Published: 3:42 pm February 15, 2021 | Updated: 3:58 pm February 15, 2021

𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘒𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘺𝘰𝘱, 𝘓𝘢𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘣𝘺 Alex Aguinaldo

Following the postponement of the 6th installment of the LIKE (Life, Interests, Knowledge, and Experience) Talks due to technical difficulties, the event was rescheduled and was eventually launched via Facebook live and MS Teams on February 12 at 6 PM.

Rising basketball star Mr. Rhon Jhay Abarrientos was invited as the guest speaker to discuss the topic regarding sportsmanship, The webinar was hosted by Mr. Allan Kirk Orteza who started the event with an introduction of the guest speaker. Mr. Abarrientos is a student-athlete, rookie, and speedy point guard of FEU Tamaraw Men’s Basketball Team who was also awarded as one of the UAAP Season 79 Juniors Mythical 5 players and a FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup 2019 3-point gold medalist.

To kick off the event, Mr. Abarrientos shared his experiences playing locally and representing the Philippines internationally and said that those were somewhat similar, however, the pressure of playing internationally was all about maintaining the goal of their desired standing. In addition, he also said that competing with foreign players was one of his struggles when he competed in FIBA 3×3.

When asked about the meaning of sportsmanship as an athlete, Mr. Abarrientos expressed his own thought by saying that “Iyong sportsmanship kasi para sa’kin, ito ‘yung key for a player like me, kasi hindi ito basta basta.” He added that values, discipline, and good treatment for other teammates are examples of a skilled player’s sportsmanship.

In terms of sportsmanship practices and developments, having a good mindset is essential for him. “Before I sleep, nagp-pray ako, nanghihigi ako ng sign kay God pa’no niya ako matutulungan,” he said. For Mr. Abarrientos, being an athlete is also about encountering different struggles before succeeding.

Moving forward on how sportsmanship affects playing inside the court, he mentioned that what athletes do outside the court reflects on how they play inside the court. Sportsmanship is also a golden rule for him because being professional is important. Additionally, in his last year of playing in high school, leadership and being a good sport is a culture he and his teammates uphold.

Furthermore, he shared that during his rookie years, one of the struggles he had to face was the culture of being belittled and receiving criticisms from his seniors. However, Abarrientos believes that this, together with handling defeats and failures, is all about having a positive mindset and effectively coping up with it.

In his closing statement, Mr. Abarrientos advised the aspiring athletes of the younger generation, “Tuloy lang sa pangarap sa buhay, siyempre huwag kakalimutan mag-aral, number one ‘yan, ‘di iyan mawawala, then set a good mindset every day… Kailangan mo pagtrabahuan ‘yung gusto mo.”

To finish the webinar, Mr. Abarrientos was granted a certificate of appreciation. It was also announced that the theme of LIKE Talks’ next installation with Mr. Jayvee Badile will be “The Stories of Students’ Success,” which will be held at 6 PM via MS Teams Live on February 19, 2021.