Volunteerism – An Art Form in Full Display

The 2012 NABA Inter-City Basketball Tournament, Washington DC

Chantilly, VA Sept. 3, 2012 – NBG

The 25th anniversary edition of the NABA Inter-City Basketball Tournament held annually during Labor Day weekend culminated last Sunday with a pompous awarding ceremony and a promise of continued success and much anticipation for future NABA tournaments, now that FYBA has raised the bar for NABA Inter-City tournament hosting. As an organization of selfless and dedicated volunteers for the host city Washington DC, the FYBA family felt a great sense of achievement and at the same time a sigh of relief for all the hard work, late-night meetings complete with heated but healthy discussions, almost daily practices, workouts and conditioning, weekly fundraising and sponsorship, all leading to the final preparations for the event and its eventual success.
The public was treated to a total entertainment package in last Friday’s parade of teams and the much anticipated Miss NABA pageant, complete with a full production audio-visual setup that one can only expect to see in a major Hollywood studio, coupled with a long list of very promising entertainers and performers to keep the public and the guests entertained. As in previous FYBA events, emcees for the show were Ms. Archie Castro and Ryan Crisostomo and ably supported by the voice-over announcer Mr. Michael Mebrahtu. Stealing the show were the lovely FYBA cheerleaders, wonderful little girls from the FYBA family, with their excellent cheerleading performance, eliciting a thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.

The Miss NABA pageant got underway after the entertainment portion, with the presentation of the candidates, all stunningly beautiful and ably representing their respective cities. Coveting the title of Miss NABA of 2012 was none other than the crowd favorite, the lovely Ms. Isabella Beatrice Franco, representing the host city Washington DC. This is the second Ms. NABA title for Washington DC in the short span of only five years. Amanda Mydlow from Virginia was Ms. NABA of 2007. Very much impressed with the entire proceedings were the special guests, NABA Commissioner Dr. Ron Damasco and Executive Adviser Larry Albano, together with the other NABA Executive Officers. Overheard in the bleachers “…never have I witnessed such a grand opening ceremony like what I am experiencing right now, gives me the chills…” This can very well describe the whole event that transpired Friday night.

Saturday and Sunday festivities showcased the basketball talents of all the participating teams in the different venues, N Zone Gym for the Damsels, Girls, Ladies and Masters, Lifetime Gym for the Open Division, and Nova Dome for Tykes, Peewee, Bantam, Juniors and Juvenile Divisions, with Nova Dome being the main gym. Bringing home the lone championship trophy for the entire delegation of the host city, Washington DC was the FYBA girls team, coached by Abel Leano and Bebeth Garcia, beating the NYFAB team by 8 pts. in the championship game at N Zone gym. Congratulations!

The Awarding Ceremony was held Sunday night with all the champions, runners up and MVPs receiving their medals and trophies. As announced, Newmarket, Canada will be next year’s host for this annual event, with an open invitation from its city director to visit their city. What we just witnessed and experienced this past weekend will certainly be a tough one to beat by succeeding host cities in future NABA Inter-City Tournaments.

All the successes, achievements and glory of what we just witnessed this weekend would not be all possible without the unselfish dedication, hard work and perseverance of the entire FYBA Family, particularly the men and women who, with no hesitation whatsoever, volunteered their precious time, effort and more importantly their hearts to make this historic event a complete success. FYBA has elevated volunteerism into an art form and has time and again put it in full display. This event will definitely go down in the annals of history for, not only FYBA as an organization but to NABA as well, creating the footprint for future host cities to emulate.