TV5's My MVP offers more than just intense
hoop action delivered in a reality sports show format.
Host
Norman Black explained that the show's main
objective is to provide opportunities for talented yet underprivileged
basketball players who were either too poor to enroll in a university. They
also aim to tap former college players forced to abandon their dreams of
becoming professional ball players because of certain circumstances.
When the
show issued an announcement stating that they're setting up a training camp to
accommodate the number of aspirants, the production team was startled with the
amount of people who showed up. Some hailed from far-away provinces, skipping
their respective day's work just to make it to the tryout.
Coach
Norman admitted that trimming down the candidates was a taxing process, given the
numbers and skills of those who auditioned.
"There were days we were having two practices a day plus all the challenges," said Norman, who recently led the Ateneo Blue Eagles in winning the championship in this year's UAAP basketball tournament.
The program selected only ten contenders out of the hundreds who came during
the training camp.
LIFE STRUGGLES. With
the selection process complete, My MVP
now subjects the ten finalists to painstaking training complete with drills and
test all administered during weekly practices. As the show's resident camp
director, it is Norman's responsibility to administer, train and motivate the
aspirants to give their best every scrimmage—not an easy task considering the
fact that the aspiring players are often overeager to prove their worth to the
point of sacrificing the other vital elements of the game.
"Aside from the skills, I'm very particular when it comes to discipline and
their willingness to be coached," shared the champion mentor.
"They already have the skill. You don't really have to be an Alvin Patrimonio
to be able to play in the PBA or the PBL or the other commercial leagues. There
are other factors so we train them how to play as a team, follow directions,
those things."
All of the aspirants have interesting life stories to tell with poverty serving
as the common denominator. Interestingly, this reality gives the program
another element, making My MVP more
than just simply a basketball try-out series.
While inside the training camp, the players at the same time realized that
basketball is more than just simply slugging and sweating it out on the hard
court to score a basket. As they progressed, they all see that playing
basketball can reflect life struggles. And just like basketball, life—if played
with passion, determination and skill—can be both hard and fulfilling.
Co-host Bayani Agbayani pointed out that aside from searching for the next
basketball superstar, My MVP also hopes to encourage individuals to go after their
dreams no matter what the odds are.
"Buhay kasi ng mahihirap ‘to na nangangarap na makapasok sa propesyonal na liga
e. ‘Yong mga magagaling na basketball players natin sa Pilipinas hindi
nakapag-aral sa magandang unibersidad dahil walang pera, hindi nakakabili ng
magandang sapatos, hindi nakakasali sa liga na maganda. Ako ‘yon e, before, so
narirelate ko at the same time kahit ganun ‘yong buhay dapat maging masaya ka
pa rin," says Bayani. His other co-host for this show is former basketball player Jason Webb.
My MVP
airs every Sunday from 6 to 7 pm on TV5.