The Hubert Cani story: A mother’s appeal

Manila, Philippines – Hubert Cani is currently going through a tough ordeal. After spending years playing for the NU Bullpups in the juniors division of the UAAP, the former Finals MVP is dedicated to spending his college basketball career at Ateneo, where he believes he has the best opportunity to carve out a successful collegiate-playing resume.

However, due the UAAP technicalities, Cani will have to sit out two years because of the residency period rule, unless he receives a release from National University. But chances of that happening are bleak, leaving Cani with no choice but to sit in the sidelines before playing for the Blue Eagles.

Hubert’s mom, Grace, recently reached out to Rappler and penned an open letter, hoping this could help her son get a release from the high school he played for.

In the letter, Mrs. Cani reveals a lot regarding a promise NU made to the Cani family, Hubert’s time practicing with La Salle and Ateneo, some personal information, and much more.

Read her letter below:

Magandang araw po sa inyo. Ako po si Grace Ramos Cani, mommy ni Hubert, na nangangarap na makita ang aking anak na makapag-aral at makapag-laro sa gusto niyang school in college.

(Good day to you all. I am Grace Ramos Cani, mommy of Hubert, who is hoping to see her son study and play basketball for the school of his choice.)

We want to anticipate everything for the education and basketball life of our son, we support him all the way, until this major decision of my son on where to go in college.

There are many issues na lumabas especially sa release ng bata. Tahimik lang po kami, kasi nga po we really respect the NU officials. Totoo po na nangangarap kami na before opening ng UAAP Season 77, ay mabigyan ng release paper ang aking anak.

(There have been many issues surrounding my son’s release. We kept mum because we respect the NU officials. It’s true we are hoping that Hubert will be given release papers before the opening of the UAAP’s 77th season.)

In reality, confident po kami regarding sa release, dahil may nausapan na po talaga kami nina Sir Junel and Sir Nilo before mag fourth year ni Hubert. Late na po siya nag pa enroll, kasi nga po we wanted a release paper, and they guaranteed na walang problema pag nag-college na ang anak ko. And may witness po kami.

(We were confident regarding the release because we talked to Sir Junel and Sir Nilo before Hubert’s final year in high school. He enrolled late because we wanted a release paper, and they guaranteed there would be no problem with regards to my son’s choice of college. And we have a witness.)

Editor’s note: A few days ago, Rappler reached out to Junel Baculi, who said NU did not promise any release to Cani’s family. READ: The Tug of War for Hubert Cani

Masakit po sa isang ina na katulad ko ang makarinig or makabasa ng mga negative issues na sinasabi sa amin. Lalo pa ngayon na ako ay ongoing ang dialysis. Opo, sa totoo lang di ko na alam kung hanggang kailan na lang ako dito sa mundo, ang nag papagaang na nga lang ng buhay ko ay ang achievement ng aking anak, kaya lumalaban pa ako sa buhay ko, kasi gusto ko siyang makita na makalaro sa gusto niya at saan siya masaya.

(It really hurts for a mother like myself to hear or read negative issues about us, especially now that I’m going through dialysis. Yes, in truth I don’t know until when I’ll live. The only thing keeping me going in life is the achievement of my son, which is why I’m still fighting for my life, because I want to see him play where he wants to and where he will be happy.)

Mabait po si Sir Junel, siya ang tipo ng boss na pinapangalagaan niya ang kanyang mga empleyado, at si Sir Nilo Ocampo, pwede mong ikwento lahat, magaling siyang makisama sa mga katulad namin. Kaya nga po hindi naging mahirap mag-open sa kanila ng mga problema sa trabaho o personal na usapan.

(Sir Junel is nice, he’s the type of boss who names his employees, and Sir Nilo Ocampo, you can tell him everything. He’s good to be around for us. That’s why it wasn’t hard to open up to them about personal or work-related problems.)

Malaki po ang pasasalamat namin sa kanila, dahil ang laki ng naitulong nila sa bata at sa aming pamilya. Kung may mga nasabi man si Sir Junel, siguro yon ay dahil sa kanyang tungkulin sa kanyang trabaho at di namin pini-personal. Ang importante alam namin ang totoo pare-pareho at sila ang makakatulong sa amin na ma convince si Sir Hans Sy na mabigyan ng release paper ang aking anak, dahil wala naman kaming nagawang mali during our stay sa NU.

(We are very thankful to them, because they have helped Hubert and our family. If Sir Junel says anything, maybe it’s because that’s what his work demands of him, and we don’t take it personally. What’s important is that we all know the truth and they can help convince Sir Hans Sy to give Hubert his release paper, because we haven’t done anything wrong during out stay at NU.)

About loyalty ang pag-uusapan, may nakarating po sa amin, na may nag sabi kay Sir Hans Sy na pumirma na raw kami sa Ateneo, kaya parang nagalit sa amin, Pero napag-alaman nila na di totoo, dahil hanggang ngayon wala naman kaming kontrata sa Ateneo.

(When it comes to loyalty, word got back to us that someone told Sir Hans Sy that we’ve already signed with Ateneo, which is why he kind of got infuriated at us. But they found out it wasn’t true, because until now we haven’t agreed to a contract with Ateneo.)

Hindi naman po masama na pumili ang bata sa pupuntahan nila sa college. Maraming school pa rin hindi kumukuha sa kanilang high school player at patuloy ang pag recruit nila sa ibang school. Halimbawa na lang po ang San Beda, lahat po ng high school players dyan magagaling, pero pag dating ng college, pwede silang pumunta kahit saan, na alam nila na magagamit at matutulungan sila at the same time.

(It’s not bad for kids to pick the college they want. There are a lot of schools that don’t keep their high school players and allow them to be recruited by other schools. For example, with San Beda, all of their high school players are talented, but when it comes to college, they can go to wherever they want, where they know they can be used and they will be helped at the same time.)

Sa case po ng aking anak, ang mga managers ng NU high school (Sir Sergio at Sir Fulton), ang nag pakita ng interest na siya ay mapabilang sa seniorsa. Nag-plano ng usapan ang husband ko at si Coach Eric Altamirano na mag-uusap, at nag hintay ang husband ko ng dalawang hours, at nakalimutan ni Coach Eric ang usapan nila. Siguro napagod dahil sa katatapos lang ng practice, kaya tinawagan niya si Coach Eric at ni remind na may usapan sila, at sinabi ni Coach Eric na sa ibang araw na lang at nawala daw sa isip niya.

(With my son, NU’s managers showed interest in recruiting him to the school’s senior team. There was a planned meeting between my husband and Coach Eric Altamirano to talk, and my husband waited for two hours, but Coach Eric forgot about it. Maybe he was tired because they just ended practice, which was why my husband called Coach Eric to remind him that they had a meeting. Coach Eric said that they should just re-schedule and the meeting slipped his mind.)

Doon kasi gusto namin malaman kung ano ang plano nila sa aking anak, pero di na nasundan yon at wala ng pag-uusap. Naisip na lang po namin na siguro nga puno na ng guard position. May plano si Coach Eric, talaga lang na di na napag-usapan pa.

(It was in that meeting where we wanted to know what his plan was for Hubert, but nothing pushed through. We thought that NU’s guard position was already full. Coach Eric really had a plan, though the meeting just never happened.)

Sa Ateneo at La salle, ang mga kausap ng husband ko sina Coach Bo Perasol at Coach Juno Sauler. Sa kanila yung mga plano nila sa bata ang pinag-uusapan, at kung ano pa ang kailangang ma-improve ng bata para ma-ready na sa college, at mga concern nila para sa future ng team, at kasama si Hubert sa mga plano nila para makabuo ng competitive team.

(At Ateneo and La Salle, my husband talked to Coach Bo Perasol and Coach Juno Sauler. It was with them where Hubert’s future was discussed, and what he needs to improve to get ready for college, and their concerns for their respective teams’ futures, and they said Hubert is part of their plan to form a competitive team.)

At sa mga araw na yon, patuloy lang na naki-praktis si Hubert sa dalawang teams. Dahil sabi nga namin sa kanya, nandito lang kami suporta, sa yo ang huling desisyon kung saan ka komportable.

(During those days, Hubert’s practices were continuous with the two teams. We told him that we were there for support, but the final decision would come from him, as he decides where he would be most comfortable.)

Sa month ng May, nag-paalam na po siya kay Coach Juno na mag ko-commit na po siya sa Ateneo at nag-pasalamat po siya sa amin, dahil sa time at chance. At ganoon din kami sa kanila.

(In May, we informed Coach Juno that Hubert would commit at Ateneo, and he gave us his thanks, because of the time and chance. And we did the same to them.)

Ngayon po release paper na lang po ang problema namin para sa anak namin, at sana nga po, mapag bigyan. Gaya po ng nauna naming nasabi na wala naman po kaming nagawang mali, at sinuportahan lang po namin mag desisyon ang bata na matupad ang kanyang pangarap. At sa inang katulad ko, na may sakit, ito rin ang nag-bibigay sa akin ng kaunting pag-asa sa buhay, na makita ko na unti-unti natutupad na niya ang pangarap niya. At masaya na ako doon.

(Now only the release paper is the problem our son faces, and hopefully, it is given. Like we said at first, we haven’t done anything wrong, and we are just supporting the decision of Hubert so that he can achieve his dream. And for a mother like myself, who is sick, this is what gives me little hope in life, to see my son’s dream come to reality little by little. And I’ll be happy with that.)

– Rappler.com