BORN in Mandaluyong, Lucas Perez never got a chance to see his Filipino parents or even delve deep into the Filipino customs.
As a one-year-old toddler, he was adopted by Swedish parents Bjorn and Agneta Oijvall who took him in and nurtured him into becoming the respectful man that he is today.
Three decades later, Perez is back in his birth country, representing the nation he barely knew and proudly wearing its colors like a badge of honor.
"I'm like a coconut. I'm brown outside but white inside. I've only grown up with Swedish parents and Swedish traditions," he said with a chuckle. "But I learned a lot about how a typical Filipino is, trying to learn certain sentences in Tagalog just to keep up with the team."
Perez has come a long way since he first took the offer to play for the Philippine men's floorball team.
Hard to believe it almost didn't materialize.
"Six years ago, I got in contact with coach Ralph (Ramos), but we didn't proceed from that time," he said when the idea was first broached to him. "I've always been a Filipino citizen."
But time has a funny way of making things work, and it didn't take long before Perez was wearing the national tri-colors.
"This year, I got my Philippine passport. When there's an opportunity to play floorball in another part of the world for my birth country, of course, I'm willing to take it," he said as he made his debut in the 2019 Men's Asia-Oceania Floorball Cup in Biñan back in July, when the Philippines wound up with the bronze medal.
Now, Perez captains the men's floorball team in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
He's not just the team's vocal leader but also serves as a mentor to his younger peers, imparting the knowledge he's acquired playing the sport — which many describes as a cross between ice hockey and futsal — for the majority of his life.
"I think it's quite heavy. It's an honor to be the team captain and I'm one of the oldest players in the team," said the 31-year-old defender who plays for the club team FBC Nykoping in Sweden.
"I've been playing floorball for 25 years. I said I can be a part of this team to help because I can bring the experience to the team, like routines and other things we can do to develop the team. You don't need to be big. You can see me, I'm not that big, but I can use my body to play the sport the way that I do, try to pick up some speed, and be smart when I'm running."
That's not limited to the team, though, with the 5-foot-1 lefty looking to be a vocal ambassador of the sport as the Philippines aims for a podium finish in the SEA Games.
"My main goal is to help and develop the future. I'm not the future, but I will help the other guys on the things we can do to improve," Perez said. "This is a very good showcase, showroom for floorball to show up."
And the crowds are coming in droves, with the UP CHK Gym being packed for both the men's and women's floorball matches — win or lose — in the biennial meet.
"It feels like it's getting more and more every game and that's a good thing," said a grinning Perez, who also relishes playing in front of his fiance Mathilda and four-year-old son Leo.
"All the Filipinos who are here, they're lifting us one or two steps every time. Even though I was being told by coach Noel (Alm Johansson) to rest, I would have done it 'cause I was so tired. But because of the support in the audience, I just keep on running, trying to fight for the team."
The support of his kababayans has never been warmer, and even though he seems like an alien in a foreign land, Perez feels just right at home.
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