Teenagers form peer groups called barkadas, a kind of friendship club that is essential to their lives. Each barkada is either all male or all female. Members develop their own slang and go almost everywhere together.
The country's most popular sport is basketball; in 1954, the country was placed third in the World Basketball Championship. Men and boys play the game in school gyms and neighbourhood streets. Filipino players have excelled at the sport and become the top players in Asia. Crowds flock to watch professional teams compete in the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Filipinos have also excelled at boxing, with athletes winning international competitions. Flyweight boxer Mansuetto Onyok Velasco took a silver medal at the 1996 Olympics.
A common form of handball, jai alai, has recently declined in popularity and been banned at the professional level due to gambling. In the game, players bounce a hard rubber ball off one end of a court and catch the ball in a small basket (cesta) tied to their hand. Sipa, popular with adults and children, is a type of volleyball that uses a rattan ball; players must drive the ball over a net using only their legs, body and feet. In the martial art of arnis de mano, invented by a Filipino, competitors fight with rattan sticks. People also enjoy bowling.
Filipinos enthusiastic about games such mahjongg, a Chinese game played with 144 tiles. Chess, checkers, dama (a type of draughts) and dominos are also very popular and often played on street corners. In 1992, the Philippines hosted the World Chess Olympics; the country has many top players, including grandmasters Eugenio Torre and Rosendo Balinas Jr. The most popular form of entertainment among men, however, is cockfighting. Virtually every town has a cockpit, which is jammed on weekends and holidays with spectators betting on the fights.
Given the country's many beaches, Sunday beach picnics are a popular pastime for families. Wealthier Filipinos and tourists also enjoy yachting, diving and sailing.
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