Kris Bernal names newborn daughter after NBA star Luka Doncic

Actress Kris Bernal recently showed the face of her firstborn baby girl along with the revelation that she named her after NBA superstar Luka Doncic, who is incidentally visiting the country for the FIBA World Cup.

In her vlog titled Our Little Sunshine’s FACE REVEAL, Kris, together with her husband Perry Choi, officially introduced to the world their first child named Hailee Lucca. The video also showed behind-the-scenes of her baby’s very first photoshoot.

Kris shared that she underwent a cesarean section delivery at 40 weeks and two days into her pregnancy. The couple first announced the arrival of their newborn daughter in an Instagram reel when she was just 15 days old.

She noted they decided to delay the announcement of her birth to savor some private moments with their newborn.

The celebrity mom also mentioned that they are adapting to their new roles as parents, officially joining the ranks of the sleep-deprived #TeamNoSleep.

Kris also disclosed that while she is breastfeeding Hailee, her husband is taking charge of burping her.

In the video’s description, Kris expressed her joy and gratitude to God for the new blessing in her life.

She wrote, “Introducing our precious gift from God, Hailee Lucca Bernal Choi. She came into the world on Aug. 15, 2023, at 7:12 p.m., weighing 7.16 lbs., and measuring 50-cm. long.”

The actress also shared the meaning behind her daughter’s name.

“Hailee Lucca is inspired by the word ‘Hallelujah’ that means ‘Praise the Lord.’ My child is a manifestation of God’s divine love, and I am forever thankful for this blessing,” Kris explained.

She also revealed that it was also inspired by Slovenian basketball player Luka who was the subject of her “paglilihi” during her pregnancy.

Luka recently arrived in the country to play in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup.

“Additionally, I had an odd, excessive fondness (paglilihi) for NBA player, Luka Doncic, throughout my entire pregnancy, kaya bumagay din! Chants Halle-Luka,” she said.

In a previous interview with The Philippine STAR, she shared about this sudden fascination with basketball during her pregnancy.

“We haven’t decided yet on names pero may naisip na kaming baby names either kung lalaki or babae… Naglilihi kasi ako sa basketball, so weird. Nood ako ng nood ng NBA. I have not missed a game of my favorite team. Mavericks ako because of Luka Doncic.

“Dahil sobrang idol ko si Luka at pinaglilihian ko si Luka, I want a Luka in my child’s name, maybe a second name. But it’s so weird because I never got interested in basketball before, even during times my husband played basketball, I didn’t want to watch any of his games. But now, ako pa talaga nagsasabi sa kanya ito ang oras ng game. Ang weird pinaglilihian ko yun.”

Kris and Perry exchanged vows in September 2021. In April, they made the announcement of their parenthood and held a Paris-themed gender reveal celebration in July.