NIETO BROTHERS: Deep Passion For The Game

By: John Dave Casas

 

The COVID-19 Pandemic ravaged the whole world and the Philippines as well. The sports sector is not exempted as coliseum doors closed and tournaments stopped. It was a bleak season for Philippine Sports since big tournaments like the PBA has already opened a new season and was abruptly halted in a blink of an eye.

Many athletes loosed hope as the number of cases soared up daily. But for Matt and Mike Nieto, the lockdown has something great to offer for their budding careers. “We just kept on training so that when the season starts, we’ll have an advantage over our opponents, It’s very exciting, the process, the fatigue that we experience during training (with Passion Sports), but we know at the end, this hard work that we’re doing are all worth it,” said the two former Blue Eagle stalwarts who are now part of the Gilas roster.

 

They have undergone into a rigorous personal training with Passion Sports founder Coach Rob Labagala for more than a year now and the two has never stopped learning from Coach Rob widening their skills and knowledge as the two are preparing for the FIBA Qualifier representing the country.

 

As they embarked on etching their legacies in the international stage the two humble stars shared a very excellent thought on the journey they are taking and always putting their best foot forward for our nation, “we just want to show the world how good a Filipino is in terms of basketball, we want to show how we Filipinos fight through adversities that are presented in front of us and we wanted to make our fellow Filipinos around the globe proud of their descents.”

The Nietos has also developed a stronger sense of brotherhood since they began training at Passion Sports, when asked on how did they motivated each other, Matt said “we’re always honest with each other, if we see something that can be improved on, we’ll let him know immediately.

 

We also like going against each other during practices since we’re both competitive” such a Passion spirit on fire on these two stars. Such a great chemistry happening on and off the court! These chemistry has helped them face big challenges together and reaching their dreams hand in hand. They have acted upon their passions and it propelled them to inspire other people.

Their advice to the youth? “Never let anyone tell you that you can’t achieve your dreams. Believe in yourself, never doubt yourself, and most importantly, trust that God has a plan for you.” At times like these, when it seems to be hopeless at all, it is the Passion we developed deep within that moves us forward and help us reach our dreams.

Keep the Passion burning!

 

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