Things that are borderline fact or fiction, real or imagined and anything above the ordinary, are stuffs that human lives revolve in. Simplifying further, we live in dreams, and tell me someone who doesn’t and I will relocate to Reykjavik.
We dream of the finer things in life – nice clothes, cash on hand, a comfortable house, a car with an SUV as an elder brother, the latest gadgets, a platoon of girlfriends (the risk of having a doctor hovering over your semi-dead body is not imagined). The insatiable dream further and end up with scams of PDAF proportions.
A week ago, a young man chased his dream and made history. 17-year old Michael Christian Martinez became the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to join and move on to the medal round of the Winter Olympics in the Figure Skating competitions and was the youngest competitor on the field.
Of the 24 finalists, Martinez ranked 19th, which was eventually won by another Asian, a 19-year old Japanese, incidentally, also the youngest to win the gold medal in the event.
I suppose everyone who follows the sporting news knew about the difficult route that Martinez had to go through. Conflicting reports as to financial and government support were given but now that the games had ended and the results became visible, those that who were out of the picture suddenly wanted their share of the fanfare.
Did I hear right when the spinmasters of that palace by the murky Pasig River said that emails from the camp of Martinez requesting for assistance probably went to SPAM? Bullcrap in its finest.
Michael Martinez, when the next Winter Games comes around will only be 21. By that time, he would have improved and hopefully, support from the concerned government agencies will be substantial. He lived his dream of representing the country. Another dream will be pursued – an Olympic medal.
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Another dream that this basketball-loving nation have is to have a Filipino representation in the National Basketball Association. The closest we had recently was Japeth Aguilar when he was invited for open tryouts by the then Hornets of New Orleans before their stingers became beaks and became Pelicans. The team decided Aguilar was not ready yet and he was cut. Incidentally, this was the same franchise, then called the Charlotte Hornets that showed interest in Johnny Abarrientos in the early 90s when their primary point guard, Mugsy Bouges, got injured.
This time, we’re not talking about playing for an NBA team but instead, owning one. We all know who Manuel V. Pangilinan is. He is our number one sports patron and was one of the few who helped the Sochi Dream of Martinez. To those who were and are still in hibernation, MVP is part owner of the Philippines together with the Sys, Ayalas, Aboitizes, Gokongweis and the rest of the moguls who run our economy.
MVP wants to be a part of the Golden State Warriors and despite the fair warning given to him by David Stern that owning a stake would be stiff, MVP still is on the hunt for that one big dream.
If things go as planned, he will be the second Southeast Asian, and yes, the first Filipino, to own an NBA franchise. The first was Erik Tohir, an Indonesian telecommunications king who partly owns the Philadelphia 76ers. Imagine Klay Thompson, David Lee and Steph Curry planing in to the country in the off-season and hanging out at the MOA or Greenbelt or The Terraces at Ayala Center Cebu.
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Still on dreams, my son Emil will also be chasing his. He leaves for the US on Sunday for internship and further training. Life there will be long, hard and lonely. The pursuit of dreams is never easy and there will always be obstacles along the way. Determine, persevere and resolve. Above all, always pray for guidance. We will miss you big time, part. God bless you always.