ALTHOUGH he feels like he still has a lot left in his tank, Garvo Lanete is at peace with his decision to retire at a relatively young age of 32.
Lanete has called it a career after just six years in the PBA, the last two with NorthPort. The Ormoc native also had an accomplished amateur career embellished by two gold medals in the Southeast Asian Games and four NCAA championships with San Beda.
Lanete said he and his wife had long planned a long vacation in the US, but that trip was fast-tracked.
“Doon na talaga ang endgame namin in the future. Napa-aga lang dahil nitong pandemic,” said Lanete in an interview hours before boarding time for his flight to the US.
NorthPort understood
“Usapan namin mga two to three years pa [kami aalis]," said the three-point specialist. "Nagpaalam naman ako sa NorthPort, pinayagan naman ako. They were very understanding naman about the situation.”
Lanete made a name for himself as a top marksman by helping San Beda win numerous titles in the NCAA. In the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble, Lanete shot 44 percent from threes en route to averaging a career-high 12.1 points for the Batang Pier.
Despite retiring early, Lanete knows he can still play competitively, but is already proud of what he had accomplished as a basketball player.
There are more important things in life other than basketball at this point in time, he added.
“I’m actually satisfied and very, very happy to be honest. One last thing I wanted sana was to win a championship sa PBA. But I made peace with it already kasi hindi naman biglaan ‘yung decision na ‘to," he said.
“A whole year ata naming pinag-usapan with my wife and my family. So I had time to deal with it if ever hindi kami manalo nun sa Philippine Cup semi-bubble sa Pampanga and this second conference with import,” said Lanete.
“I know I can still play. But lahat naman tayo may kanya-kanyang priority sa buhay,” said Lanete.
Basketball will take a backseat for the meantime, but Lanete said he is still open to any opportunities for a return to the sport in the future.
“Most important kasi for me ‘yung health naming mag-asawa. But I’m not closing the door on any opportunity that will come,” said Lanete.
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