It was a fun tournament, but serious play.Teams of Filipino basketball players from seven communities in the region converged on the LeRoy School gym on March 23 to participate in a fun basketball tournament organized by the Humboldt Regional Newcomers Centre (HRNC). The gym was packed with teams and fans early in the afternoon. The play was fierce - calls by the officials were questioned and players went all out to win. But when the game was over, there were smiles and pats on the back between teams, and even a laugh or two among the players. "They take basketball very seriously," agreed Jane Meiklejohn of the HRNC, whose idea it was to hold this tournament."It went whoosh," she said of how the tournament took off with the Filipino population in the region. Meiklejohn had found out from a friend in Saskatoon that basketball is hugely popular in the Philippines, and people of that culture love to play the game. "It's their form of entertainment," Meiklejohn said. "I knew there were pockets of Filipinos (throughout the region)," Meiklejohn noted, "so I thought we'd get them together for a small basketball tournament."She was envisioning a five-team, three-on-three tournament when she first started promoting it. But the response to her idea was overwhelming.As soon as the posters went up, people started registering their teams, she said - and not just three-on-three teams -full basketball teams of 12 people or more. In the end, seven full basketball teams attended the tournament, representing eight different communities - Humboldt, LeRoy, Englefeld, St. Brieux, Drake and Lanigan (who had a combined team), and even Porcupine Plain and Melfort. Melfort and Porcupine Plain aren't actually a part of the HRNC area, Meiklejohn said, "but they got wind of it and wanted to come."Some teams were so excited about this tournament, they bought uniforms for their players especially for it. Others already had their own uniforms, making it clear that basketball, for them, is more than a game.Over 200 people were in the gym at LeRoy School during different parts of the day. While the men played on the courts, women and children cooked and set up meals, and children played in the hallway, making the tournament about more than a sport - it was about community.That's exactly what Meiklejohn was hoping for. "Part of my job as a settlement coordinator is to get them involved in the community, (and) provide some entertainment, some physical activity," she said. "This is what happened."By the afternoon, the games were running about an hour and a half behind schedule, so the participants agreed to play friendly games, just for fun, for the rest of the day. The day would close with a supper and karaoke singing. The supper was catered by the local Filipino-run restaurant, noted Meiklejohn, and the karaoke equipment came from a company based in Wynyard.Due to the success and popularity of the event, this was the first annual basketball tournament, Meiklejohn promised. "We are hoping to do this again."A huge number of local businesses and employers stepped behind the event, it was noted.
