School pride makes foreign players feel at home
BEING away from home is never easy. More if you have to play basketball for your education.
This is the dilemma faced by the so-called “imports” of the UAAP, foreign players recruited from around the world to bolster the rosters of collegiate teams in a basketball-crazy nation. Normally towering high above their teammates, these big men have been the hottest commodities for varsity squads.
Playing in his last year, Emmanuel Mbe, the 6-foot-7 Cameroonian center of this year’s UAAP hosts NU Bulldogs, has already well adjusted to the Philippine style of basketball, though he did go through growing pains.
“There was a lot of things that changed since my first year. I was so immature then that I always felt pressured whenwe play,” he said.
But the 2012 Filoil Flying V Preseason Hanes Cup Best Defensive Player has shown a lot of improvement, rebounding from a dismal outing last season and upping his game, showing he wants to end his UAAP career with a bang.
“I just felt that I had to work on my game, and thankfully, it is finally showing its results,” he added.
He then said, “I feel like a Filipino already,” after spending the past six years of his life in his home away from home. But not all imports have adjusted well in the rough and physical basketball play in the country.
UST’s Karim Abdul feels that the Filipinos, being so deeply in love with the game, have overlooked their capacity to improve and have relied more on the taller foreigners willing to play ball here.
“I think it’s a stereotype [for Filipinos] that we (foreigners) are stronger,” the 6-foot-6 Cameroonian said. “Referees don’t call easy fouls on us. The guys play rough, but when we do the same to them, we are the ones who are whistled on.”
He also said that there is more pressure playing in the Philippines.
“Back in Cameroon, we play for fun. But here, there is more pressure to win,” he said.
In their game against FEU last year, Abdul, who led Season 74 in rebounding with 12boards per game, was onhis way to a Mythical Five selection but was called for a technical foul on a rebound play. He was ejected and suspended, eliminating him from the MVP race.
“I still think it’s unfair,” the 20-yearold IT major said. “Despite that, I just try to keep my cool and play through it.”
Abdul also said that he does not consider himself as an import.
“I play here as a means to study. I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody. I just try to do my best,” he said. “We’re a team. We’ve been together for a number of years now, and I’m comfortable with them.”
Henri Betayene, another Cameroonian, will suit up for the Bulldogs this season. Betayene, along with UP Fighting Maroons’ Matthew Ball and Anthony Hargrove of the FEU Tamaraws, will lead this year’s foreign rookies.
The 6-foot-8 center has learned a lot the past two years from NU coach Eric Altamirano and has slowly adapted to his new home.
“It’s a lot of pressure for us to deliver because there are a lot of good players in the UAAP,” he said. “But he (Altamirano) teaches us how to be a good person, and transfer it to basketball.”
Though still battling homesickness, Betayene knows that it is a sacrifice that he has to do in order for him to study in a university.
These foreign players deal with studies, practices, and the inevitable longing for their native homes. But once the buzzer sounds, they will pour their hearts out and leave it all on the hard court for school pride.