BLIND ITEM: Could it be true that a well-known international athlete has a hidden child in the country with a Filipina, and it could have been made during one of his several visits here before?
A source told the Buzzer Beater that the supposed Filipino child of the international athlete was revealed during an interview conducted with one of his former teammates who also visited the country before.
“Sakaling totoo ay hindi naman nakakagulat na may anak nga siya dito dahil madaming beses na din naman siyang bumisita sa bansa,” said the source. “Tago naman dapat ‘yun eh, kaso nadulas ‘yung isang teammate niya nung ma interview ng media.”
“Usap-usapan din naman na kaya madalas din sa bansa si international athlete dahil binibisita niya ‘yung supposed na anak niya at hindi naman daw siya nagpapabaya sa sustento,’’ the source added.
“Pero sakali ngang anak nga talaga ‘yun ni international athlete, sana ay sumunod siya sa yapak ng ama niya dahil, for sure, magiging malaking tulong siya sa national team natin, lalo na kung namana niya ang talento ng tatay niya,” the source concluded.
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Magnolia Hotshots center Jean Marc Pingris is as surprised as everybody else in his inclusion into the 24-man Gilas Pilipinas pool for the first window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers later this month.
The 38-year-old Pingris, who has become a fixture in the national men’s basketball team, said that he was shocked with the sudden call up but vowed to fight for a spot in the final roster.
“Seryoso ba ‘yan?” Pingris said in an interview with ESPN5. “But honestly, I feel blessed just to have my name included in the pool. We all know I just recovered from a knee injury so to me, it’s a big surprise.”
“Since I’m one of the veterans, I can serve as a guide and mentor the younger players in the pool,” he added. “But of course, I’ll still give my 100 percent in practice to try to get to the final 12.”
Pingris, a many-time PBA All-Defensive team member, had slowly reintegrated himself back to the Hotshots in the 2019 season after recovering from an ACL tear on his knee that he suffered in 2018.
He will be one of the bigs in the Gilas Pilipinas pool aside from naturalized player Christian Standhardinger, John Paul Erram, Jeth Troy Rosario, Japeth Aguilar, George Isaac Go, Justine Baltazar and Dwight Ramos.
Others players who are part of the pool were Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, Rey Mark Belo, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., Roger Pogoy, Jaymar Perez, Matthew Wright, Mike and Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi, Rey Suerte, Frederick Tungcab, Kobe Paras, Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano and Dave Ildefonso.
The 24 men in the roster are set to vie for spots in the national men’s basketball team’s opening campaign in the tournament against Thailand and Indonesia on Feb. 20 and 23, respectively./PN
