as popular as basketball. The fact that Filipinos was able to adapt basketball first and was instantly mesmerized by the sport itself. What Filipinos don’t know is that there are certain aspects that they can adapt from badminton that can mesmerize them too. The challenge now, is how the Filipinos’ mindset can be changed.The mindset wherein instead of playing and having basketball as the main sport; they could be persuaded to take on badminton. Of course, there should be models or players of this sport for the people to idolize.

The models came in the form of the siblings; Kenny and Kennivic Asunscion are the most popular in badminton back in the old days. They represented the Philippines in badminton events and they were able to win trophies and medals. At the present, now already retired, they work as trainers and coaches for the young and old who wants to play badminton and be strong. They have their own badminton court called Asunscion Badminton court where they conduct serious training.

Nowadays, badminton players who bring the Philippines’ name to compete outside the country are perhaps young and talented and they are nurtured by great badminton coaches. Philip Joper Escueta, Paul Vivas and Ronel Estanlislao are some of badminton players who brought great honors for the Philippines when it comes to badminton. They won championships, trophies and medals several times and pursuing for more for the sake of the Philippines.

Rivalry

Basketball in the Philippines became more popular because of the rivalry of the teams Crispa and Toyota. Whenever the two teams met on the court, the Manila streets are deserted because the people are glued into their TVs, watching the hard battles inside the basketball court. Crispa-Toyota rivalry lasted for 9 years from the League’s inauguration in 1975 until Toyota was disbanded in February 1984. For 9 whole years, these two teams dominated the League with 21 out of the possible 26 PBA titles going to either of the two teams. In those years, the two teams dominated the League, with 21 out of the possible 26 PBA titles that were contested between 1975 and 1983 going to either Crispa's or Toyota's trophy cabinets.

Two of the popular teams in inter-college competitions are between Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University. The Ateneo Blue Eagles and De La Salle Green Archers have met in the championships of the NCAA and UAAP at least seven times. The Blue Eagles won the men's basketball title over La Salle in 1958, 1988, 2002, and 2008, whereas the Green Archers prevailed in 1939, 1974, and 2001.

In elementary levels, the recently concluded district palaro in Pasay City between Villamor Air Base Elementary School and Kalayaan Elementary School battled each other in order to become champion. These two schools fought each other every time they meet in district palaro and people always watch whenever these two school meet.

In terms of badminton, the rivalry between Villamor Air Base Elementary School and Don Carlos Village Elementary School became popular. Whenever these two schools meet in division palaro, people will anticipate the game because their rivalry is so fierce and intensified.

In National Capital Region palaro in badminton, regions around the Philippines battle out for the glory for their region. Ros Leenard Pedrosa of Pasay City and Antonio Pacupia of Nueva Ecija gave NCR palaro a twist of excitement.

In UAAP badminton games, the rivalry between De La Salle University and National University gave a twist in the UAAP badminton. The two teams battle their hearts out for the glory of their team. Carlos Anton Cayanan a national player and a player of DLSU and Philip Joper Escueta also a national player and a player of NU are the two main rivals in UAAP.

Communities

Corporations like San Miguel and Alaska bought basketball teams in order for their product be known in the public since basketball games brought out a lot of audience and popularity not just for the corporation but also for the sport. People who work for the said corporations will watch the game and cheer for their teams, thus creatingand using the concept of a community.

The concept of community in basketball has the same concept of community in badminton but in a different way. Whenever there will be a tournament, teams like Prima, A’s Team, Air Force, Army, Yonex, Asunscion and Magnaye Association battle each other out for the name of their team in front of the audience gathered. These games make the badminton popular this present time.

Icons

Philippines are continuously developing the sports programs and along its progress are the blooming of players who represent our country in prestigious sports events and tournaments in different countries. Each player strives to excel in their respective sport where they attain their concentration.

In basketball, one of the most promising players is Chris Tiu, An Atenean amateur player turned into an MVP, who strove and dreamed of being the best player to represent the country in various games overseas.

In the field of badminton, the siblings Kenny and Kennivic Assuncion attained and were recognized as the top performers in badminton for mixed doubles. They are supported by their respective clubs and by the government through Philippine Badminton Association.

History of badminton in the Philippines

In the Philippines, the sport that has been embraced thoroughly was basketball because of the American invasion. But then again, the sport badminton was created in Britain and America, which was later adopted here. As early as 1950’s the Philippines was recognized by the International Badminton Federation as its 21^st member country. Since then, Filipinos have been playing badminton in international tournaments. In the year of 1949, Adriano Torres,became the first national men’s single champion. In 1952, Philippine Badminton Association was created and became the first national group organized by 28 badminton clubs.

The Philippines achieved its first team championship in the year of 1966 in Triangular Meet, Vietnam through the men’s division by Amando Yanga, Conrado Co, Jaime Gapas, Renato Navarro and Danny So. In 1981, the Philippine badminton team participated in the Southeast Asian Games which was hosted by the Philippines that year.

During the 1980’s and mid 1990’s, the Filipino badminton players bloom through Renato Reyes, Jessie Alonzo, Salvador "Badong" Banquiles, Antonio "Jojo" Mance, Jr. and Naresh Ramnani. In the year of 1992, Melvin Llanes became the first Philippine champion in the Prince Asian Juniors Championship in the 16-under group category. That same year, the Philippines first participated in the Uber Cup games and won over Tanzania. In the year of 1995 at the Australian International Championships, Weena Lim and KennieAsunscion were the first Philippine entry to win a gold medal, the year after, Weena became the very first Philippine badminton player to qualify and participate in the prestigious game. In 1997,Weena Lim and Kennie Asunscion emerged victorious at SEA games in Jakarta and won bronze medals for the ladies’ doubles for the Philippines. Later in 1998, the Philippines ladies’ team emerged victorious over Mauritius at Uber Cup Asian Zonal Championship.

The Struggles of Badminton

Even though Philippines has a remarkable history in badminton, there are instances that the Philippines sports program has tremendous problems. Back in the old days over the years, there are minimal government support that made badminton in the Philippines a difficult to compensate like training expenses, equipments, tournament accommodations and player allowances.

According to Philippine Badminton Association funding and sponsorships were in a case-to-case-basis. There are certain times that the association has no budget at all to support the players in the Philippines. As much as they want to, the government cannot support the association fully because the fund that they give is shared by multiple sports associations. There were times that some officials spend and give their own money just to push certain programs and trainings for the Filipino badminton players.

Filipino badminton players especially juniors, have little or even no allowance for trainings, developmental programs and competitions. Even coaches, trainers and umpires also received little compensation for their services. Officials in Philippine Badminton Association do not even receive salaries and some players needed to stop training and even sell their training equipments or to do additional training and coaching jobs for as little as 20 dollars per session.

Filipino badminton players from provinces who have the potential to be a strong player are forced to stay in their own locality because of the lack of accommodation and monetary support in Manila. As for the Philippine Badminton Association,they are trying their best to help these players at a young age to train and give them support through lodging and foods. But because they cannot support all the travel fees, uniforms and other needs,the players are forced to stay here in the Philippines instead of competing outside the country and wait for another chance to be sponsored again.

Rise of Badminton in the Philippines

Even though badminton’s popularity is declining, badminton players and enthusiasts do not lose hope, instead, they have the passion to play and promote the sport. Academies and foundations like William and William Gabuelo Academy also known as WWGBA, Allied Victor 650, Whackers, Magnaye Badminton Association, and many more also supports badminton and promote the sport to its finest. Annual budgets for training expenses and travel fees are raised and supported by these associations to help the Philippine Badminton Association to overcome the difficulties when it comes to monetary funding. Even though it is hard to promote a sustainable badminton program, collaborations between foundations, business sectors and government associations are working hand in hand.

Filipinos have the talent and potential to be stronger and better badminton players. It’s just a matter of time, before this sport would spurt out for the country’s benefit. As for the Filipino players who train in their local provinces, they are good examples of passionate players who play for the sport that they love. Along with that, the will to achieve their goal is guided through hard work and persistence. Badminton is here to stay and will get the chance to be embraced by all of Filipino citizens for the coming years.