FIBA

OK, there are many highlights to the 2013 FIBA Asia held in Manila. Gilas placed 2nd and booked a spot to FIBA 2014 in Spain. Manila did an amazing job hosting the tournament. Lots of game highlights can be found on youtube. But I only want to remember this one particular personal highlight: I was able to bring my family, especially my dad, to the FIBA games. My brothers loved the sport, and my dad loved the opportunity to be in the patron area and hobnob with the people he calls "VVIP". My dad is a starstruck corporate & political-scene fan, on top of being a basketball lover. The look of joy in his face was indescribable and the heart of a daughter beating inside my chest kept swelling up with pride and happiness. He got to take so many photos with these "VVIP"s and got to shake so many hands. He had a front-row seat to the feat that Gilas landed, and was among the thousands of cheering fans when they won that match against Korea. He was so happy and sent me a text last night expressing this joy and his gratitude.

You see, my dad is highly "choosy"-- it's supremely hard to excite him and elicit a reaction, and that makes this "achievement" mean so much more to me. Yes, it did cost me quite a lot of money to make it happen, but it was money so well spent. It's rare for me to have an opportunity like this. And I'm also grateful to have such a supportive and loving husband who didn't mind the expense and recognized what we were actually buying with that amount.

Love you, Papa - so much more than I can ever express.