The life of an athlete has many challenges yet inspiring. For one, you’ll play a sport you love but the training you have to endure is not easy. Then comes the heartaches of losing a game yet there is a joy of winning. Then at the end of the day, friendships are forged.
And ask any male athlete, what or who will inspire him to play better? Usually, it’s their families and the desire not to pay expensive tuition fees in college or university. And judging from what I’ve seen or heard, there’s always a lady that inspires them, big time.
Such is the case of coach Joaquin “Boy” Sarabia, now University of Mindanao sports director, who was once a standout for the Davao City teams and University of Visayas baseball and softball squads in Cebu. His supporters, of course, are his family, Judge Edipolo V. Sarabia Jr., nanay Anita Pereyras, his siblings ate Bing(Miras), Atty.Edipolo Jr.(Bal), Engr.Arnold, ate Mona(the dentist) and his throng of fans in the Pereyras clan in Tagum, whom we religiously visit specially during the Christ The King celebrations.
Being a standout, ladies would normally admire and after 32 girlfriends, came the 33rd, Phoebe Amorsolo-Margaja (yes, exactly, a relative of national artist Fernando C. Amorsolo), whom he fondly calls “Pikot”. Ate Phoebe was studying dentistry at that time and Boy, so to speak, found the right glove, bat and spike shoes finally.
The glove, bat and spike shoes represent the life of Boy, without it, it’s meaningless. Without his No.1 fan, Phoebe, life would entirely be different.
After a stint in Cebu, Boy came home to Davao, helped the Pereyras Corporation in building its business infrastructure and ate Phoebe started her dentistry practice with her sister and business partner Eileen A. Margaja-Mascardo.
Then came Vincent or Tiny, their only son, who is now a registered nurse.
Life went on until coach Boy was offered the sports directorship post of UM, which has the biggest number of student-athetes in the region.
The position suits him well because he himself is an athlete and still is one up to this day. And silently supporting him all those many, many years is his No.1 fan, Phoebe.
Coach Boy has inherited his late father’s way of taking care of athletes by training them for city, regional and national competitions and the best part, always having the time to gather them at their humble home. It’s just the way they are. Gathering hungry athletes after each game can put a strain on a family’s budget. Believe me, if you continue to bring in a dozen of tired and hungry players, it’s going to be tough. But in our culture, we treat athletes as family members and such generosity and love we’ve been luckily, beneficiaries too.
Doc Phoebe first reacted to the weekly gathering of athletes at their home. You see, the lady of the house, is usually in-charge of the budgeting and if you married an athlete, you simply just take their cheques and take care of budgeting the expenses.
“Unsa man ni Boy?,” she asked coach Boy, who responds lovingly that they came from a game and just have to do a post-game meeting. But mind you, there’s always a feast, hahaha. In our Filipino culture, there is no meeting without a meal.
That first reaction, many moons ago, was never repeated, for Doc Phoebe has understood coach Boy’s way of managing athletes. And for reasons I don’t know, there is always a good cook in the team and this has made life easier for the team. A group goes to the wet market, the others prepare the ingredients and rice, lots of it, are cooked on a big pot, oh yeah, rice power we call it.
Then comes the serious meeting while dinner is being served.
Closely observing them was Doc Phoebe who upon hearing all their stories, happy and sad, has come to embrace them like her own son Tiny.
Gone is the feeling of awkwardness at the humble Sarabia home. You can actually just knock on their gate, just watch out for the dogs, and athletes are always welcome, thanks to the understanding of the lady of the house. Many years have passed, Doc Phoebe has even become a godmother to their weddings or to their children. Oh yeah, some of them are serving in Malacanang now.
Coach Boy’s success in coaching and sports management could have never materialized without Doc Phoebe. Yes, UM has reaped national titles and produced many national athletes simply because coach Boy and Doc Phoebe walked the extra mile.
They opened their home to poor athletes looking for guidance and a warm meal, including us, then a struggling sportswriter, sports scholars now lawyers, Atty.Guillermo Iroy Jr. and Atty.Francisco Villano Jr. and hundred others whom they treated like family members.
Goodbye ate Phoebe. My wife Marjorie Dulalas Igpit and the rest of the Davao sports family will surely miss you.
