By Lim Say Heng

BASKETBALL is an elite sport in the Philippines, but it takes on a higher meaning for Rod Nepomuceno.

For the 41-year-old, a basketball game mirrors the game of life itself.

'Every possession and defensive situation in basketball is just like life,' said the regional vice-president of TNBT Communications Far East.

TNBT is a home-grown media company dealing in areas such as public relations and advertising, among others.

'You have opportunities to shoot - sometimes you miss, sometimes you get blocked, and sometimes it gets stolen from you.

'Life is full of these hit-and-miss opportunities and it happens almost daily,' added the 1.78m forward, who picked up the sport as a six-year-old.

And it was during one of these 'hit-and-miss opportunities' that he scored the slam dunk of his life.

Some 21 years ago, the suave Nepomuceno met his future wife Teemy at the basketball court in Palm Village, his hometown in Manila, where the game is akin to a mating ritual.

'In my village, all the guys were into basketball, and all the girls were our audience, hanging out in the park and talking among themselves,' he recalled.

Impress girls

Nepomuceno and his friends would try to impress the girls with their array of fancy dribbling and difficult shots.

'Whenever we made the shots, we would make what we called the 'handsome run',' he recalled, laughing.

'It was like after you made the shot then you feel handsome, your head would be held up high and you feel good because all the girls would be clapping,' Nepomuceno explained.

'But when the girls leave, you would feel a drop in the quality of play because there was no one left to impress!'

And it was during one of these games that he met Teemy.

'My wife came from the southern part of Philippines to study in Manila and hung out with one of the girls in my village,' he recalled.

'I was doing a little modelling then, so I had long hair and I was biking on my racer.

'I arrived at the court to play basketball when I saw my future wife.

'I thought 'wow, she is cute!' and I think she felt the same way, so I was introduced to her and we were set up.'

The two dated a while and drifted apart before getting back together many years later.

While Nepomuceno delved a little into athletics and swimming, it was basketball that he loved the most because it is a 'camaraderie sport.'

So imagine his disappointment when he arrived 13 months ago in Singapore where the most popular ball game is of a different kind - football.

'It took me a while to even find a court,' he revealed. 'I didn't get to play much because I didn't have people to play with.

'Basketball is a social sport, you can do a little shooting, but it will last 10 minutes and I would be so bored.'

Luckily, he found a group of locals and expatriates who play regularly at Anglo-Chinese School (Barker) every Wednesday evening, and also joined his university alumni team in a mini-league here.

But if he is not playing basketball, the self-described 'restless guy' would either be in the gym, swimming, cycling, running or even walking after work everyday.

'Like I said, I am a restless guy, so sometimes I would get fidgety waiting for the bus or train,' he said. 'So instead of waiting for the bus, I would walk sometimes.

Our sporty boss then went on to explain how he took a 25-minute hike from his Tanjong Pagar office back to his home near Clarke Quay the day before our interview last week.

'I like to explore. I am constantly exploring and I get a thrill when I find out that there's a short-cut going to a particular place,' added Nepomuceno.

'That's part of the fun of jogging, biking and walking - discovering these things.'