I started playing tennis at a later age about 26 years old. IGT sponsored a tennis tournament at work. We have five teams, five people in each team competing each other. I was team leader of one team although I never tennis before. Our director Bernie Lee is an avid tennis player so the tournament. I learned fast. I was winning matches because the other guy is like me, neophyte but I was learning faster than them. At the end of the tournament they did a regular tournament. With luck and enthusiasm I found myself in the finals against Tom Knowlton. Tom is not a conventional player. He lobs all the time. His ball will come up over the net about 50 feet high. Nobody can beat him. So I went to the Chicago tennis club in downtown and practice hitting smashes to counter Tom's lob. I did that for several weeks. The day of the final came. He beat me anyway. I got hooked into tennis. Gerry Anderson, a guy with IGT also and I went to play tennis tournaments around Bolingbrook as Gerry lives close by. We gotten pretty good but not good enough as a lot of good players beat us. But we are getting better.
When we moved to Houston, Texas I play even more as the weather in Houston is like Manila and you can play tennis throughout the year. We had a group of Filipinos who also play tennis. These guys became friends. We play every Sunday and sometimes in the weekday too. We are not tournament caliber players but among ourselves we can compete. The better players there are Cesar Suiguitan who I always beat at first but later got better. Then there are Boy Paguio, Loy Calaquian, Fernando Reyes, Galvin Anciano, Dan, Manny, Leo Cachola, Mar Lumabas, Edgar Caeg. There would be a intercity tournament sponsored by some Filipino group in other cities like San Antonio, New Orleans, etc. Our group comes in first always. When we play on a Sunday, after the game we had lunch. We pitched in maybe $5 and buy fish and we make sinigang fish. We ate wholeheartedly with plenty of rice for energy. Mostly done in Mar's house or in our house. The others don't volunteer but Edgar always like to cook the sinigang.
I was also a member of a local tennis club. The club has a enclosure like a bubble. We can play year round. I play in the round robin tournament there.
When I was going to the Philippines on work assignment at Shell Oil I enjoyed playing tennis at the Shell compound. They would have tournaments once in a while. I believe I am the best player there. I took home free tickets to some merchandise as a reward. Nothing expensive. I gave it to Nicki's relatives.
When we are getting along on age we stopped playing. Some took up golf. And some passed like Leo Cachola, Edgar Caeg, Mar Lumabas and Galvin Anciano. When I moved from Texas to Reno, Nevada I played a bit but I took racquetball full time. Racquetball is fast and I am not. I also played bowling. I was getting good but when Covid-19 struck, bowling stopped. I never picked it up again.
