Tag Archives: PBA game

Ending game

One of the traits admirable to common Pinoys (Filipinos below the poverty line) is their ability to find means to survive. There are those who sell their wares on the sidewalk or have their cramped living quarter rented. Others resort to betting games. In our neighborhood, one popular game is the “ending game” where the bettor would choose a pair of numbers on the betting card. The numbers represent the last digit of the final score of the winning basketball team. I’m referring to our own PBA (Philippine Basketball Association) and NBA (National Basketball Association) of the US. The bettor who will get the correct last two digits wins and takes home whatever amount collected by the game operator.

I personally know a neighbor who operates an “ending game”. She is a mother of three grown up kids, two are still in college. She has breast cancer, but still she hops from one house to another (excluding ours) to persuade our neighbors to place their bet. It looks fun and easy on the pocket (you can bet for just a few pesos, I think). Anyway, my neighbor usually takes home the bet money if no one wins the game. Do you know what she does to her earnings? She spends most of her earnings to support her two children to tertiary school. I may not approve of her means to earn money, but the fact that she has a health condition to worry about and she still works to make ends meet is admirable. I will understand her predicament, but how about the “ending game” operators as young as my son? I think an answer to this needs a separate post because it’s a different story altogether.