Stream-Flo sponsored team with two employees on it finishes second at Kindersley Filipino Community League event
Basketball is big in the Filipino community. The Filipino community, is big in Kindersley.
“Out of 5,000 residents here, roughly 1,000 are Filipino,” explains Stream-Flo Kindersley Branch Manager Lanny Cook.
So, a basketball tournament in Kindersley hosted by the Filipino community, such as what occurred on Oct. 19 and 20, is a big deal.
“Basketball is like a religion for us,” said Filipino Stream-Flo Wellhead Assembly Technician Jovy Lacson after the tournament wrapped up. “It’s very important and something that reminds us of home.”
Lacson, along with Stream-Flo Service Technician Trainee Anthony Iligan, were two members of the Stream-Flo sponsored team that took home second place at the Kindersley Filipino Community League event a few weeks ago, narrowly falling to the Railway Boys 94-90 in the final.
The Stream-Flo Team poses for a photo following their second place finish.
A third employee of ours, Arnie Mendoza, also took part in the two-day tournament playing on a different team, the Phil 4 13.
And what a bunch of teams there were.
“We had teams from Rosetown, Oyen, Biggar, Lloydminster, Edmonton, B.C.,” listed Lacson. “The tournament happens about twice a year and has people…other than Filipinos play in it too.”
Those other people, mainly Canadians, and mainly white ones at that, as Lacson was trying to delicately put it during our conversation before yours truly and Cook blurted it out at the same time to help him along, have necessitated a change in strategy from home when they hit the hardcourt, as Iligan explains.
“We have to use our speed over height,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve played here in Kindersley with Canadians since 2012 and they are a lot taller.”
Anthony Iligan rises up for a shot during the tournament. (Lens Of Jenus/Facebook)
Jovy Lacson drives the ball up the court. (Lens Of Jenus/Facebook)
But a passion for basketball, and the community that goes with it, is something that transcends ethnicities and national borders.
It’s also a great tool for helping people feel comfortable in a country, province, and place that is completely foreign to them.
“Basketball is big for us in welcoming newcomers,” said Lacson. “When people first get here from the Philippines one of the first things they want to know is where can they play basketball.”
In Kindersley, it’s at the Kindersley Composite High School gym. Every Sunday.
An extension of those weekly Sunday pickup games, the bi-annual tournament goes a long way in bringing the wider community closer.
“The gym was packed,” said Cook, the Stream-Flo Kindersley Branch Manager. “To see the support and camaraderie, it was really something special.”
The atmosphere and emotions that accompanied the tournament were captured beautifully by Lens Of Jenus who has kindly allowed us to share her photos from the event.
Once the games are done, another Filipino passion, one that arguably rivals basketball if not beats it, takes over.
Food.
“We have a potluck after the games,” says Iligan. “Doesn’t matter if you’re on a different team, we all get together and talk about the plays and everything.”
Because reminiscing and reliving those magical moments sports provide, or the insanely frustrating and heartbreaking ones it can deliver in equal order, is also a universal common.
A hard-working connection
When asked why Kindersley has such a large Filipino population, both Lacson and Iligan say it’s mainly because some paved the path before them.
But Cook sees another connection.
“Kindersley is a hard-working community and Filipinos are hard-working people,” said Cook. “They have built a strong community here and our community is better because of it.”
Though the basketball tournament is done, the effects from it are not.
Aside from Cook giving Lacson and Iligan a tough time for hobbling around the past week due to their weekend warrior escapades on the court, there was also some interest from one of the players on the Edmonton team about joining Stream-Flo for a career.
And, a desire perhaps, to see us support this tournament even more in the future as its title sponsor.
“I think if we made this a Stream-Flo tournament it would be wonderful,” said Cook. “We’re all about community and this tournament is a huge deal to ours.”
