BY USA-EAST COAST CHARTER TEAM LEADER IVY ANTONIO
Give-and-go, in basketball, is “a maneuver in which one offensive player passes the ball to another, then runs toward the basket to take a return pass.” Clarizzah Macatugal knows all too well how to execute this maneuver on the court. After all, this Pusong Pinoy hero and basketball aficionado has been shooting baskets since the tender age of eight.
Now 18, she continues to profess her love for the sport. Despite her busy schedule as a college freshman, Clarizzah strives to keep a healthy balance between studying her lessons and getting her basketball maneuvers down pat. Without question, her passion for basketball parallels her dedication to education. Her appreciation for the educational opportunities available to her in the United States truly runs deep. “I take my education seriously and I think everyone deserves to have a good education,” she said.
Born in Makati, Philippines, Clarizzah and her family immigrated to California when she was five. She reckons that her family escaped poverty when her parents made that fateful decision to seek a better life in the United States. Even as a little girl, she was always driven by a strong desire to help children mired in poverty. When she was barely out of high school, Clarizzah took this belief and passion to a whole new level by performing community service.
During her senior year, she seized the opportunity to put her thoughts into action by way of her APN (Alternative North Program) class. Since she had always wanted to give back to her home country, Clarizzah decided on a project that would benefit disadvantaged children in the Philippines.
The decision to choose a beneficiary for her school project came easy for her. Clarizzah and her family, especially her dad, Jovito, have been generous supporters of Pusong Pinoy over the years. “I really like how Pusong Pinoy puts such an emphasis on education. I really commend Pusong Pinoy for making learning a top priority,” she avered.
Through her “senior project,” she was not only able to help spread the word about our cause but she also donated the proceeds of a bake sale she ran to Pusong Pinoy which was used to purchase a sack of rice; two cans of evaporated milk and two packs of ramen noodles for our Food for Thought project completed earlier this year.
Moreover, she collected several boxes of used clothes, toys and 87 children’s storybooks to benefit our recipients. She definitely scored huge points with us for her outstanding off-court performance. Pusong Pinoy also gave this young hero some bonus points for giving a whole new meaning to the concept of give-and-go.
