On the Rebound -- on our second issue (reposted from the Philippine Star)

On the Rebound  THE GAME OF MY LIFE By Bill Velasco (The Philippine Star) Updated September 26, 2009 12:00 AM

The second issue of Rebound: The Spirit of College Basketball, is out on the market, and word of how it has captured the passion of collegiate basketball, is spreading fast. The first issue featured a round-table discussion of sports broadcasters on the most distinguished players of all time. This issue focuses on the contenders from the UAAP and NCAA, as well as several interesting personality profiles.

“There’s nothing like college basketball,” says senior writer Rick Olivares. “We’re trying to capture the essence of all the passion, and getting the inside stories on the players and games.”

The second issue has what many basketball fans look for: full-page photo spreads of their favorite players dueling each other, a bold decision made by the editorial staff after some difficulties with the first issue.

“The first issue was an adventure,” jokes editor-in-chief Michael Yu. “We managed to solve the little problems we had with printing the photos. The second issue is beautiful.”

With that problem solved, Rebound assembled a great line-up of stories for issue number 2. Chris Soler delves into the new migration of African talent into Philippine college basketball, as heralded by the coming of Sam Ekwe, who brought San Beda three straight NCAA men’s basketball titles after a 28-year drought. Sid Ventura gets personal with Mark Barroca. Ironically, the issue comes out after the disgraced point guard was unceremoniously booted off the Far Eastern University Tamaraws. On the lighter side, Patricia Roque turns the microphone on the courtside reporters of ABS-CBN’s broadcasts of both leagues.

“There is just so much information out there,” adds Soler, now also a television analyst for the NCAA. “If we make the public aware of these things and what goes on behind the scenes, it makes them more interested in following college basketball.”

Issue number 2 also includes reports on rookie players, features on selected teams, and even a poignant requiem for the late former Jose Rizal University forward Jayson Nocom, who died tragically in a vehicular accident on July 27.

“College basketball is such a rich subject,” adds Mike Abasolo, who also does historical pieces for Rebound. “Sometimes, people forget the great things players did in the past, which were just as impressive as feats of today’s athletes.”

For close to a hundred years, collegiate sports in general and basketball in particular has been fountains of inspiration and entertainment for the masses. Now, the sport has grown into a television spectacle, broadcast internationally. The market is growing to include websites, chatrooms and blogs devoted to each league, individual teams and even certain players. This is the growth that prompted the publication of Rebound in the first place.

Succeeding issues will put together topics such as a “United Nations” of college players who have different mixed nationalities, and profiles of the soon-to-be-crowned champions of each league. All in all, Rebound is slowly becoming the authoritative source for your college basketball fix.