Whether in life or in sports, having the right teammate to go to battles with can make all the difference.
For Jan Will and Jiwen Sinuto, they have found the best ally in each other since their childhood.
Jan Will, the older of the two brothers, was the first to take an interest in volleyball when he was invited to join a volleyball clinic in their hometown Nueva Ecija.
Right then, Jan Will took the sport seriously. Jiwen, meanwhile, was already into basketball at the time before he would be asked by his elder brother to join the volleyball training.
Eventually, the Sinuto brothers would find themselves playing together at the General Tinio National High School in Nueva Ecija. That's when the dream started for the two.
"May volleyball clinic sa amin tapos sinama ko siya, hanggang sa nagustuhan na namin, hanggang naging teammates kami sa high school. Sa General Tinio National High School," Jan Will shared to GMA News Online on Saturday.
Jiwen added: "Ako naman po, ayaw ko talaga ng volleyball. Basketball po talaga ako bata pa lang ako. Pero nainggit ako sa kanya tapos nu’ng sinubukan ko, sabi ko mukhang okay ‘to and nagustuhan ko kaya tinuloy ko."
With the never-ending support of their father, the two decided to try their luck in Manila.
"Kaya tinuloy-tuloy namin kasi ‘yung father namin sobrang supportive. ‘Yung the way niya kami suportahan, ayon ‘yung nag-push sa amin na ituloy ‘yung volleyball," Jan Will added.
"Ang kagandahan naman po ay ‘yung support niya nagkaro’n nag kapalit kagaya ngayon, college kami and wala kaming binabayaran."
Jan Will was the first to look for a stint in Manila when he joined Lyceum of the Philippines University in 2019, but was placed in the reserve list. Luckily, his friend and current Arellano University middle blocker in Anfernee Curamen invited him to attend a tryout with the Chiefs.
Jiwen, meanwhile, tried out for San Beda University but was also turned down, prompting him to join his older brother in Arellano.
"Ako po kasi galing akong LPU. Nasa LPU po ako nu’ng 2019 kaso na-reserve ako sa lineup tapos kinausap ako ni Curamen na mag-try out sa kanila," the 24-year-old Jan Will said.
"Buti nakuha po ako ni coach Sherwin tapos sinama ko na rin siya (Jiwen) after pandemic."
Together, Jan Will and Jiwen hope their connection as brothers will eventually help the Chiefs get the crown this time around following years of setbacks.
"Kilala na namin ‘yung isa’t isa. ‘Pag sinabi niyang ‘sige paluin mo, co-cover ako sa likod’, ‘yung pakiramdam ko confident ako na may dedepensa sa likod ko kaya buong pwersa ko talagang papaluin ‘yung bola," Jiwen shared.
That was the case when they led Arellano to a four-set stunner against Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Jiwen dropped a team-high 15 points and six digs while Jan Will poured 13 markers and 14 receptions off the bench to star in their 19-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 win.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
