CESAFI player Macion hopes hoops success helps find his father

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Growing up in Samar, Michael Angelo Macion often told his mother he wanted to study in Cebu City so he could become a good basketball player like his idol June Mar Fajardo, who played for the University of Cebu Webmasters before joining the PBA’s San Miguel Beermen.

Despite telling his mother so, Macion had doubts he’d make it to the CESAFI, let alone play as a power forward/center for the 11-time champion University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers.

However, unlike other players, Macion’s goal to become a good player is not mainly because he dreams of someday joining the PBA, although he is open to that possibility. His reason is that he hopes his play on the court could help him meet his father, whom he hasn’t seen since he split with his mother at age 4.

He’s hoping that, wherever his father is, he’ll someday take notice now that CESAFI games are televised nationally on Aksyon TV.

“Wala pa ko kakita niya hangtod karon. Bata pa ko nagbuwag sila. Gusto jud ko makakita sa ako papa. Wala nay kontak ako mama sa iyaha,” says the 19-year-old Macion.

(I haven’t seen my father until now. I was only young when they broke up. I’d really like to see my father. My mother no longer has any contact with him.)

Macion said that he tried reaching out to his father but it seems like his father has no inclination of meeting with him. Despite this yearning, Macion said he has grown used to having no father by his side.

According to Macion, his mother gave birth to him in her hometown in Osmena, a barangay of Marabut, a municipality of Samar in the Eastern Visayas Region. When she went to Manila to join her husband after giving birth, she discovered that he already had a new wife.

Macion grew up with his grandmother Angela, who sustains him on the meager monthly pension of his grandfather which only amounts to P1,940. The lanky hoopster said that during his high school years, he’d receive just P1 daily for baon, which he’d use to buy ice water. 

His mother now has another family with whom he has 11 other siblings. They live in Guiuan, Samar. His father, who now hails in Iloilo, he heard has 3 daughters.

Macion started playing basketball at the age of 8 years old. He got into it because his mother had told him that his father used to play the sport. At that time, a coach had told him that he should constantly practice because he might get tapped for school varsity.

True enough, Macion did play for his school—Osmena Elementary and Osmena National High School. He even made it to the regionals and was lined up for Palarong Pambansa in 2013. He, however, failed to join the Eastern Visayas team due to a problem with his papers.

When he turned 17 years old, Macion was sent by his grandmother to Guiuan. She told him “Dako naman ka, maningkamot naka sa imong kaugalingon.” (You’re already grown up, you should already find your own means.)

So Macion went to his mother in Guiuan where he found work as a construction worker to help her with her 11 other children.

Not long after that, he got tapped to play for the Guiuan selection team in inter-city leagues. Floro Guimbaolibot, a councilor of Guiuan recommended him to Wilmar Candido, the basketball coach of Cindy’s in Tacloban. And, this paved the way for him to become a Green Lancer. 

Macion said that one night last year, as he was passing the time at the pier, he got a call telling him to go to Cebu the next day to tryout for the UV Green Lancers.

Despite standing 6-feet, 4 inches tall, Macion said he did not expect to be picked by the vaunted team because of his thin frame. But when he got accepted, he said to himself “kaya ni nako, layo ako gigikanan, gikan pa ko Samar mao wala jud ko maghunahuna nga di nako kaya.” (I can do this, I came from afar, I came from Samar so it never crossed my mind that I couldn’t do it.) 

And while most players aim for the PBA, Macion’s goal is to graduate and get his Hotel and Restaurant Management degree. 

“Para sa ako dawaton nako kung ma PBA o D-League pero mas kailangan maka-graduate ko para makatabang sa pamilya.” (For me, I will accept should I become a part of PBA or D-League but what is important is that I get to graduate so I can help my family.)

His grandmother and the rest of his family serve as his inspiration.

Macion takes to heart what his grandmother Angela has told him, that he should grab all the opportunity that he will be presented with now that he is in Cebu. “Buhaton nako ang tanan na makuha nako ako goal sa kinabuhi.” (I will do everything so I can achieve my goal in life.)

For Macion, it is important that he will be able to balance his studies and his being a basketball player. “As a player importante ang grade kay kung mahagbong di kadula, sayang ang paningkamot kung mao ra gihapon na di ka kadula.” (Grades are very important as a player because if you fail you cannot play, all your efforts will be wasted if you cannot play.)

As for the team, Macion vows to step up, “kailangan nga dako ko tabang sa ako mga teammates. Kung unsa ako maipakita karon, kailangan mas dako pa sa coming years, kailangan makatabang ko nga makuha namo amo goal na mo champion karon na season.” (I should be of big help to my teammates. Whatever I can show them now, I should be able to do more in the coming years, hopefully I can help the team achieve our goal which is to win the championship this season.)

Macion was also asked to tryout for the NCAA school San Sebastian College in Manila last year when he was a rookie for the Green Lancers, but he opted to stay with UV.

According to UV scouting coach Van Halen Parmis, Macion has improved greatly from his rookie year last year.

“From being a neophyte on court, he has slowly made us feel his presence. I say slowly because compared to the seniors who share the same spot with him, he gets little exposure that the likes of Soliva (Monic) and Balabag. But then again, this is only his second year with us. I trust his skills and we are just waiting for the right timing for him. But he is still very young. There is still so much in store for him,” Parmis said.

Through it all, Macion is happy that he is able to play in the CESAFI and seen on TV as well just like his idol Fajardo. And even if his father isn’t watching, he hopes his friends back home get to see him contribute to his team’s cause. – Rappler.com