Sanlea Peñaverde's fearless attitude on and off the court is no longer a revelation to San Sebastian College-Recoletos Staglets' head coach Juan Miguel Martin.
After all, the flashy 19-year-old guard was literally taught to fear no one at a very young age.
Peñaverde shared he has been taking part in his family's funeral business in Bicol since he was 12, which helped him overcome his fears and translate it to feistiness on the court.
"Tumutulong po ako sa papa ko na nag-e-embalsamo. Siguro mga 12 [years old] po sumasama na ako. May sarili po kaming punerarya pero sa lolo ko po ‘yun,"the 5-foot-10 baskcourt general shared on Tuesday.
He quipped: "Hindi po [ako takot], takot lang po ako kay coach."
Martin can attest to Peñaverde's inherent qualities, sharing the latter even spent the holidays last year doing extra work in the school to prepare for the NCAA Season 100 juniors basketball tournament.
"Hindi mo matatawaran talaga ‘yan. Siya lang ‘yung hindi umuwi sa amin nu’ng holidays. Naiwan mag-isa ‘yan sa dorm namin, nag-weights, nag-shooting despite na December 25 at January 1. Iba talaga ‘yung pangarap ng batang ‘yan," Martin said.
"Sanay sa multo ‘yan kasi nag-e-embalsamo ‘yung family niyan, even him, gano’n katapang ‘yang batang ‘yan."
And after waiting for the youngster's breakout game for a while now, it finally happened on Tuesday after Peñaverde exploded for a career-high performance that almost had him posting a quadruple-double outing.
He tallied a career-best 37 points together with 10 rebounds, nine steals, and six assists to power their breakthrough 83-77 victory against Lyceum of the Philippines University.
"Sa game wala kaming ibang inisip kung hindi manalo. Sabi sa akin ni coach na ‘wag kong bibitawan ‘yung laro kasi mahirap talaga kasi off ‘yung iba kong teammates kaya hindi po ako pwedeng bumitaw," Peñaverde shared.
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
