A league of non-pros readies for attempt at longest basketball game world record

Twenty-four ordinary players, mostly Filipinos, were formed into two teams and will shoot for the extraordinary Guinness World Record for the longest marathon basketball game. They will play for five days straight from March 24 to 28, attempting to break the record of 112 hours and 13 seconds, set by the Missouri Athletic Club in March 2012.

The players come from varied walks of life and different age brackets. Among them are a dentist, a musician, a website developer, an events coordinator, an operations manager, a sales manager, and a teacher. About a dozen college students comprise the younger set.

The record attempt also aims to raise funds for survivors of Typhoon Yolanda and highlight, yet again, basketball's special place in the collective Filipino consciousness.

“Walang Iwanan” and “Bounce Back” are the names of the two teams gunning for the new Guinness record.
 

Staying power comes with maturity

Head coach Johnedel Cardel said having a mix of young and more mature players in the two teams was deliberate. The world record attempt is more about mental toughness and perseverance rather than physical endurance and fitness.

"Ang kailangan namin i-improve sa kanila, siempre 'pag bata kapag sumuko ayaw na, pero kapag may edad ka na may second push ka pa kaya kailangan namin kumuha ng mga overaged like 40 up, 30 up joining the young kids," Cardel, a former PBA player, said.

The players had to pass a battery of medical tests and doctors at The Medical City examined them to make sure they were tough enough to play serious basketball for over 112 hours.

Cardel said they had cut some of those who volunteered to play. They had various medical issues discovered during the screening process.

Over 300,000 applied online last year, but that large group was shrunk down to 100. After coaches' evaluation of the players' basketball skills and overall physical fitness, the roster was trimmed to 30 and further still to the final 24.

Cardel said training and physical conditioning of the players placed special emphasis on developing the players' lower back and legs to improve their stamina.

The coaching staff also incorporated lots of cardio workouts, plyometrics and some physical conditioning exercises and routines from football for endurance build up.

Players' nutrition was also an area of focus, with a high-protein diet developed especially for the players who needed a bit more bulk.

Training venue host has been the Rizal Technological University where Cardel is the coach of the RTU basketball varsity team.
 
The teacher, the dentist and the business student

Maricar “Riki” Convencido, 29, is the lone woman among the 24 players. She graduated from the University of the Philippines where she studied physical education. She is a PE teacher and basketball coach.

“Hindi ako varsity noong college pero naglaro ako sa intrams,” Convencido recalled in an interview with GMA News Online.

“Proud ako sa sarili ko dahil nakuha ako dito kung kelan matanda na ako,” she also said.

Convencido is confident she can keep up with the gents. “Ginagalang nila ako. Mabait sila pagdating sa akin. Okay lang lang kasi sasabayan ko talaga sila.”

Basketball was one of the three sports she chose to focus on while she was in UP. The others were table tennis and volleyball.

Convencido's comrade in Team Bounce Back is Dr. Larry Macapanpan, a 44 year-old dentist whose practice is in Quezon City. Macapanpan also volunteers in Gawad Kalinga.

“I have three teams right now sa Ateneo basketball league.” Mapapanpan said, elaborating on his commitment to sport and fitness.

He plays basketball six times a week and jogs an hour every morning. “Yun na ang pinaka-strenuous activities ko before this. Basically that's my regimen.”

Macapanpan also plays football. During summers he competes in the Ateneo football league for his alma mater's alumni club.

He believes the training they went through prepared them well for basketball marathon and that the players have interacted well.

“They are pushing one another, encouraging. Lahat supportive of each other. I think they made the right decision with these teams,” Macapanpan said.

No stranger to playing basketball everyday is Luis Jay “Baki” Bolante, a third year business administration student at RTU.

Bolante is one of Cardel's wards on the varsity team. He said he has been playing basketball since he was eight years old.

“Araw-araw po ang aming training dito sa RTU, preparation po para sa aming mga liga tulad ng NAASCU at UniGames," Bolante said.

He plays point guard on the Walang Iwanan team. "Pangarap ko pong makasali sa ganitong laro."

The revised FIBA rules will govern the basketball marathon. The players are allowed a five-minute comfort break every hour. No player may get more than six fouls in a two-hour stretch of play. At the end of the accumulated two hours, all fouls revert to zero.

Once the event begins all the players must be present at the venue throughout the attempt. Players not involved in the play must be at court side (except for the five-minute comfort breaks).

The players may consume food at court side. Players shall sleep at court side as well. The organizers will provide the mattresses for the players to sleep on.

The basketball marathon attempt starts at 8 a.m. of March 24 at the Meralco gymnasium and the game will be open to the public. — DVM/GMA News