Dahil Lang Pala sa Kalapati Kaya Pumapalakpak si Coach πππ
MANILA β July 18, 2025
It was a regular Wednesday afternoon practice at San Rafael High School, and the basketball team was running through their full-court drills under the blazing sun. The players were drenched in sweat, lungs burning, legs heavy. But something strange β almost mystical β happened mid-practice that left the entire gym frozen in confusion.
Coach Vic Salazar, the teamβs usually intense and no-nonsense head coach, suddenly burst into applause, smiling from ear to ear, clapping like theyβd just won the UAAP championship.
The thing is⦠no one had scored.
No one had made a highlight play.
In fact, point guard Migs Reyes had just bricked a wide-open layup.
Everyone stopped. Players looked at each other. Assistant Coach Dino blinked in disbelief. Team captain Jio even whispered, βBro, anong nangyayari kay Coach?β
Then came the moment of truth.
Coach Salazar pointed to the rafters of the old gym, still clapping, still beaming like a proud father.
> βDID YOU SEE THAT?! Kalapati βyan! White pa! Swerte βyan!β
Up on the steel beams, gliding gently down toward the court, was a pure white pigeon β flapping its wings like it owned the place.
> βAba eh, kung saan-saan gym na βko nakapunta,β Coach declared proudly, pacing across the hardwood, βPero ngayon lang ako nakakita ng kalapati na ganyan kalinis, pumasok pa sa loob ng court habang practice! Alam niyo ba ibig sabihin niyan?β
He looked around, waiting for someone to answer. Nobody dared.
> βChampionship βto, mga anak. Omen βyan!β
Everyone erupted in laughter β not out of disrespect, but pure disbelief. Coach Salazar, the man who once made a player run 30 suicides for not boxing out, was now genuinely thrilled by a pigeon.
But Coach wasnβt joking.
He paused practice. Had the janitor bring a mop. Ordered everyone to avoid scaring the bird. “Hayaan niyo lang. Kung dito siya gusto mag-landing, dito siya dapat.”
For the rest of the practice, the white kalapati perched calmly on the scoreboard. The players called it βCoach Palatsβ, a fusion of palatsik and kalapati. Even Coach smiled at the name.
By the next game, the team started bringing breadcrumbs to warmups β βpang-offeringβ daw. The pigeon actually showed up again β flying in and sitting near the bleachers during their blowout win over rival school Santa Monica High.
And just like that, the myth began.
The players started bowing to the pigeon before tip-off.
Coach even joked about giving it a uniform.
> βBaka mas makadepensa pa βto kesa kay Andrei,β he laughed, pointing to his sleepy center.
Weeks later, San Rafael High would go on to win its first regional title in 15 years. Was it talent, hard work⦠or the kalapati?
Coach Vic had only one answer:
> βHard work builds winners. But a little swerte? Palagi kong tatanggapin βyan.β
And so it was: the season of the white kalapati.
A pigeon. A coachβs clap. And a team that finally learned to fly
Let me know if you’d like this turned into a short skit, animated scene idea, or narrated monologue! ποΈππ
