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| Photo c/o RMO |
Last Saturday, I had the opportunity of meeting heaps of Kiwinoys, when they converged at the North Shore Events Centre for the Palaro sa North Shore. This sporting event was organised by the North Shore Filipino Community, headed by Tito Bert Ricacho. Easily there were around 600-800 people and not just Filipinos but also players, supporters and spectators from other ethnic groups: Kiwis, Maoris, Pasifika, Chinese, Indian, and many more. The sporting events were basketball and volleyball. For basketball (I always mention this to my non-PiNoYz friends "for short people like us, we just love to play basketball") it was youth 15 and under, while volleyball was for male and female teams of all ages.
I could see that everyone was having a great time. It was also great as well to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones too. Sportsmanship was in the air because I didn't hear nor see of any untoward incidents (unlike in the past when you had older players and they would get to be too intense and physical, to the point of hurting others and involving in fights at that). Perhaps, it was because the players were younger and they were there mainly for the joy of playing and being with friends. However, I did see some heated arguments among the players and the referee, in one of the men's volleyball game, but it was quickly resolved.
And of course, a gathering of Filipinos won't be complete without food. There were a couple of Entre-Pinoys who served lechon, spare ribs, BBQ, biko, suman, kare-kare, menudo, mechado, dinuguan, rellenong bangus, atbp. It was also a great opportunity for Hamilton's pride and joy, Epiphany Cafe, to introduce it's yummy and pillow-soft donuts. Overall, it was a well-attended, organized, and participated event. Kudos to Tito Bert, James Villanueva, and the other volunteers.
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