i decided to join a basketball team as part of my exercise regimen...
By allen0187
@allen0187 (58582)
Philippines
October 19, 2012 11:47pm CST
its not a professional one, not even an amateur team but we are playing in a commercial league being sponsored by a major multinational company here in the country.
anyway, i decided to join the team since i really want to be a healthier and more active person. i've been boxing three times a week and running twice a week before. well, both boxing and running, are essentially individual sports and i wanted to be involved in a team sport so i decided to join a local basketball team in our place. by no means, i'm a great or even a good baller. i would say that i'm below average when it comes to shooting and dribbling. what i do have is good physical conditioning and enough basketball smarts to offset my below-average bball skills. it seems most of the coaching staff agrees with my self-evaluation hence i was picked and i made the cut. i was surprised that i made the 15-man roster of the first team (12 actual players plus 3 alternates). we have a second team that joins us in our drills and practices. anyway, i've heard from some of my team mates that there were long time players in the second team that were quite frustrated (some were pi$$ed and yet others were dumb-founded that i made the cut) because i was chosen over them. i feigned surprise and said i'm just grateful to be chosen and i didn't mean to step on anyone. in reality, i couldn't care less. i decided to join their practices and decided to try-out because i wanted to be involved in a team sport. getting picked to the team is just incidental but i do plan to make the most out of it. after all, we have a training allowance and there is a prize for the top four finishing teams.
anyway, two days ago was our first full practice as a team and let me tell you how stoked i was. i did well in the conditioning part of the practice but not so much on the dribbling and shooting aspects. in the shooting drills, each player was asked to shoot twenty free throws, each missed free throw is a lap of suicide around the court. yours truly missed twelve free throws!!! so twelve suicides for me... not problem. i live for suicides, and push-ups, and burpees.
seriously, i think i'm in the fittest form of my life nowadays. anyway, all this basketball practice has eaten up my time for boxing so i scaled it a bit at one boxing session a week. the running i have kept.
anyway, my fellow mylotters, anyone here been part of a basketball team? care to share your experiences? any plus or minus points? good or bad experiences?
please feel free to chime in my fellow mylotters.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
11 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
22 Nov 12
Well done on making the team my friend. I think that it sounds like a lot of fun. I have never played basketball but my son does and I am becoming more familiar with the game. It is not very popular here in Australia and I was not interested in the sport at all until recent years when a friend working for one of the national teams started giving us free tickets to the games. I really enjoyed it once I went to live games. It is a very fast moving game and the atmosphere in such a small arena is awesome!
My brother in law played for years in a local team, but got banned for a year after throwing the ball in the face of the referee! He never played again after that. I cannot understand why they banned him really! 
My brother in law played for years in a local team, but got banned for a year after throwing the ball in the face of the referee! He never played again after that. I cannot understand why they banned him really! @allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
26 Nov 12
hi man!
how have you been? hope all is well with you.
games are going well. played three games so far and won all three. really can't complain. watching basketball games live is really great. such a frenzied atmosphere especially if its a close game.
basketball ain't popular in australia? hmmmm... i thought it was popular because there are a couple of aussies playing in the nba and wnba. so what's a popular sport in australia? football? rugby? horse racing? curious to know.
lol about your brother-in-law's story. i'm also unsure why they banned him in the first place.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
29 Dec 12
hi there rawbill1.
hope all is well with you. being busy is good my friend. the end of the world didn't push through as others may have hoped. more time for us mere mortals to be busy with our lives. we find contentment in making our family, loved ones, and at opportune times, complete strangers, happy. oooooohhhhhhh life!!!!
anyway, saw a couple of australian basketball league games online. i really thought that the game is popular in australia. i don't follow afl. perhaps i should do next year. try to expose myself to a new sport. rugby is something that i watch but i'm not familiar with the rules so sometimes i get lost as to what transpired during the game. lol!
soccer, or football, depending on which part of the world you reside, is definitely the most popular sport in the world or at least close to the most popular one. been able to watch the home games of our local team, the philippine azkals, as i get tickets from one of the officials in the philippine football federation. also been able to watch the games of the local football league in the country as the stadiums where they held the games are close to the place i live. i get to watch the australian a-league games online. most games start at 12 noon or 1pm local time. something that i just leave on while doing other stuff online.
anyway, cheers to you my friend. may 2013 be a better year for us and the rest of mankind!!!
cheers!!!
anyway, saw a couple of australian basketball league games online. i really thought that the game is popular in australia. i don't follow afl. perhaps i should do next year. try to expose myself to a new sport. rugby is something that i watch but i'm not familiar with the rules so sometimes i get lost as to what transpired during the game. lol!
soccer, or football, depending on which part of the world you reside, is definitely the most popular sport in the world or at least close to the most popular one. been able to watch the home games of our local team, the philippine azkals, as i get tickets from one of the officials in the philippine football federation. also been able to watch the games of the local football league in the country as the stadiums where they held the games are close to the place i live. i get to watch the australian a-league games online. most games start at 12 noon or 1pm local time. something that i just leave on while doing other stuff online.
anyway, cheers to you my friend. may 2013 be a better year for us and the rest of mankind!!!
cheers!!!@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
27 Dec 12
I have been really well. Extremely busy of late though, life just seems to be getting busier and busier all the time! That's great that you started out winning, I hope that your good fortune has continued!
No, it is not very popular here. Some of the very best try to get to the USA so that they can earn really good money from the sport. It does not pay much here and many teams struggle financially. Unfortunately our local team went broke so they are no more. This happens quite regularly to the teams in the major league in Australia.
Basketball just cannot compete with well established codes of football such as Australian Rules football, which is the most popular sport and also known as AFL or Aussie Rules. Rugby League is also popular in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, but not so popular throughout the rest of the country where Aussie Rules is everything in winter. In the summer, cricket is the most popular sport nationwide, but it does not attract the same sort of crowds or money that AFL does in the winter.
Soccer is becoming more popular, especially with lots of young kids playing it locally each week, but it too struggles to get the spectators watching it and our local soccer team in the national league also went out of business recently. Horse racing is popular with those that gamble but it is not really much of a popular spectator sport.
So how are you doing?
No, it is not very popular here. Some of the very best try to get to the USA so that they can earn really good money from the sport. It does not pay much here and many teams struggle financially. Unfortunately our local team went broke so they are no more. This happens quite regularly to the teams in the major league in Australia.
Basketball just cannot compete with well established codes of football such as Australian Rules football, which is the most popular sport and also known as AFL or Aussie Rules. Rugby League is also popular in the states of Queensland and New South Wales, but not so popular throughout the rest of the country where Aussie Rules is everything in winter. In the summer, cricket is the most popular sport nationwide, but it does not attract the same sort of crowds or money that AFL does in the winter.
Soccer is becoming more popular, especially with lots of young kids playing it locally each week, but it too struggles to get the spectators watching it and our local soccer team in the national league also went out of business recently. Horse racing is popular with those that gamble but it is not really much of a popular spectator sport.
So how are you doing?
@sinnedsejatnom (1311)
• Philippines
26 Oct 12
You must really be a good baller if your part of that team. I also play in a basketball team and just like you, it's not professional or amateur. Street games and company games are the ones I joined in. What I could share is when me and my barkadas decided to join an open tournament in the university we went in. Varsity players are not allowed to join so we thought we could win the tournament. But, what we didn't expect are those reserved basketball players of the university. They competed and we are in the same bracket. I know we have no chance against them because there is a big difference in height, our center's height, 6'0" is just their PG, imagine the height of their center? What makes it worse is that we are both in the same bracket, which means only one of us can go to the finals. Anyway, we still think we can beat them with our skills and teamwork. How strong they are? They just let one of our bracket teams score only 8 points the entire game. The other teams? lost with 30~40 points. How about us, during the preliminaries, we only got 1 lost and we lost to them by 20 pts. On the semi-finals when we meet again, we lost by 10points. Anyways, it's a good experience for us and great learning. We at least, not disappointed with our performance and be able to gave them hard time. If only we are at different bracket, we could have faced in the finals. At least, we rank a bit higher. In the finals, they won by more than 20 points. :)
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
2 Nov 12
hi sinnedsejatnom!
i'm far from being a good baller. like what i wrote, i most probably got into the team because i was physically fit and although i'm not a real good basketball player, i have a good basketball iq.
thanks for sharing your basketball experience. it seems that team that won the finals is really made up of better than average basketball players. to win all games by double digits is a really good feat. i'm sure given the chance, you'll be able to match up with that team better the next time out.
thanks for participating and happy mylotting!!!
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
4 Nov 12
that's very nice to hear sinnedsejatnom!!!
first game of our league starts later with two games. really want to watch the games but can't because of work. our team's first game doesn't happen until saturday so we have more than enough time to practice some more.
i've seen the uniforms of other teams and they look really great. can't wait to see our own unis. we won't be getting it until later this week. on a related note, got word that i got voted as co-team captain of our team. really happy with that development. also got word that i'll be the starting off-guard and part of the first five. that was very unexpected. really thought that i'll be coming off the bench.
i think my work is cut out for me.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@sinnedsejatnom (1311)
• Philippines
4 Nov 12
Unfortunately, that was our last year in college so we could not join the league again. The important thing is we enjoy every game we played and our friendship gets stronger. :)
@berting600 (3453)
• Philippines
20 Oct 12
That is a very healthy practice you were given a big break to be part of a basketball team.I like to play a basketball but I just play in a friendly game,not
really like the one you are now a part of.When my friends like to play one game,
we hat to rehearse first so that our reflexes could be enhance once we are in the court to play our game.It is very challenging to know I am already holding the ball to make my point,then it just happen it was having a foul action from the opposite team,so I was given a chance to make a 2 free throws.We have manage to win by just 4 points upon ending our game.It was so relaxing to know we have won the game,yet our bodies were very tired.It really helps make my athletic body to its best form.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
27 Oct 12
hi berting600.
well, like what i wrote, i don't consider myself a good basketball player. at most, i would be good at defending the opposing player and maybe just maybe a good spot up shooter. i don't think i'll see much playing time as there are better and more well-rounded players than myself in the team.
i'm just looking forward to doing my part and being actively involved in our practice and scrimmage sessions. in the actual game, i'll just do what i can to contribute to the team to get a win. the whole tournament was moved to a latter date. i think the first game starts november 11.
can't wait!
cheers and thanks for participating!
@berting600 (3453)
• Philippines
27 Oct 12
That is true my friend,that team work makes us more capable to play our part of the team.Sometimes I felt sprains in my knees and arms due to the action in the court,but I must do my part of the play.I can not do much good moves lately.I think this is due to my age.I am already 54 and still active in my game.Think I will stop by our next sessions of games.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
28 Oct 12
hi berting600.
at 54 and still playing basketball... that is impressive my friend!!! i would suggest that you extend your rest periods in between games. also, you might want to do more deep tissue stretching prior to the start of the actual games itself. this will help you loosen up and prevent injuries.
hope these tips help.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@pals101 (2010)
• Philippines
20 Oct 12
That is nice.. keep it up. Just do your best for the team, I'm sure the others will understand and will accept you as part of the team. You're doing well in the conditioning, practice more on dribbling and shooting..
For me as long as you exercise for the week, then its a good sign of being healthy. I do some running too, once a week. Also, sometimes I do play badminton..This game enjoys me a lot.
I used to play basketball last 2 years ago but since I got my accident I stopped. I broke my left arm in a game. I fell awkward and could not get my balance after being push by an opponent dribbling the ball. But hey, don't get me wrong, accidents always happened. This is not to discourage you, I think are you great at basketball than me. You are a strong one, so just keep playing what you loved most..
Update me about the games..okay..
For me as long as you exercise for the week, then its a good sign of being healthy. I do some running too, once a week. Also, sometimes I do play badminton..This game enjoys me a lot.
I used to play basketball last 2 years ago but since I got my accident I stopped. I broke my left arm in a game. I fell awkward and could not get my balance after being push by an opponent dribbling the ball. But hey, don't get me wrong, accidents always happened. This is not to discourage you, I think are you great at basketball than me. You are a strong one, so just keep playing what you loved most..
Update me about the games..okay.. @allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
28 Oct 12
hi pals101.
thanks for the kind words pals101! appreciate the support very much.
i try to exercise and do some sort of sport or physical activity at least five times a week. like i wrote before, i do some boxing and basketball. i run a lot as well. funny that you mentioned badminton. last time that we were suppose to practice some basketball drills, the practice was cancelled at the last minute. me and my team mates decided to play badminton. the place where we were suppose to practice basketball had badminton courts as well so we borrowed badminton rackets and played a couple of sets.
first game starts on november 11. really excited. got fitted for uniforms yesterday. will be rocking all blacks as our main uniforms and a gold jersey with white trimmings and black shorts with white trimmings as well as our alternate uniform.
so sorry to hear about that injury that you had. i agree that injuries are part of the game. these are risks that every player takes. i just hope and pray that there won't be any injuries for any of the players in the league.
thanks for participating pals101.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@pals101 (2010)
• Philippines
6 Nov 12
That's great, as much as possible to try different kinds of sports, you're a sports oriented person, so I think it would be easy for you.
November 11 is fast approaching, how the practice and conditioning. Hope is doing well.. Good luck to your games..
Don't worry about my injury, its heal already.. I thank the Lord for giving me a wonderful doctor who is in-charge in my operation..
-Happy Mylotting--
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
28 Dec 12
hi pals101!
just to update everyone, we ended up being champions in the invitational cup that was just recently concluded. it was a nice achievement considering that we are the newest team and that the five other teams that joined the tournament were the top two teams (defending champion and first runner up) and the other three teams were middle tier teams. the players of these teams are college standouts and a couple are actually former professional players. anyway. we managed to go through the single robin elimination, winning all games. the teams that finsihed second and third had twice to beat advantages against the fourth and fifth placed teams. the winner of each bracket moved on to the knockout stage in a best of three set up and then the winner of that match met us for the finals. by winning all our games in the first round, we had a twice to win advantage as well. anyway, at first i thought the lay-off will make the team rusty but good thing that we still practiced hard and consistently so when the final game came, we won handily as well.
there's talk about joining the actual tournament which starts next march or april. so far, everyone in the team has committed to join. not so sure if i will join myself as i plan on being involved with other sports but right now, i just want to enjoy the wins that we had and not really think about another basketball tournament so soon. anyway, as a team, we still play pick-up games once a week so that is just enough for me.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@toniganzon (72281)
• Philippines
20 Oct 12
Hello Allen! I'm dying of curiosity to see how fit you really are nowadays.
@roshigo58 (4859)
• Pune, India
28 Dec 12
I am fond of all the sports. I enjoy playing basket ball in my childhood. It was a full exercise to our body as well as a fun too. But i have never represented anybody nor i was a very good player. I was playing just to kill the idle time i was having instead looking TV,movie or wondering here and there i use to play.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
28 Dec 12
hi roshigo58.
i'm not the most sport-oriented person in the world roshigo58. i played different sports when i was younger but it was only to pass away the time like you. nowadays, i play sports to be physically fit. the basketball tournament is done and i'm happy to share that we were the champions in the invitational cup. i'm taking up boxing and running and next year, i'll be taking up mixed martial arts and might likely join a badminton tournament.
thanks for participating and happy mylotting!!!
@Sir_bobby88 (8231)
• Singapore
20 Oct 12
I had been a basketball player for my primary and secondary school days . But now i have lost the skill to play basketball well. But one thing that for sure is that my passion for basketball never die . It is still a very good sport to play and keep yourself healthy.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
28 Oct 12
hi there sir_bobby88.
i agree that basketball is a very good sport to play. that is why i didn't have second thoughts in trying out for the team. even if i don't make the cut, i would have still felt good about myself. getting accepted was a bonus that i didn't expect.
anyway, i don't think that you already lost your skill and touch in playing basketball. why don't you go ahead and play a pick-up game in a nearby court. you might surprise yourself and see that you can still play the game. it is nice to know that you still have passion for the sport. i agree that once a fan, will always be a fan!!!
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
20 Oct 12
I don't know if your dad or coach ever said or says this but, have fun! Exercise is supposed to be fun, any sport that you enjoy playing and getting a workout from really shouldn't feel like exercise at all. I played on a team and it was fun, you get to learn from other players and it also helps to know your role. I don't like to look for a lane to shoot the ball, I shoot from the outside, that's where I shine best. Have fun and enjoy yourself.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
2 Nov 12
hi there gitfiddleplayer.
yes, my dad has said that bit a million times... regardless of what sport you play, it is always best to remember to have fun!!! my dad played very good basketball himself back in the day. he also used to coach his office basketball team. i wasn't active in basketball when i was younger so he was really surprised when i broke the news to him.
i do agree with what you wrote about enjoying a sport and having fun as important facets of an exercise routine. i do enjoy all the sports that i'm into now...basketball, badminton, running, and boxing. i'm having fun and i'm getting physically healthy so i know i'm getting the best of both worlds.
as for my actual role in our team, i won't be looking for my own shots. i'm really not a good shooter. perhaps if i'm open for a jumper, i'll most likely take it. i'm not the designated shooter in our team. in our offensive sets, i give picks and screens. that's about it. in our defensive sets, i play a more active role. i'm the designated player to hound the ball carrier and also the one to double team the player in the post when he gets the ball.
really excited for the start of the basketball games.
thanks for participating and happy mylotting!!!
@bhabycatch013 (9150)
• Philippines
20 Oct 12
hi allen,
I used to play basketball during my Highschool day I am not good but I like the adrenalin rush all of your muscle in your body is moving.
I also was fond of watching a basketball on tv or in Liga but I lost interest on it I don't know why
happy mylotting
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
23 Oct 12
hi bhabycatch013!!!
i've watched a couple of games featuring female players locally. i used to follow wnba as well. there's a marked difference on how men's and women's basketball is played.
anyway, thanks for participating and happy mylotting!!!
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
20 Oct 12
that is a great move by itself and you need to be entirely proud of it ,atleast in a way you can increase the growth,stamina and power muscles ,good time for you
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
29 Oct 12
hi there natliegleb.
i agree with what you wrote. getting involved in a basketball team ensures that i adhere to a schedule of physical activity which is always a good thing. plus, aside from the practices and drills that we do to prepare, there is an actual game that also helps me improve my health.
thanks for participating natliegleb.
cheers and happy mylotting!!!
@caopaopao (12395)
• China
20 Oct 12
You are really amazing, boxing, basketball, running... Well, of all the sports you take part in, I only run sometimes. I am a thin person, and I am afraid of all kinds of balls. I feel they are too fierce for me. In order to keep healthy, I do take part in some sports. Especiallly I go to work by bike every day. It took me two hours to go to work. It is good for my health.
@allen0187 (58582)
• Philippines
29 Oct 12
hi there caopaopao.
i'm not that amazing caopaopao. i do what i can to be healthy. getting involved in a good variety of sports is the way i choose to take. basketball tournament starts in the second week of november so there's basketball practices and conditioning sessions for me. i run/jog at least three times a week and do boxing sessions once or twice a week. i've also signed up for badminton games every sunday. this is a recent sport i'm trying to learn and play with a couple of my malaysian friends. fun sport and hard as hell to do especially for a newbie like me. i've also signed up for a circuit training session. haven't worked out my schedule yet but it'll likely look like this:
monday - basketball practice in the afternoon / running in the evening
tuesday - boxing session in the afternoon / running in the evening
wednesday - basketball practice in the afternoon / circuit training in the evening
thursday - running in the morning / circuit training in the afternoon
friday - rest day
saturday - running in the morning / basketball practice in the afternoon
sunday - basketball game in the afternoon (all our basketball games are held every sunday, not sure why. perhaps it has to do with the team/gym availability) / badminton game in the evening
i'd like to get another rest day in there as an additional recovery period but it looks like i have to grind in out for the rest of the year. we will be playing basketball the whole month of november until mid-december. depending on our team's performance, we might reach the semi-final/finals phase which will be played january next year. really stoked for it!!!
biking is really a good exercise. if you do it every day, then you're most likely healthy as you are getting your needed hours of physical activity. pedaling for two hours is no joke. it is a mean feat as you do not only keep yourself healthy, you also keep the environment safe from exhaust and smoke emitted by vehicles.
cheers and happy mylotting my friend!!!
