GROWING up, young, rising cager Lebron Jhames Daep had no idea his father was once a decorated champion player in the NCAA, who would also become teammate with PBA great and four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio at Purefoods.
“Actually hindi niya alam na naglaro ako dati ng basketball. Nalaman na lang niya nung may mga nagsabi sa kanya,” recalled Rommel Daep, father of the star player of the University of Perpetual Help Junior Altas.
“Doon siya na-engganyo na gusto niya raw akong gayahin.”
READ: Perpetual's Lebron Jhames Daep out to claim name as his own
For basketball fans in the 90s and early 2000s, the name Daep of course, rings a bell.
A high-flyer, shooting guard from Legazpi City, the elder Daep, now 50, was part of the fabled San Sebastian team that won five straight NCAA men’s basketball championships from 1993 to 1997.
In 1999, he was picked in the third round of the draft by San Miguel, but eventually ended up playing for the Purefoods franchise where he got to play alongside Patrimonio under coach Derrick Pumaren.
Lebron naturally, became an instant fan when he finally learned the long-kept secret of his father.
“Kung gusto mo ako (gayahin), ito ang mga gagawin mo,” said the former PBA player as he remembered one of his early talks with his son about playing the sport seriously.
“Mula nung bata hindi ko naman siya pinilit na mag-basketball. Hinintay ko lang siyang magka-hilig sa basketball, and then doon ko na siya tinuuan.”
That was the time when Lebron was around 11 years old.
“Nakita ko potential,” said Rommel, whose knack at seeing talent was also borne out of his experience as a former college coach of the Divine World College in Legaspi City. “Unlike ng nakikita ko sa ibang bata, gusto lang mag-basketball, pero hindi seryoso. At yun ang pagkakaiba niya (Lebron).”
Seven years after taking his son under his wings, Lebron Jhames has become a big star in the country’s junior basketball landscape as the cornerstone of the Junior Altas’ program.
On Sunday, the 6-foot-7 teener was named MVP of the NCAA juniors’ basketball tournament as he led the team back to the finals as the team favored to win the Season 100 championship.
While Rommel was thrilled seeing his son crowned as MVP, he put emphasis that winning the title remains the be-all and end-all of everything.
“Ang MVP naman bonus lang (ng player), kung paano mo pinag-hirapan. Darating sa iyo yan, basta pinag-hirapan,” he said.
“Pero sabi ko sa kanya, palamuti lang yan sa basketball career (mo). Huwag mong isipin na titigil ka. Bagkus maging inspirasyon ka, para kung may gusto kang marating, makukuha mo.”
And a championship is what Lebron and the rest of the Junior Perps are aiming for, which they hope the team will finally get on Tuesday when they battle hard-fighting La Salle Greenhills Greenies in the deciding Game 3 of the title series at the FilOil EcoOil Centre.
The top seeded team was ambushed by the Greenies in Sunday’s Game 2 (95-91) to forge the winner-take-all showdown.
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