Steinbach's growing Filipino diaspora created their own basketball league, then opened it to all
After being warmly welcomed to Steinbach, Filipinos give back by welcoming others to their love of basketball
Alex Thiessen was used to watching Steinbach's only basketball league from the sidelines.
It was the next best thing to actually playing in the competitive recreational league with many of his buddies. He was good enough to play, he knew, but could never quite crack a roster.
Alex asked "countless times," he said, smiling at the memory, but "I couldn't convince anybody."
He knew his requests were futile. He wasn't eligible because this was a basketball league for Filipinos, by Filipinos.
Alex admired what the league represented: it gave a community to the Filipino diaspora that fuelled much of Steinbach's growth (1,500 people in a city of nearly 18,000 residents, according to Statistics Canada) and a welcome chance to play a sport they loved. The league had as many as 160 players before the pandemic.
Making the league inclusive
But off the court, Abram Razon and the executive of the South EastMan Filipino Association basketball league were planning to open up their games to non-Filipinos such as Alex.
"The Filipinos, ever since we moved here, we've been welcomed with open arms by people who are from here locally, and we want to give back. We don't want to be exclusive; we want to be inclusive," Razon said.
"It was just a matter of time before we open it up to everybody else, but we knew this is what we wanted."
Alex signed up as soon as the rebranded Prairie Basketball League accepted Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike for the first time this winter.
He had previously been making regular trips into Winnipeg to play in a competitive league. The local Filipino basketball community changed that.
"There's almost no chance that there would be men's league at all [in Steinbach] if it wasn't for them."
Alex's wife, July Thiessen, attended many of the league's games as a fan. She's happy she can cheer for her husband, too.
"As a Filipino, I always wanted to see other cultures … play basketball and in the southeast they're always big on basketball as well," July said.
Raymond Kelly once played on a Ste. Anne, Man., high school team that nearly went undefeated in his Grade 12 year. He joined Providence University College afterwards, but injuries derailed his basketball career.
"Absky brought me out of retirement, actually," Kelly said, referring to Razon, the league commissioner, by his nickname.
Kelly joined a team last year with some of the region's best players and has since transitioned into the winter league. Now living in Winnipeg, he happily travels to Steinbach to hit the hardcourt with old teammates and rivals.
"We have the infrastructure around here, we have the gyms, we have a lot of people who are interested in basketball, so it was shocking that this didn't exist before," he said.
He calls Razon a pioneer for establishing a basketball league in the region.
Jordan Stoesz, who joined the open division, said the new Prairie Basketball League is an extension of what basketball is like for him. The games he'd play in Steinbach gyms, churches and outdoor courts are multicultural games.
"We've all been playing together for so long but it was just pick-up basketball," he said. "Now we were able to have each player put together a team with their clique and just see who can go at it the best."
Championship weekend
The growing league, which went from a high of 12 teams to 21 teams this past winter, ended its season on Saturday with championship games in each of the four divisions, two of which are Filipino-only divisions.
The gym at Clearspring Middle School was boisterous, especially for the final game in the open division for players of Filipino descent.
Jessica Pineda was among the loudest fans in the stands, even though she said fans for her team were outnumbered.
"Even though I only have a tiny voice, I wanna show them that my support goes out for them," she said, smiling.
Her team, which is named after a vehicle dealership, lost by just one point.
Razon, who played on that same team, said the first winter league has been an unparalleled success, and they're set on growing from here.
They'll run a new spring league, with more divisions — including one for women, for the first time.
And they're planning to send five teams, rather than just one, to a North American-wide Filipino basketball tournament later this year.
In the meantime, Razon has some rivals he's keen on beating. He also played in the elite division open to everyone this winter.
"Sadly Filipinos, we could use a little bit of height so we lost in the quarter-finals," Razon said, chuckling.
"We'll be joining in the spring league again with the same team, we'll be running it back and hopefully we could get some more wins and go deeper into the playoffs."
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