MANILA, Philippines – Filipino-Malaysian freestyle baller Scalia Nethanial has been keeping himself busy as a hometown hero for his town of Basista in Pangasinan amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
With his usual schedule sidelined due to the health crisis, Nethanial has focused his energy on making a difference for his municipality even as he remains miles away from Pangasinan in Malaysia.
Speaking to Philstar.com, the five-time freestyle basketball champion spoke about his efforts that blossomed last year.
"2020 was really good for me because I had a goal to reach out to the Filipino audience... Basista was a place of very good memories. That's why I love doing stuff for them," Nethanial said.
"I was able to do a lot of things for my home town," he continued.
Nethanial's efforts were highlighted with a local contest aiming to make positive change for the citizens in Basista.
The 2nd edition of the Scalia Talent Challenge. The contest is for those located in Basista (Pangasinan, Philippines)...
Posted by Scalia on Monday, November 30, 2020
"I'm on my third contest right now," Nethanial said of the Scalia talent challenge.
"That contest... I'm looking at these kids... they're at home, some of them started to vape, they started to drink because they had nothing to do and I was like, ‘I need to do something’," he added.
Nethanial's efforts were not in vain as many youth in his town participated. It overwhelmed the Filipino-Malaysian.
"It's crazy because so many of them joined... it was an experiment and after that I decided I want to do it again. This contest has honestly really changed my life as well," he said.
Knowing the impact of doing projects like this to both himself, and the members of his community, Nethanial is urging his fellow athletes to do the same — especially those who have achieved overseas.
"One of the things I actually want to show, especially to other athletes out there who are abroad, don't forget your hometown," said Nethanial.
"Despite of what I'm doing here, all my activities, I don't forget my small hometown back home in the Philippines... I wish more people would do it," he added.
More details of Nethanial's projects can be found on his social media assets.