EDIANON, JOHN LUIS R.

Bachelor of Physical Education – 3rd year

At the University of Southeastern Philippines, I conducted a survey about an

awareness and understanding of traditional sports games: Sambunot among college
students that led me to a young man named Justin Reiz Camajalan, a third-year
BECED student.
When I asked him about if he knows any traditional games, Justin readily
recalled "Tagu-taguan," a game that reminded him with countless children experience
throughout the Philippines for generations. It was clear that these games held a special
place in Justin’s heart, because of the memories that he had feel like a carefree
childhood fun.
Moving on to the second question about if he knows any traditional sports, Justin
mentioned "Laro ng Lahi" as an example. Even though he did not explain much about
his experience or knowledge about this game, it was still obvious that traditional sports
games had not slipped entirely from Justin’s awareness.
The mention of the Traditional Sport game "Sambunot" raised intrigue in our
conversation. Justin acknowledged its existence and has knowledge about the game
but he confessed that he had no personal experience with the game. However, he
expressed a genuine interest in learning more about Sambunot, if he would have the
opportunity and if he would be given a chance to play the game. This shows that Justin
is willing to dig deeper into the cultural aspect of traditional games, even though he had
not yet had the chance to play the game.
Discussing about the dissemination of knowledge about the game Sambunot,
Justin suggested a way for us to share to everyone about the game Sambunot. He
indicated that creating educational content, such as videos and other accessible
platforms, in hopes of making people aware of the game. This forward-thinking
approach indicated his understanding of the role modern technology plays in preserving
and cultivating our culture.
Finally, when asked about the preservation of traditional games for our future
generations, Justin recommended that schools and universities must include this in their
school curricula and community activities. He emphasized that by integrating these
games into the education system, children would be exposed to and be educated about
our different traditional games in the Philippines. This, he believed, was an excellent
way to ensure that these type of games will not be forgotten, passing them down to the
next generations of ours.
In the heart of the University of Southeastern Philippines, Justin Reiz
Camajalan's thoughts and willingness to explore and share his knowledge about the
traditional games did help us on how to preserve and cherish this games of ours. It was
a testament that we, Gen Z students are still living through the culture amidst of the
changes of our modern world.

DOCUMENTATION: