Behind the Baller
Being in the Philippines, you know without a doubt that basketball is in our veins. From full-packed arenas to watch UAAP, NCAA or PBA games, to pick-up basketball on the side of the road, stopping the game every time a car has to pass. There is no doubt this is the number one sport in the Philippines. We are not the best nation in terms of basketball skill, although we are definitely one of the most passionate, which I believe with drive us to be one of the best in Asia.
Growing up in a Spanish family in the Philippines, basketball was not my first sport. Actually, most of my life I was taught to play football, later on switching to baseball and then basketball. My family being huge in sports in general though, we would play all sorts of sports, so it was not as late as you might think.
I did start taking basketball seriously in terms of playing pretty late, probably around third year high-school, largely because of my late but dramatic growth spert, from about 5'7 to 6'1 in a span of a summer break. Though my love for the game started way before that. I was probably 7 or 8, when my cousins and I would play 2k6 on PC for hours on end till we would memorize entire rosters a few months into the addiction. This was always a fascinating sport, comparably extremely fast-paced and very exciting to watch. Speaking of watching, I started constantly watching the NBA at around 2009, when the LA Clippers were the rising team led by Blake Griffin, who put everyone on a POSTER. Proudly been a loyal Clipper fan ever since.
Back in 2015, I started playing barangay basketball with my cousin, and what a ride it was. I wasn't that good at the time, and this is the first real organized basketball I played. Our coach was also our neighbor and he trained us like crazy every single day, at the crack of dawn. Mostly for conditioning drills, we trained on the former SM Southmall parking lot (now a condo), on our village street, and of course practice games in the open court with the rest of the team. This furthered my love for the game, learning the discipline of training, to be able to give something back to your brotherhood, your team. To cut it short, we won third place and I went on to join a college basketball team shortly after, the SISFU Paladins to play ball for three years.
Currently done with college, which includes college basketball, I now have a full-time job. Though, still, I am obsessed with basketball. I listen to basketball podcasts (mostly about the NBA) at work, watch NBA YouTube videos after work and still play every Sunday to keep myself sane. I need some sort of outlet, hence this blog.
In Iced Water Ballin, I will talk about basketball non-stop, going in-depth in the NBA, about teams, players, predictions and more. Though, to make this blog a little different, I want to talk a good amount about the Philippine basketball scene, whether it be PBA, MPBL, UAAP, NCAA or any other league. I feel Philippine basketball, though well loved, could use a little more analysis and coverage. Though I also would like to cover other basketball leagues around the world, with comparison to the Philippine pro-leagues, and the future of these leagues. This will later transition onto video content.
Hope you enjoy the content! If you have any interesting Philippine-based basketball stories that I could cover, feel free to send me an email at: icedwaterballin@gmail.com. I would be hyped to go or accommodate your story!
Growing up in a Spanish family in the Philippines, basketball was not my first sport. Actually, most of my life I was taught to play football, later on switching to baseball and then basketball. My family being huge in sports in general though, we would play all sorts of sports, so it was not as late as you might think.
I did start taking basketball seriously in terms of playing pretty late, probably around third year high-school, largely because of my late but dramatic growth spert, from about 5'7 to 6'1 in a span of a summer break. Though my love for the game started way before that. I was probably 7 or 8, when my cousins and I would play 2k6 on PC for hours on end till we would memorize entire rosters a few months into the addiction. This was always a fascinating sport, comparably extremely fast-paced and very exciting to watch. Speaking of watching, I started constantly watching the NBA at around 2009, when the LA Clippers were the rising team led by Blake Griffin, who put everyone on a POSTER. Proudly been a loyal Clipper fan ever since.
Back in 2015, I started playing barangay basketball with my cousin, and what a ride it was. I wasn't that good at the time, and this is the first real organized basketball I played. Our coach was also our neighbor and he trained us like crazy every single day, at the crack of dawn. Mostly for conditioning drills, we trained on the former SM Southmall parking lot (now a condo), on our village street, and of course practice games in the open court with the rest of the team. This furthered my love for the game, learning the discipline of training, to be able to give something back to your brotherhood, your team. To cut it short, we won third place and I went on to join a college basketball team shortly after, the SISFU Paladins to play ball for three years.
Currently done with college, which includes college basketball, I now have a full-time job. Though, still, I am obsessed with basketball. I listen to basketball podcasts (mostly about the NBA) at work, watch NBA YouTube videos after work and still play every Sunday to keep myself sane. I need some sort of outlet, hence this blog.
In Iced Water Ballin, I will talk about basketball non-stop, going in-depth in the NBA, about teams, players, predictions and more. Though, to make this blog a little different, I want to talk a good amount about the Philippine basketball scene, whether it be PBA, MPBL, UAAP, NCAA or any other league. I feel Philippine basketball, though well loved, could use a little more analysis and coverage. Though I also would like to cover other basketball leagues around the world, with comparison to the Philippine pro-leagues, and the future of these leagues. This will later transition onto video content.
Hope you enjoy the content! If you have any interesting Philippine-based basketball stories that I could cover, feel free to send me an email at: icedwaterballin@gmail.com. I would be hyped to go or accommodate your story!
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