Edison Macua is a 25-year old 5'9 guard from Nueva Estrella, Bien Unido, Bohol. His basketball journey started at the age of seven (7) in his neighborhood where he often play for "ice tubig" against other kids, be it 5x5 or 3x3.
It didn't take long before his skills were noticed. While in grade six (6), he was selected as a member of his school's basketball varsity team which won the District Meet championship. The team advanced to the Provincial Meet but they eventually lost. Consequently, he was not selected to represent the province of Bohol in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA), a step away from the Palarong Pambansa.
Edison Macua did not find much success in his early years of secondary education. Unfortunately, he was not selected as varsity in his first (1st) and second (2nd) year at Carlos P. Garcia National High School supposedly because of his height and body built.
Be that as it may, Edison Macua did not stop from playing basketball. He took the time to hone his skills by joining the midget division of various inter-barangay basketball tournament with his friends and schoolmates. Of course, playing "pustahan" games became a regular part of his basketball journey.
"Sumasama na ako sa aking mga kaibigan ko noon. Bangko lang talaga ako taga dala ng sapatos at naglalakad lang kami patungo sa kabilang barangay para makalaro lang ng liga. Tuwing lunch break pagkatapos kumain, maglalaro na kami ng limahan. 5 lang pusta namin noon bawat isa noon, said Edison Macua in a chat interview with Ligang Pinoy."
Things didn't fare much better in his third year of high school studies. Edison Macua still failed to crack the basketball varsity team so he instead played table tennis but he only competed up to the provincial meet.
Nevertheless, his patience bore fruit as he was finally selected as a member of his high school varsity team although he only played limited minutes.
"Noong 4th year level na ako, nakuha na ako bilang varsity sa school namin. Medyo wlang playing time pa noon. Makakapasok lang ako noon ng mga four (4) minutes or two (2) minutes pero ang saya ko na- yung kabado tapos excited ka na hindi mo mapaliwanag ang nararamdaman. Ang sarap mag laro kapag high school kasi andaming nanonood, buong paaralan mag chi-cheer sa iyo, recalled Edison Macua."
Edison Macua graduated from Carlos P. Garcia National High School as an Athlete of the Year. Thereafter, his family transferred to Mindanao where he continued his studies as a working student. At that point, it became difficult for him to pursue basketball.
"Napakahirap po doon. Nawalan ako ng time sa paglalaro ng basketball, puro trabaho na kasi pagkatapos ng klase, added Edison Macua."
Nevertheless, basketball still found its way to his life. When his church organized a basketball tournament, he was selected to play. He stepped once again into the court, with permission from his employer of course, and the rest was history so to speak.
From the Church-organized tournament that he joined, he later participated in various inter-barangay leagues and commercial leagues in Butuan. His playing experience in these leagues improved his skills which allowed him to try-out and crack the varsity of Agusan Institute of Technology (AIT).
He was, however, sparingly used in his early stint with the varsity team of AIT because he was new to the system. A lot of other players were also better than him so he didn't have much chance to enter the court.
As he got busy with his basketball training, he somehow forgot that he was a working student. That is why he was regularly scolded by his employer.
"Palagi na lang akong pinapagalitan ng amo ko. Nagpasya na ako na umuwi sa lola ko. Pinili ko ang basketball kaysa pagiging working student ko pero hindi ko pinabayaan ang pag aaral. Nag-aaral ako sa umaga tapos maglalaro ako sa gabi kapag may game."
Edison Macua wanted to try his luck so he went to apply with the basketball teams of the University of Cebu (UC) and University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR). Things didn't turn out as he wanted to so he returned to Bohol to pursue his second course at BIT International College. It was in BIT where he got another chance to play the sport he loved the most.
"Bumalik ako sa bohol at nag tryout at doon nakuha ako bilang varsity. Ang saya ko noong nakuha ako. Mahirap talaga ang basketball lalo na kapag wala kang disiplina at tiyaga. Iyan lang puhunan ko mula noon hanggang ngayon."
Just like with his previous basketball team, Edison Macua was a benchwarmer in his first (1st) year with BIT. He only got a taste of basketball action whenever he is subbed in during garbage time. But that didn't discourage him from striving hard.
"Nagpursige ako sa praktice. Palagi akong nauuna sa gym namin. Kahit anong ipagawa ng coach, ginagawa ko ng walang alinlangan."
His perseverance paid dividends. He won a championship with his team in the 2016 Bohol Schools Athletic Association (BSAA) tournament. As a result, he was selected to represent the province of Bohol in the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) Regional Games against the powerhouse Cebu which was represented by the University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers that was bannered by Rey Suerte at that time.
After competing in the PRISAA, Edison Macua participated in several invitational tournaments or panalay which is very common in Bohol during the summer school break. Not only was he able to improve his skills during the busy summer tournaments, he was also able to earn money which he later used to finance his studies.
Edison Macua played three (3) more years with the BIT Basketball squad. Perhaps the highlight of his basketball career with BIT is when he won the National PRISAA Championship in his third (3rd) playing year as part of the Region 7 team. In his last and final playing year, he became the team captain.
Now that he has exhausted his collegiate playing years, Edison Macua is focusing on finishing his studies. But of course, he still wants to pursue his dream of playing professional basketball with the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) which is currently the biggest basketball league in the Philippines in terms of number of teams.
Keep working hard young man.
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