6th Sugar Ultimate: Simplicity at it's finest
There's not much noise happening a few weeks before the start of the tournament. I've only seen a few updates from their official Facebook page from what I recall and this made the tournament more mysterious. It get's me a little bit curious and really interested on what was going to happen during the weekend in Ormoc city. I need to know what’s the secret, if there’s one. So, after a sweet and bumpy flight from Iloilo city to Cebu, and a three hour boat ride with the living legend, Daddy Liboon and a few players from the Queen city of the South, We were welcomed by familiar faces the moment we stepped on the Ormoc Pier. Some of us went on to their merry way, while me and Daddy, went straight to Hotel Don Felipe for a few bites and for the Captain's meeting. There, I was greeted by the Boss Man himself, Edong Larrazabal with a big smile on his face. It was always great to see this really good friend of mine in person.
The Captain's meeting was located on a small conference room in the hotel. Sixteen team captains were present with a couple buckets of beer and a few plates of calamari on the table. The moment you enter the room you will see a regular table full of paperwork’s and a bunch of tournament kits behind the man they call Maiyk Sabdao, who was in charge of the team registrations. After the meeting, we went on to get a couple more bottles of beer in a 24 hour convenience store, had a few laughs, and called it a night. We went home smiling with a little bit of tipsiness. Went to bed, hoping to wake up early for the tournament.
To my surprise, I did woke up early the next day. Had a hearty breakfast with Edong, Bao, Ral, Tuts, and Chubby, and then we went straight to Ormoc City Sports Complex for Day 1 of the 6th Sugar Ultimate. The shooting begins!
Sixteen teams participated this year, and with teams like Fasa Fuego, Team Blacklist, DBN, Ormoc Cannons (1&2) AWU, and Ultimate Warriors to name a few, this tournament was definitely packed with fantastic ultimate. And as expected, they all delivered a high intensity Day 1. As the sun sets and the Ormoc City Sports Complex lights were turned on, Four Women's Teams took control of the two pitches. The ladies gave us a great show under the bright lights of the venue, But the Mary Rose Larrazabal, Kim Soon led Team, Sugar Babes did something spectacular that gave me the confidence to say that, we truly need more single gender tourneys around the country. With single gender tournaments, you will see athletes who can actually lead a team, has potential to be a great Ultimate player and athletes who can actually play the game in general. What the organizers of Sugar Ultimate did there, giving these ladies the chance to showcase their skills was one of the best things that they did for the tournament. I am hoping that they will do this next year and in the coming years to come. It's just unfortunate that the bright lights of Ormoc city Sports Complex aren't too bright for my trustee old camera and lenses.
Day 2 on the other hand was a different story. The day started with a beautiful sunny weather. Blue skies with lots of smiles from the players, and the teams continued to grace me with fantastic plays and highlights. It was a wonderful early morning that I didn’t even thought of something that will make that day horrible. Sugar Ultimate 2016 was perfect. Well, almost.
During the intense pool B final and battle for third games, and after we saw a small tornado forming from the now dark ormoc skies, right before the Pool A championship game, the most important game that I should be covering, the heaviest among the heaviest of rain dropped right in the middle of the playing fields with authority, giving us a zero visibility championship game. Analyzing the situation and realizing that there was really nothing I could do but to put all my gears in a garbage bag and calling it a day was the worse thing that I ever had to do that day. I still tried to shoot a few more frames, even tried to go near the pitch to get a closer view, but for the second tournament in a row, the rain prevailed over my camera and lenses.
And do you know what made it worse? The moment the championship game was over, the rain decided to leave the premises as well. I, together with the organizers looked at each with our mouths wide open in awe. We got punked by the gods! The tournament ran so smoothly, it was almost perfect. The weather did not cooperate in the most important game of the tournament. There’s really nothing you can do about it. Time to pack up.
The awarding and the after party was held on a warehouse looking club at the center of Ormoc city called the Bistro Bar. With a set of band gears on a small stage, few lights and a smoke machine installed, the teams were so anxious and excited for the awarding ceremony to begin so that everyone can finally go crazy at the after party. And they all sure did. The moment the first of the three bands began to perform, the crowd went wild. I mean, really wild!
What impressed me during the party, was that Ormoc City definitely has some really good show bands. They played different genres of music, from EDM, Pop, Pinoy Alternative to Hip Hop, it was crazy. The whole crowd enjoyed the night away. Kudos to the organizing committee of Sugar Ultimate for giving the whole participants the tunes that they all love.
In the end, what I learned from the Sugar Ultimate weekend was, you really don’t need any bells and whistles to have a successful tournament. All you need was a bunch of great teams who are willing to play their hearts out, marshals who are willing to work for you in any environment, and organizers who will work hard, who will make sure that everything are in the right place, and a group of organizers who will treat you like you are a part of a big family. That was the secret of the 6th Sugar Ultimate. That was simplicity at its finest.
And I absolutely loved it.
Now, THAT is Ultimate!
Until then... More images to share... More stories to tell... It’s All About U!
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