TRUE-BLUE volleyball fan Fredinel Arellano’s eyes widened when he sat at courtside of the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay to watch the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship on a rainy Sunday night.
Holding a banner that had Brazil’s colors and emblem, Arellano cheered with his heart out for his teenage favorite team—and could not believe the Dream Team and his sport heroes like Darlan Souza and Ricardo Lucarelli were playing right before his very eyes—for a moment 17 long years in the making.
“The year was 2008, high school ako that time, una ko silang napanood sa Beijing Olympics tapos nag-gold sila doon. Tapos pinanood ko ulit sila noong 2012 London Olympics, gold ulit sila,” Arellano told Malaya-Business Insight yesterday. “So, doon na nagsimula, 16 years old ako that time tapos pinapanood ko na sila simula noon.
“Si Darlan at si Lucarelli. Sila naman iyong parang medyo matagal na. The rest kasi iyong ibang players nila ngayon parang bago, bagong player. Pero from mga Olympic games nila at sa VNL, sila ang dalawang nandoon na matagal na,” he added.
Brazil dodged the upset axe wielded by China and carved out a 19-25, 25-23, 25-22, 25-21 victory in Pool H action.
After initially getting the heat from the fans for the tilt’s ticket prices, Arellano said the move to cut the costs for the seats at the Pasay-based venue and at the Smart Araneta Coliseum was a game-changer.
A former high school volleyball player and coach, Arellano, 33, who now works for a religious NGO corporation, bought his ticket for P4,400—a big drop from the original P14,000 price—but stressed the experience is certainly priceless.
“Isa sa mga good things na ginagawa, kunwari katulad sa laro ng Brazil and China China mayroong playlist ang DJ, may mga Brazilian music tapos may Chinese music. Kaya medyo parang naha-hype iyong mga tao. Naha-hype din iyong fans from China and Brazil,” he said. “Pinapayagan nila after the game, iyong mga nasa courtside na magpa-picture with the players. Lumalapit iyong mga player.
“Parang na-orient nila iyong mga players na maraming volleyball fans sa Philippines kaya automatic iyong players lumalapit sa courtside para magpa-picture. Iyon ang magandang experience.”
Arellano returned to his San Juan home filled with a night truly to remember and cherish forever.
