Vergel Meneses is now known as "The Aerial Voyager" and one of the legends of Philippine basketball, but when he started hoops as a boy he only scored two points in his first game.
In Chino Trinidad's report for "24 Oras," the former NCAA star went on a trip down the memory lane and narrated his journey from a young player in Bulacan to one of the greatest players in the PBA.
Meneses said he struggled a lot in the beginning, which prompted his father to offer him a P100 reward for every shot he makes. It didn't work, but what happened next lit a fire under him.
"Pitong tira walang pumasok," he said. "So 'yung kantiyaw, isa 'yun sa naging motivation ko dito."
When Meneses went to play in Malolos later on, that's when he unlocked his talent as a high leaper.
"Dito sa Malolos nun naka-dunk akong bigla eh. Sabi ko mukhang pang Manila na ko ah," he said.
He was catapulted to stardom in 1987, when he began playing for Jose Rizal College in the NCAA. That year, he joined the Philippine Amateur Basketball League Slam Dunk Competition as a guest competitor.
He absolutely slayed the field and got crowned as the PABL Slam Dunk King. Two years later, he became a member of the national youth team.
"May mga tira akong parang hindi ko nakikita sa iba, parang kusang dumarating," he said. "'Yung bang hindi ko naman pina-practice, kumbaga parang gift talaga galing sa taas eh."
He had come a long way from that struggling young boy in Bulacan, but once he found his place his hoops, he had never let go of it.
"Ito 'yung gusto ko talaga eh. Kailangan pag-igihan ko, pag-ingatan ko 'to. Kasi ito 'yung love na gustong-gusto ko talaga, ang basketball."
—MGP, GMA News
