MANILA, Philippines – A few days after helping the Ateneo Blue Eagles bag its third straight UAAP men’s basketball title — and 11th in the league — center Angelo Kouame was at the San Jose Seminary in Quezon City for a basketball clinic for 20 special kids.
The clinic for kids with special needs was conducted by members of Ateneo’s Management Engineering Batch 1979 with a lot of help from Whitey Lopa, Jeremy Randell Go, Benjie Go, Marivi Cabason, Lisa de Jesus-Marquez, Alex Mallare, Dan Gonzalez, Ben and Malu Tangco, Chiqui Francisco and Jolly Morata.
Said Guillermo Francisco, one of the clinic’s organizers: “This had been a project that was in my mind for the past couple of years. I have a special needs son, Rafael, 32 years old, who fell in love with the sport of basketball in Vancouver, Canada. He is part of the DCYBA-Integrated (Developmentally Challenged Youth Basketball Association), a group of special needs kids together with volunteers and parents, who play recreational basketball every Monday. Raffy is also part of the Special Olympics Division C team of Richmond, BC, where we live. Tuesday night is when they practice and this is where I found myself volunteering as assistant coach.”
Added Francisco: “Basketball has been good to Raffy. He has a mild case of cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. He has challenges as well with his fine motor and coordination. But because of basketball, he has overcome many of these physical limitations. Basketball gave him a sense of confidence and has made him a very social, lovable and happy kid.”
“In connecting with my ME79 batch mates, I discovered that I had two classmates who also had kids with mental disabilities. Together with other ME79 classmates, we thought that we could try a pilot basketball clinic for special needs and see if there would be any interest. Marivi reported that there were at least 16 kids that wanted to play. Some of the kids had never played before. So we scheduled the clinic for November 23, one week after our ME 50th Homecoming. From that point on, all our stars aligned itself. We found generous donors of basketballs, water bottles, t-shirts and willing volunteers. The covered court at the San Jose Seminary was reserved by Jolly Morata of the Office of Admissions and Aid of the Ateneo de Manila University.”
The kids were taught the basics of dribbling, passing and shooting.
Kouame scrimmaged with the children and also took the time to pose for pictures and sign autographs.