Cabalen Ultimate Open 2016: The Power Of A Garbage Bag
Never underestimate the power of a garbage bag. For three straight years, Cabalen Ultimate Open had always been under the curse of the rain. Last year's CUO finals still stands as the worst, damaging my camera's lcd preview screen which still hasn't been repaired until now. During my flight going to Cebu, I was hoping, wishing and praying for us to have a sunny weekend in Pampanga. But just after a couple of hours in Cebu, I and Daddy David Libo-on found ourselves in a cab under heavy rain with a touch of ridiculous Cebu traffic. At that moment I knew my hopes for a beautiful hot sunny weekend at the Villages will just be as cloudy as the weather now while writing this blog.
At 4:50am, Friday, I and the boys of team Hybrids (Dada, Tajji, Isoy, Dale, Bao, and Neco N. Friends) set-off for Clark, Pampanga. While on the plane, I saw the sun peeking through the dark heavy clouds for a few minutes, again giving me hope that miracles may come true. But, for the second time, the gods didn't answer my call. We were welcomed by rain showers the moment we stepped off the plane. It rained almost the whole day while we were at the Villages, waiting for our rented Villa to be ready. I always want to be on the playing fields the day before or a few hours before each tournament to survey the area, make myself comfortable and plan out a strategy on how to go about shooting the entire event. But, while I was walking down the puddle under the rain, all I could think of was.... Garbage bag. Lots of garbage bags for my camera. Kudos to all the marshals and players of Team Hybrids who helped out in fixing the lines under the rain. Thank you guys!
As expected, the rain stayed on, giving us a wet Saturday morning. But that didn't stop the thirty-two teams from playing and participating in the biggest tournament up North. The teams were ready. My Garbage bags were ready (Thanks to Marshal Alvin Mendros). Time to get to work!
It was so good to be back at the Villages, covering Cabalen for the third time. It's amazing how this tournament had grown from eight teams and two playing fields last 2014, to thirty-two teams and six playing fields this year with over 700 players. It happened so fast that I myself was having a difficult time covering every single team who participated this year. I am definitely sure that I missed a few, and I sincerely apologize to those teams. I spent a lot of time walking from one field to another apart from just capturing all the amazing plays that were happening at the games. Plus, the rain seriously kept bothering me last weekend. I couldn't focus on shooting the games since all that I could think of was my camera and how to keep it dry. As a photographer who doesn't charge X-thousands of PHP to cover an event, my cameras are my whole life. And if something happens to my gears, this beautiful ultimate journey that I am privileged to experience right now will come to an end. I can't afford to get another set of gears. That's why right at this moment, I would like to tell you this, "Do Not Underestimate The Power Of A Garbage Bag". Garbage Bags are Lifesavers!
The rains went on and the green fields started to become a complete mud bath. By the end of Day 1, I felt lousy and disappointed of the photos that I had taken. Yes, I sure did get a few decent shots, but they were not the shots that I was looking for. I kept on punishing myself up to the point that I was not enjoying the whole experience anymore. Call me drama king, but that's how passionate I am when it comes to my craft. I always push myself to the limit just to capture that one shot. I don't care if it's under the pouring rain or under the heat of the sun, but this time, the rain won the battle.
I changed my plans on Day 2. Focusing more on Pool A games most of the day. Though the mud bath fields went from worse to ridiculosly nasty, seeing the sun came out to play was the best thing that happened that morning. The camera had a little bit of moist problem in the beginning, but it turned out just fine the moment the Pool A quarterfinals started. And when the sun is out, the shooting frenzy begins!
There were a lot of amazing games throughout day 2 (even in Day 1), but Cabalen surely knew how to save the best for last. The Finals between Tandang Sora Pleasure (TSP) and the defending champions, Team Hybrids was one of the best finals I have covered this year. With TSP's fantastic defense and disc movement, Popoy and April led the team and made a quick run in the early stage of the game, leading 9-5. But with no time remaining (It was supposed to be an hour and a half championship game, but we got all confused when we had been informed that there was no time cap during the finals) and the sun setting rapidly, Tajji, Dada and the rest of the Hybrids worked their way in a state of urgency and scored 7 straight points to capture the lead, 12-10. It's one of those comeback moments that will be talked about for the remainder of the year. But TSP wanted it more. Tandang Sora Pleasure bounced back, scoring 3 straight points to take back the lead, winning the 2016 Cabalen Ultimate Open. It was an intense, high-spirited championship game. No doubt about it.
In the end, there were a lot of great moments during the Cabalen Ultimate Open weekend just like seeing Botchok again after his Sub Zero experience in the states. Seeing him battle it out against Tajji, and seeing Tajji go head to head against Popoy in the finals, all I can say is, it was truly a great joy and honor to be on the sideline photographing and immortalizing such amazing Philippine Ultimate stars. And it was also such a privilege to see one small tournament being held in a homeowners public park back in 2014 to be one of the biggest tournaments in the country today. The pleasure was definitely all mine seeing all those amazing things happen through my lenses.... whether it's under the pouring rain or under the heat of the sun.
Until then... More images to share. More stories to tell... It's All About U!
See you all in Ormoc and Bohol!
For more photos:
0 comments: