RODNEY Brondial, San Miguel's 6-foot-5 center/forward, may not have the star presence of his other teammates on the court. But off court, he has become a star with a huge following after his posts, mostly funny, became a hit on social media.
The San Miguel big man has gained fans by posting online stories mostly centered around a fictional seaman friend and his misadventures.
How it started
Initially, Brondial said the jokes were only for private consumption with his San Miguel teammates to bring good vibes in practice. But when he posted a story about his ‘Tropang Seaman,’ it attracted a following on social media.
“Actually, sa kulitan lang namin ni June Mar ‘yun nag-start,” said Brondial in an interview last April. “Naisipan namin i-video. Nagulat kami kung papaano i-welcome ng tao ‘yung pinapanood nila. Positive naman ‘yung mga comments nila.”
“Sabi namin, sige tuluy-tuloy lang which is maganda naman kasi nakakawala ng stress, minsan nakakawala ng pressure,” Brondial said.
Later on, as his social media presence grew, Brondial started receiving jokes from his followers, even featuring a few of them.
“’Yun ‘yung nakakatuwa, ‘yung mga subscribers at followers namin, sila mismo ‘yung nagpapadala ng jokes. Parang ‘Idol, i-feature mo naman,” said Brondial.
Brondial's personality off the court
To date, Brondial’s Facebook page has around 233,000 followers. He has more than 30 videos on his page, and a constant presence in his videos are June Mar Fajardo, Brondial’s former Adamson teammate Don Trollano, and some of San Miguel’s utility staff. His regular followers include San Miguel consultant Leo Austria and players from other teams of the San Miguel group who apparently are amused by stories coming out of Brondial's 'tropa.'
Here are some of them:
“Sobrang dami talaga,” Brondial said, who admits though that the posts are not always a hit. “Siyempre, minsan paulit-ulit o corny. Ginagawan na lang namin na nakakatawa pa rin. Thankful kami na tinatanggap ng tao.”
During his free time, Brondial said he scrolls messages in his inbox and chooses a few from the jokes that fans sent in to post on his Facebook page.
“Sa totoo lang, sobrang dami talaga ng messages. Minsan kung ano na lang ‘yung una kong ma-ano, siyempre hindi naman ako full-time joker eh, " he said. "Kapag sa bahay, may family ako. Pag may free time, binabasa ko ‘yung mga jokes. Tapos ‘yun na ang baon ko kapag nagkaroon na ng kulitan sa practice."
Fans are definitely impressed by how Brondial delivers his lines and makes his jokes sound and look funny. Brondial said what the fans see on the videos is his true personality.
“’Yun naman talaga ‘yung personality talaga namin sa labas ng basketball, makulit,” said Brondial. “Natural lang namin ‘yun. Kapag nakilala nila ako sa labas, makulit naman talaga ako, lagi kaming nagbibiruan. Ganun talaga ‘yung personality ko sa labas.”
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