Taoyuan, Nov. 1 (CNA) One of Taiwan's most renowned Filipino migrant worker basketball leagues opened Sunday, attracting hundreds of people to a park in Taoyuan City's Chungli District to watch the opening ceremony and the first six games.
Some 400 people gathered at the park to witness the opening of the Chungli Basketball League (CBL) Commercial Winter League, which, now in its sixth season, had a member of the Filipino LGBT community take on the role of a team's muse for the first time.
In Filipino basketball culture, muses are usually females who whip up support for their teams at tournament openings.
The City basketball team, made up of a team of players all employed at the same factory in Taoyuan, invited their fellow colleague Steve Ian M. Isaga, 26, to be their muse.
He volunteered because there are no women in their factory's dormitory, said Isaga, who presented himself dressed in shorts and calf-length boots, with his basketball jersey knotted at his waist.
"I'm dressed like this because I want to stand for people being confident for who they are because that is the most important thing for being a human being," Isaga said.
He said he likes working in Taiwan because his coworkers and friends in Taiwan do not show any bias based on his gender, said Isaga, who fulfilled his dream to work abroad by choosing to come to Taiwan.
Isaga's coworker, 33-year-old MarkJerry Olisa, captain of The City team, said his team promotes diversity and is LGBT-friendly.
"All people are equal. I don't mind if he is gay, a woman, or a guy. If he is a good person, I want to be proud of him," Olisa said.
Marie Yang, the CBL spokeswoman, said the league is open to allowing members of the LGBT community take the role of muses and encourages everyone to be accepting of one another.
Another member of the Filipino LGBT community who was also present at the opening ceremony was 28-year-old Ark Angel Diña Vergabera, founder of the Angel Talents and Boot Camp, which teaches talented Filipino migrant workers to become models.
Vergabera, who wore semi-formal attire with a pair of matching golden 10-inch high heel shoes, was invited to the ceremony as a special guest by the organizers to judge a best muse pageant.
He attended the Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade last year and said he is very happy that Taiwan has passed same-sex marriage laws so that everyone has a chance to marry who they love, adding that unfortunately, there are still challenges in the Philippines in this regard.
"When I was young (growing up) in the Philippines, the bullies were always there. Discrimination was always there, especially in the workplace, but I am still proud (of my country) because there are still some places in the Philippines where people accept LGBT people and give them opportunities," Vergabera said.
The best muse pageant was won by a Hsinchu factory worker, 27-year- old Blessie Jina Sabaoil, from the team Ilocos Sur, while another pageant to win the best uniform was won by the Pangasinan basketball team.
Meanwhile, the highlight game on the first day of the tournament was a 101-99 win by defending champion D'Bestfriend over Lakay 1 that took the game into double overtime. A total of 21 teams are registered to take part in the tournament
