Karateka Jamie Lim on PBA legend dad Samboy Lim: I'm like him

Jamie Lim, Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) legend Samboy Lim's daughter, proved she has both brains and brawn.

Aside from graduating summa cum laude with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Jamie also proved that her father's winning legacy also runs in her blood after winning a Southeast Asian Games gold medal in the women's 61kg kumite category.

For Jaimie, her victory in the biennial meet is a replica of the same SEA Games success her father got when he won the gold in the men's basketball in 1985.

"I can't believe I'm replicating his achievement so I could say that I'm like him and I always wanted to do that," she said in a press conference at the Conrad Hotel in Manila Tuesday.

Jamie, whose mom is former Pag-IBIG Fund chief Darlene Berberabe, added that both her parents are her idols.

"They're very amazing in their fields and they're both great people at the same time so I just want to be that and that's what I've been trying to do (ever since)," she said.

But the 22-year-old said her journey to success was not a walk in the park and like any other athlete, she also had to undergo difficulties.

When she was just starting practicing karate at six years old, she said she was "very bad" at it.

"I kept losing. I never won a gold until I was 9 years old so that was three years of losing and that was hard for a little girl playing karate, training all the time and always losing," she said.

Jamie said she went through the same struggles in her first few years in school.

"When I was in elementary and high school, I wasn't at the top of my class, ever. I was not someone you'd say as bright," she said.

But instead of dwelling on her failures, she used them as her motivation to success.

"I just want to say na it takes a lot of hard work and believing in yourself so if you have a dream, just believe na kakayanin mo and just do the work to get there kasi kahit super tagal ng process, trust it and believe," she said.

For Jamie, 2019 turned out to be a year of accomplishments.

"For four years I've been trying to be the best in academics and I think I did it. For the past five months, I also focused to be the best naman in my sport and I think I did it as well," she said.

"So mission accomplished for 2019," she added. —LDF, GMA News