Former Mason Hoops Star Gives His Talents to Kids in the Philippines

On his return trip to his native Philippines, former hoops standout Noel Obusan didn’t arrive empty handed.

No, he didn’t come baring gifts of swank T-shirts or snap-back hats. Obusan, reigning , brought the game of basketball. For two days he ran the Noel “Dadi” Obusan Free Basketball Clinic for kids in Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines.

“Basically the whole Obusan family helped, my cousins, uncles and dad helped me a lot since they helped coach and they were my translators,” Obusan said Monday from the Philippines through email. “Then, my mom, aunts and cousins helped prepare some snacks and foods for the campers to keep them hydrated and stuffed since there was no such thing as a water fountain or snack machine at where we held the camp.”

About 50 campers attended the camp, held from Aug. 10 through Aug. 12. Obusan said he taught the campers basic skills as well as some of his nifty moves he learned from watching professional basketball players. Obusan said he and his family wanted the children to be happy and didn’t want to charge them for anything.

Obusan helped lead the Mustangs to the state championship game in March . In that game, the speedy floor general scored 21-points. Obusan said he wants to continue playing basketball at the next level. He’s enrolled in classes at Northern Virginia Community College this fall but has loftier goals of playing college basketball in the Philippines.

“I am going to NOVA for a year and transferring to GMU (George Mason University) but my dream is to play college ball here for De La Salle and in a few weeks actually I am going to talk to one of the coaches that can help me out,” said Obusan about his wishes to return to the Philippines to play college basketball there. “So I’m crossing my fingers for that hopefully I can get in.”

Chris Capannola believes Obusan could be a good college basketball player in the United States or the Philippines. He said the point guard is one of the best basketball players he has ever coached blending both speed and passion to help lift his team. Capannola, head coach at Mason High, said he was pleased to open his Facebook account and see that Obusan was running a skills camp in his homeland. Capannola said he thinks his former pupil could eventually be a good coach.

“You have to love the game to be able to coach it,” Capannola said. “With his passion, that’s not a problem.”

Obusan said coaching would be a lot of fun and he wouldn’t mind doing it one day. He joked that he spoke with Capannola about possibly joining the coaching ranks one day and in 10 years, coming back to Falls Church to take over at his alma mater. For now, Obusan said he is just going to enjoy basketball be it in the Philippines or America.

“The thing I love about basketball the most is just having a great time,” Obusan said. “Basketball helps you in life just like what my coach said to me and the thing I like about it also is that anybody can play. That’s the great thing about it.”