Hanging the net.

Basketball is the national sport. It's something I enjoy a lot myself, even though I was about twice as old as the rest of the players. Lyn's brothers and Ate Rosie's sons were ready to play each morning, but I told them I could only play in the evenings. I had to wait till close to sunset because of my fair skin. The Tubas court was unusable, but there was a court in the next Barangay which I thought was actually a better location. Though the pavement was more uneven, the Tubas court had a steep drop off on one side. Also, the Tubas court rims lacked hooks to hang the nets from. I brought two new nets with me thinking that we could figure out some way of hanging them. Switching to the other court allowed us to easily hang the nets. But without a normal ladder, Jun-jun used Randy as a ladder and stood on his shoulders as he looped the net around the hooks. However, by the time both nets were hung, Randy was sweating profusely.

Trying to take a shower after the game.

Everybody always liked it when I, the "kano", played basketball, because there were cold soft drinks given out afterwards. Throughout the day they would keep asking if it was time for basketball. When the evening came and I started walking along the road to the court, I would always be trailed by my fan club. Showers were another popular event; I was never able to take one without an audience. Once, after I finished my shower to a standing room only crowd, I started walking away. Joel started his shower and saw everybody leaving. He shouted out "isn't anybody going to watch me". "No", someone said, "you're not the kano".

One day I walked down to the court wearing my hat. Not wanting to set it down somewhere and risk loosing it, I planted it on top of Bella's head. When I saw it again the next day it had been washed and was spotlessly clean. What a wonderful sister-in-law! Then again, all my "in-laws" have treated me wonderfully.

Around the second day in Tubas, I came down with a cold. It was minor, but still it made me feel crumby and took away my energy. Basketball helped me clear out my sinuses some and made me feel better. To help fight the cold symptoms, I tried to find some antihistamines. I walked from tiny store to tiny store in Tubas and the next barangay. A few stores had various types of pills, but again with no instructions or expiration date. I took a chance on one type of pill with some success.

The court where I fractured a bone in my foot.

It was hotter and more humid in Tubas than two years ago during our last trip. This made the games more tiring. Additionally, the games were played with a strange strategy. The ball would be pushed up and down the court at a frantic pace. Someone would get a rebounded shot and loft a long pass. Sometimes it would be intercepted, sometimes deflected out of bounds, sometimes the receiver lost it out of bounds, and even sometimes the pass was completed. Success or not, the players all had a great time and there was frequent laughter on the court (something you almost never hear on an American court).

I have not played basketball regularly in sixteen years. However, I was improving for the most part with each session. Additionally, I was taking my hits. I jammed a couple fingers, which swelled up. I slipped on a wet portion of the court and scraped my knee and palm. When it happened it was covered in mud. I thought I had gotten off without harm until I walked over to the side of the court and washed off the mud, to reaveal the bloody wounds.

The culmination was my last game in Tubas. Tito and Rea arrived and were going to take us back to Manila the next day. We had been playing a long time without a break. It was a tight game and both teams had started to use a more controlled, walk the ball up the court approach. Even so, I was still exhausted. My teammates even wanted me to bring the ball up the court, which I really didn't want to do. I was trying to save myself for offense and defense. I kept hoping for a break in play that didn't come. Maybe the cold and the hot humid days had taken their toll. Maybe I hit an uneven spot in the pavement. Maybe I just tripped over my clumsy feet. Anyway, I tried to cut and my foot folded under me. I heard a snap and it scared me. I tried to signal that was it; I wasn't playing anymore. But they didn't understand. Then, I remembered that I had always tried to "walk off" a sprained ankle, keep moving and it wouldn't be so bad. Actually, the pain was much less than I thought it would be. I decided to finish out the game.

Afterwards, I walked back to the house, went over to the well to take my shower, came back and sat down propping up my foot. An hour later I noticed a lump forming on top of my foot. I asked for some ice and received a couple of oddly shaped pieces. That brought the swelling down. Next came the suggestions on how to treat the foot. Nanay said to put hot leaves on it. Someone else said we should find this person who could massage the foot to put everything back in its proper place. I tried to politely refuse those treatments. The lack of first-aid knowledge was amazing. I remembered when I had asked at the stores for antihistamines and/or cold pills and they didn't know what they were. This was a subject that didn't seem to be taught in the schools. Even so, everything was fine for the first sixteen hours. Once we started to leave Tubas, however, my foot got worse and didn't get better for the rest of the trip.

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