"Sorry, dad."
That was the message of Sean Quitevis, the new skipper of reigning UAAP champions Ateneo Blue Eagles, for his father.
He did no wrong, of course. In fact, he has been all right. So much so that where he is right now has far exceeded just about everybody's expectations of him.
Quitevis -- a 6-foot guard who's still in the process of rounding out his game but plays with his heart on his sleeve all the time -- wasn't a highly touted recruit from a hotbed program. What he was, rather, was a hopeful from Cebu who tried his luck in his dream school.
And at first, lady luck turned her back on him. He walked on and passed the Team B tryout, only to find out that UAAP basketball, and Tab Baldwin's brand of it in particular, was another beast altogether.
"My first practice, I was so overwhelmed with the systems. So basically, after that, I got cut. They said just focus on academics, but if you have time, you can come practice with us," he recalled. "All I heard was come practice with us."
And so, instead of doing what his parents and coaches told him to get to -- pre-med then med school -- Quitevis kept at it. Day in and day out, he was inside the gym, working with the Blue Eagles. No scholarship, no roster spot, nothing to go by at all.
Eventually, his persistence paid off. The guy not on the team who was there regardless, finally, had reason to be there.
"I showed up every day. I'd join their practice and even after, I'd stay and watch Team A practice to learn even faster," he narrated. "Eventually, (Team B) coach Yuri [Escueta] messaged me and said you're part of the team now. He liked how I practiced. He liked the energy I brought."
That was Team B, though, and the PAREF Springdale product's dreams of donning the blue and white in the UAAP remained far away. Until, that is, a 'Saint' came along.
With the arrival of now-B.League star and Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Dwight Ramos, Baldwin's eyes wandered onto Team B -- and onto that gutsy glue guy who just kept at it.
Quitevis was finally included in the Team A training pool, but even then, he still didn't have lady luck's eye. All he wanted was to be a COVID reserve for UAAP Season 84, and yet, he was told it wasn't his time.
"(Ateneo assistant) coach Sandy [Arespacochaga] texted me, he said, 'Sorry, there's a limitation for players, only 22 will be allowed and sadly, you're not one of them,'" he shared. "I thought, 'Wow! Three years of trying to catch up and I won't even get a chance to prove myself.' It was devastating. I thought my career as an Ateneo Blue Eagle was over."
Nonetheless, it was no surprise that he was still there, still ready, still raring, and when plans changed, he did make it as an Ateneo COVID reserve.
The Blue Eagles bowed to the UP Fighting Maroons in the finals of that season, but the next time around, they exacted revenge on their modern-day rivals. The difference in Season 85? Maybe, just maybe, because Quitevis was lined up on that team.
"After Season 84, I was actually graduating, so I had to have a talk with coach Tab. I asked him, 'Do I graduate and move on? Do you see me in your program, still?'" he detailed.
"He re-assured me there's a pathway to a pro career if I wanted it. I wasn't playing a lot in Season 85, but Game 2 of the finals, do-or-die, BJ [Andrade] gets into foul trouble, coach gave me a shot at it."
"I hope I paid him back in full," he added, talking about how he emerged as a key contributor in Ateneo's back-to-back wins to end the year with a championship.
Now, the 23-year-old has become yet another example of Katipunan Ave.'s famed 'next man up' culture. Oh so slowly, but surely climbing the ladder, his dream was finally reality.
"It wasn't too long ago I wasn't even sure I would be on the team. If you tell me a year later I'd be in this position as starter, as captain, I wouldn't believe you," he remarked. "Many people ask me, 'Where do you see yourself going.' Who knows? Sky's the limit. I just put in the work."
Safe to say, Quitevis has, at long last, caught the attention of lady luck, and right now, the two of them are smiling at each other. Now, the dreamer-turned-walk-on-turned-reject-turned-gym mainstay-turned-Team B player-turned-COVID reserve-turned-go-getter-turned-champion... is the Blue Eagles' skipper.
And he has one objective, personally, in their title defense: lead this new generation of Ateneo players by, first and foremost, making them believe in themselves.
That's what he has been doing again and again, after all.
"The reason I started playing basketball was Kobe [Bryant], just his 'Mamba mentality' was such an inspiring story to me. I wanted to embody that," he exclaimed. "I want to inspire others to become the best versions of themselves. That's what creates a cycle of greatness."
And what do you get when you inject the next man up with the mentality of the 'Black Mamba'?
Well, a champion who doesn't know when to quit, and who'll do anything and everything in his power to get to greatness.