Bong Quinto dedicates first PBA title to late dad

On Father's Day, Bong Quinto fulfilled one of his childhood dreams: win a PBA title.

Days after the Bolts defeated San Miguel in Game 6 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the Meralco guard went to his father's grave and dedicated his newest achievement to him.

"Happy Father’s Day, Papa. Champion na anak mo," Quinto wrote on his social media post on Friday.

"Salamat sa suporta mo sa akin. Nagbunga lahat ng panalangin mo para sa akin. Mahal kita, Papa. Para sa'yo 'tong championship na to. Alam kong proud ka sa akin."

(Happy Father's Day, Papa! Your child is a champion. Thank you for supporting me. Your prayers for me are now fulfilled. I love you, Papa. This is for you. I know you are proud of me.)

After their win, Quinto shared that being a PBA champion was his dream first -- even before being a champion on the varsity level.

"Bago ako nangarap mag-champion sa college, mag-champion sa high school, nangarap muna ako mag-champion sa PBA," said the Colegio de San Juan de Letran product.

"Bata pa lang ako, naalala ko before nakiki-celebrate ako sa championship ng Talk 'N Text kasi bata pa lang ako, lagi ako nanonood ng practice nila," Quinto recalled.

"First time ko manood ng PBA, Alaska vs Talk 'N Text sa Cuneta [Astrodome] pa noon. 'Yun yung pinaka-first time ko nanood ng PBA, championship pa. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, soon, makakarating din tayo."

(Even before dreaming of being a college champion or in high school, I wanted to be a PBA champion already. Before, I used to celebrate with Talk 'N Text's championship because I always watch their practice. In my first PBA game, it was Alaska vs Talk 'N Text at Cuneta. That was the first time I watched the PBA and it was a championship. I told myself I'll also be there.)

While Quinto could not recall the exact year he watched the said game, what he was sure of was his uncles Bong and Dats Lozano were part of Alaska and TNT's crew which allowed him to watch a game and led to dreaming of his own title.

"Grabe pasasalamat ko sa kanila, sila 'yung reason bakit nandito ako, nakapunta ng Letran, nakapunta ako ng pro. Dahil sa kanila, malaking part ng career ko, 'yung success ko, dine-dedicate ko rin sa kanila."

(I am very thankful to them because they were also part of why I'm here, I went to Letran, and became a pro. Because of them, they are big parts of my career. I dedicate my success to them as well.)

—JKC, GMA Integrated News