Lessons from Lanete

Everyone has a dream life, wherein they are living out their greatest fantasies and earning the income which guarantees a comfortable life. Regardless of the toil needed, everyone wants something more. For millions of Filipino boys, the dream is playing professional basketball, hopefully in the PBA.

But sometimes, there are things that are more important than your dream. Or your dream could be overshadowed or supplanted by something bigger, more important, or a goal you didn’t know you had. This is the case of former pro Garvo Lanete.

“I always wanted to be a basketball player. So I was living the dream, the former San Beda Red Lion told The STAR. “But I also wanted to start a family. We couldn’t do that during the pandemic.”

Garvo and his American wife Shelby were separated by circumstance three years ago. He was playing in the PBA bubble in Pampanga; she was isolated at home and couldn’t go out. It was a maddening situation. Worse, they wanted to have children, but couldn’t. They prayed hard for clarity.

So in the middle of Garvo’s contract with the Meralco Bolts, the couple made the difficult decision to uproot and go to Shelby’s hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Neither had a job waiting, or any concrete prospects. He was giving up his original dream life for love.

Luckily, Filipinos in the Atlanta basketball community helped him find work as assistant athletic director of a private Christian school. Shelby is working from home, and they are expecting their second child in a few weeks.

“It’s been three years already, so fast,” Garvo marvels. “It’s true what they say, the days are long but the years are short. You could say that I’m living the dream now. It’s been great. You just have to trust God.”

True. All you have to do is have a little faith.