We played another game last Saturday for the Gillette MBL Cup, and we lost, heartbreakingly, by a point. The slimmest of margins. I can't believe we lost that game, leading by 8 points 2 minutes remaining. Then, like we did the whole game, we let them hit open shots through fastbreaks and 3 point shots. Unbelievable. We just couldn't play defense. Leading by 2 with 26 seconds remaining, the other team played for a 3 point shot -- and it went in.

We actually had a chance to win the game. 1.3 seconds remaining. Our best player asks for the ball, and we give it to him. We execute a perfect inbound, a perfect pass thrown close to the basket. Alley-oop. So open. Missed. Oh well.

It was a good shot that just didn't go in. Tough break. If we won that game we would be the leaders in the standings right now, perfect 3-0 record with 2 games left in the eliminations. Instead we're bunched in the middle with the other teams now.

Amazingly, I don't feel bad about the loss. Sure, it was disappointing at first, but I'm thinking we deserved that defeat, to humble us. I felt that if we had won, it would have gone to our heads, and we wouldn't be playing hard the rest of the eliminations. Alright, I really AM just making excuses. We lost fair and square. Play better next game. Simple as that.

--

The time is 9:08 AM, and I'm still at work. I've already rendered more than 3 hours' overtime, trying to finish my transition documents. I'm moving most of my workload to my teammates, because next month, I'll be a morning person again, 5AM - 2PM. That's off-business hours to our friends in the States, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be working less. Ah, the nature of an outsourced job. My body will never behave the same again, changing schedules every so often.

I just visited my cousin's blog, where he wrote about his escapades in his short visit to CDO. He wrote it so well that I started feeling homesick. I missed my sisters. I missed my friends. I missed my school. I missed my favorite hangouts. I missed driving my car. However, I still feel like I belong here in Manila. Cagayan de Oro is too small for me to realize my too-big dreams, but it will always be a place where I want to go back. Someday, I'll return and stay for good. Where my final sun will set.

Manila is my stepping stone. The launchpad to the stars. My job, my work, all tiny pebbles that cause ripples resonating in a big pond. And my girlfriend lives here. It seems my heart has found its place too. I always smile when I think about Caren. :) (See?)

I'm not really sure why I'm writing about my hometown and Manila all of a sudden. Maybe nostalgia, maybe because I owe it to myself, maybe I have brain fart. It's just that sometimes, I need reasons to fill in the gaps to my story, and I always find answers when I look back to where I come from. 'Lumingon sa pinanggalingan.' Sounds like a good plan. And when I think like this, I also think about my other friends who have left CDO to fuel their dreams -- Aldion, Nat2x, Ron Michael, my cousin Gio, the Girls - Girlie, Jan2x. Everybody else. Everyone is chasing something. But do we all really know what it is? I doubt it. But I'm hoping it doesn't stop any one of us from going on. Because when I seem them keeping at it, I'm inspired to do so myself. And it feels good.

This entry was posted 8/23/2005 08:59:00 AM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.