REMEMBER Van Halen Parmis, the archipelago-trotting coach who has won scores of “ligang labas” or pocket tournaments in the Visayas and Mindanao this year?
The players on his roster vary from time to time. It is a hodgepodge of displaced professionals, post-college journeymen without roundball employment, potential foreign recruits for the collegiate ranks and even current active pros looking to earn a few bucks during the off-season.
This is where Parmis’ passion for basketball comes in. Not only does he find satisfaction in winning games but also in giving opportunities to players young and old to show their wares outside of the ultra-competitive basketball forums in Metro Manila.
The challenge for Parmis is to be able to assemble a ragtag team for a pocket tournament in so short a time and then making chemistry work in a jiffy.
Judging by the championships he has won, it has been mission accomplished.Earlier this month, he conquered Cagayan de Oro City and brought home another title hardware, steering the Natumolan Eagles to the title in the 3rd Mayor’s Cup event supported by Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental Mayor Paulino Yap Emano with a 100-98 victory over the M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala Cebu Niños on a triple by former University of San Jose-Recoletos and PBA alum Ardy Larong, who went on to snare tournament MVP honors.
The Eagles are owned by Rita May Roa Sabio and Barangay Captain Enan Sabio from Natumolan. Through the years, the players that have played under the man they call “Phil Jackson” have come and gone.
One import from Africa who currently sees action in a top collegiate league in Manila and once won Rookie of the Year honors played for him prior to hitting the jackpot. To the coach, he’s simply called “James Marco.”
Another African, who had just begun his Philippine sojourn, was brought by Parmis to the “ligang labas” world. Before long, he was terrorizing the boards and slam-jamming his shots that Manila scouts took notice of this diamond-in-the-rough big man.
No surprise of surprises, he now plays for a prominent school in another university loop. Then there are a number of active PBA players, including some with All-Star credentials, that joined Parmis and his troubadouring team in barnstorming the Visayas and Mindanao during their off-time (the breaks between conferences) just to keep themselves in shape.
But a local cool cat, who had been riding the bench in most of his team’s games so much so that he still looked no sweat-fresh and his hair neatly placed after every game, once made a grand escape act.
Looking for some “action,” this tree-like but marginal player flew South following his pro team’s game at the Big Dome to suit up for Parmis’s “larong labas” squad the following day.
A few hours later, he was back in Manila to practice with his “mother” club. The Big Fella may not be in the class of Houdini but this local player is one helluva escape artist.
Gladly, Parmis adopted them all in.Basketball, after all, is no boring game. There are the real, outstanding athletes. And there are also the entertainers.
One displaced pro, in fact, earned a short but meaty role in the movie “On the Job” and reportedly now owns a five-year deal with fabled entertainment manager Dondon Monteverde. Simeon knows.
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