From the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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MANILA — In a brightly lit Manila gym, basketball players make daring lay-ups, desperate rebounds and even the occasional dunk — all amazing sights considering the tallest man on the court is the referee.
Its all part a fledgling league in the hoops-crazy but sometimes vertically challenged Philippines aimed at leveling the playing field by setting height limits and removing the natural advantage of taller players.
The Below Six-Feet Basketball League (B6BL), an amateur league operating in Manila, has attracted an enthusiastic following from the many Filipinos too short to compete in the bigger competitions.
"It represents the kind of basketball for Filipinos where they can show their talents in speed and shooting," rather than relying on height, said B6BL founder Nilo Fernandez.
At the B6BL games, the players -- who have to be shorter than six feet (1.83 meters) -- have the enthusiasm and competitiveness to make up for their short stature.
One example is point guard Noel Binalla, the most active player on his team, "the Whammies" - despite being the smallest player in the league at a mere 1.57 meters tall.
"This is really my specialty. I can weave in and out," said Binalla, 20.
Binalla likes the competition and thinks it improves his skills as a physical education teacher and a basketball coach.
But he also admitted he enjoyed being somewhat of a star in a way that would be impossible against the tall timber that normally dominate basketball games.
"I think I can get noticed here. If I joined a league without a height limit, I would not be noticed," he said.
The B6BL is tailor-made for Filipinos who have an average height of about 1.63 meters, according to Fernandez.
"We even have people who can dunk," he said excitedly as he showed a video of a collection of B6BL players defying gravity and slamming the ball into the net.
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This is great news for Filipinos who love to play basketball but are vertically challenged.
Here's the league's website
http://www.b6bl.com/ and how to join.
Full story from the
Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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