Filipino basketball team readies for new season

Andrea Roberts
Times Intern

 

The Strathmore Filipino Canadian Association’s basketball team is gearing up for another season starting sometime in mid-August.
The team finished second last season at the league championship. This season, they will be joined by some players from the Calgary Filipino associations.
“Actually the last time we had a solid group here in Strathmore, we were composed only of Strathmore players,” said Ricky Valencia, vice president of the Strathmore Filipino Canadian Association. “But now some players didn’t show up on the day of the game because they had to work, and then we find that some of the Filipino players in Calgary want to join with us.”
The team will play a series of roughly 10 games over the upcoming season with the hopes of making it to the championship. Although they play their games in Calgary, they practice in Strathmore. But finding courts on which to practice has been a challenge.
Basketball is a popular sport in the Philippines, and Valencia said many of those who moved to Canada brought their love for the sport to their new country. In addition, many of them are branching out and participating in other sports such as golf and hockey.
While the Strathmore Filipino Canadian Association doesn’t currently have any teams for these sports, they are hoping to build a stronger relationship with the Town of Strathmore by doing more volunteer work in the community and making themselves more visible.