By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The On D’ Move (ODM) Sports League had a successful road game during one of their playing schedules in the ongoing Under-21 Inter-Town Discovery Cup held last March 4-5, 2023, at the Dumarao basketball gym.
For the first time in their five years of basketball organizing, commissioner and founder Jeremiah Obera said that he was extremely overwhelmed with the new playing atmosphere the road game gave the teams and the players.
“Kanami sa feeling nga naitawid ang amon nga pinakauna nga road game sa history sang pagpatukod ko sang ODM Sports League. Gapasalamat ako liwat sa tanan nga tawo behind sini, especially ang Dumarao LGU,” expressed Obera during an exclusive interview with the Daily Guardian.
After days of meeting and discussion, Obera’s proposal was approved by municipal Mayor Matt Hachuela who welcomed ODM Sports League with open arms in their newly-renovated Dumarao gym.
Aside from Mayor Hachuela, Obera would also like to thank the support of Dumarao’s Municipal Accountant Khint Silubrico.
According to Obera, this format of introducing the road game helps the other participating teams to develop self-confidence and get used to playing in other venues.
Since the start of the Discovery Cup, ODM Sports League only had two venues: The Capiz Gymnasium and the Roxas Civic Center.
Obera also added that road games can also help prepare a player to adjust to different venue factors and not rely on a home-court advantage.
“Para sa mga kabataan, mayo gd ini nga na materialize and road game to present different challenges to them and of course to help them become complete players,” Obera said.
After almost a month since kicking off, MBM Elite remained the only undefeated team in the tournament while Pontevedra, MDC Tony’s Lechon, and Sapian are tied for the second spot with one loss each.
