Playing safe

SOME PLAYERS ARE FEARLESS ON THE COURT, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR FUTURE, THERE’S NOTHING LIKE INVESTING WISELY

By Joel Orellana
Business Mirror
October 6, 2007

THEY say a career in professional basketball doesn’t last a lifetime. That’s why there are those who plan for their future early even if their stars are still shining on the court.

That case is true for some players in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), as these hard-court heroes ready themselves for any eventuality when their respective careers are over.

BusinessMirror caught up with Talk ‘N Text’s Renren Ritualo, San Miguel Beer’s Dorian Peña and Wesley Gonzales, Romel Adducul of Purefoods Tender Juicy and Barangay Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid to discuss what they are into outside the loop.

One thing common to them is they are all fearless on the court, but they play safe on their future.

Renren’s Army

WITH a degree in Guidance Counseling and Psychology from De La Salle University in 2002, it is not surprising that Ritualo would opt for an education-oriented business. And this is what the former King Green Archer had in mind way back when he was still in college.

Finding the right partners with the same interest, Children’s Little University (CLU) was founded on April 14, 2006, with Ritualo initially thinking it would be a great moneymaking venture.

But as time passed, money played second fiddle to passion.

“At first, we thought that it will be a good business, but later on we realized na higit pa sa pagiging business ang CLU. We became closer to the kids and we’re now one big, happy family there,” said Ritualo, the six-foot-flat gunslinger of the Phone Pals.

“When we became closer to the kids, parang hindi na business for us. When we see the smiles of the kids, naroon ang fulfillment para sa akin,” Ritualo added.

Margaux Dizon and Joker Carandang were his partners in putting up CLU, which is located at 48 Samar Avenue corner Eugenio Lopez Drive, South Triangle in Quezon City. The preschool is for kids aged one-and-a-half to five years.

Right now, the school has 13 students enrolled in four levels—freshman, sophomore, junior and senior—and each level is being handled by two well-trained preschool teachers.

Ritualo boasts about CLU’s creative facilities and working areas, like the sandbox, water table, imagination area, kitchen area, construction area, drama area and manipulatives area.

“These are the things that make us stand out compared with other preschools,” said Ritualo, whose school also offers tutorials and kinder music lessons. The price for the high-quality education is P50,000 per kid per semester.

But the cager explains that the money spent is all worth it because, “we provide very hands-on learning to our students. Our extremely low teacher-student ratio guarantees that the needs of the individual child are met.”

Like any other PBA player that has a business, Ritualo sees to it that he finds time to visit the school and play with the kids.

“Kung may free time, nandoon ako lagi sa CLU. Iba kasi ang feeling if you see the kids smiling and enjoying what they are doing,” said Ritualo, who also has a Mail & More franchise located at Robinsons Pioneer.

“Pero kailangan mo rin ng teamwork in running your business. We all know what our priorities are, and also time management would be a big help,” he added

His mother, Maria Ritualo, who was a former Sociology professor at the University of the East, is giving him some pointers in running the school.

One of his long-term plans, along with his partners, is expanding the school in terms of number of enrollees and the grade levels.

“Of course, that’s [expansion] part of our plan,” added Ritualo, who is also the engineer behind the Keep the Dream Alive basketball camp together with San Beda High School teammate Xavier Nunag.

Ritualo still has wonderful years left in his pro career, but this early he’d rather prepare for his future than be sorry in the end.


General’s Quarters

SUCCESS can be associated with Adducul. From his college days at San Sebastian up to now, the six-foot-six center called “The General” in the PBA is known to be a winner.

And outside basketball, his life has also been pretty successful.

“Of course, I’m preparing for the future. Playing in the PBA is not forever, so I have to invest for my family,” said the 31-year-old starting center of the Giants.

Besides a buy-and-sell business of vehicles, where he now has 10 high-end units, Adducul is currently renovating a three-floor, room-for-rent building at Padre Noval Street near Santo Tomas U.

The structure has 18 rooms, with prices per room ranging between P8,000 (without aircon) and P10,000 (with aircon). Each room is good for four persons.

Why a room-for-rent business?

“Madali kasing matutukan ang ganitong business. Hindi mo kailangan ng maraming tao to run this kind of business,” he said.

The Tuguegarao native actually bought an old building last year and decided to make it a living quarters for students who are studying and residing near España, Manila.

Together with his wife, Dr. Jocelyn Cobankiat Adducul, and agent Ed Ponceja, they came out with the idea of venturing to this kind of business.

“Very safe kasi ang ganitong business, hindi ka masyadong malulugi because there are so many students coming from the provinces who are studying here in Manila,” explained Adducul, who has given his parents a rice field in his hometown to be their source of income.

When the renovation is completed, Adducul plans to build another one, this time at the University Belt area. “’Yung kikitain dito, iyon ang gagamitin ko sa pagpapatayo ng second building.”

He gives himself six to seven more years in the PBA, but Adducul knows that his future, as well as his family, will be secure this early.

“Tingin ko, kaya na nitong buhayin ang family ko. Saka nariyan naman ang wife ko para buhayin ako,” Adducul added and blurted with a big laugh.

“For us players, we need to have something na magiging fallback namin kapag nag-retiro kami. Dapat ngayon pa lang, pinag-iisipan na nila iyon.”


Tubid’s fruity tale

WHEN Tubid was playing for the Red Warriors of University of the East in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), not many knew that he worked as a part-time kargador in his aunt’s fruit stand in Divisoria.

Now, the 26-year-old Barangay Ginebra spitfire provides fruits to vendors with his delivery business.

“This is my first business at ako lang nagha-handle nito kasi maliit na business lang naman,” said Tubid. “PBA pa rin ang priority ko.”

The Iloilo City native plays the wholesaler in this business and immediately disposes the fruits to his buyers, who mostly have fruit stands in Divisoria.

His products mostly come from the provinces, like Camiguin for lanzones, Guimaras for mangoes and Davao for suha. “May mga kausap na akong tao doon. Sila ang nagbibigay sa akin ng mga prutas na dadalhin sa Divisoria,” Tubid explained.

The flamboyant six-foot-one guard says his cousins are helping him in this business, but during the off-season, he finds time to monitor the business.

Tubid admits that the profit in this kind of business is not that much because the capital is also less compared with other businesses, but he’s satisfied with how things are going.

“I just want to keep myself busy at para matulungan na rin ang mga pinsan ko,” said Tubid. “Hindi naman talaga ganoon kalaki ang kita dito.”

Just like in any other business, the cager has encountered challenges, like the competition between fruits coming from the north and south, as the former is cheaper because of less cost in transportation.

But that’s just part of the trade, says Tubid, as he maintains that his fruit-delivery business doesn’t demand too much capital.

“As long as there are harvests, people would buy fruits because they are healthy, although mahirap din kasi ’yung ibang fruits, seasonal talaga,” said Tubid.

Tubid is also planning to put up a salon, and right now he’s looking for a business partner. He also intends to put up a restaurant or be a broker of fish in his province.

“Baka temporary lang kasi ’yung delivery business ko. Gusto ko kasi magkaroon ng negosyo na pamilyar ako, like ’yung pagiging broker ng mga isda. Iyon kasi ang nakasanayan ko sa province namin,” he explained.

Tubid is only in his fifth year in the PBA, but it seems that he’s preparing ahead for his retirement. And this is something that other players must emulate, though a risky one.

“It helps us to be focused on where to invest and how to manage your finances,” said Tubid. “But go into a business na sanay kayo, although this is something that you take risks also,” he noted.


Fitting Dorian

IT was patterned after his dad’s business in the United States, but now, Dorian Peña has his own clothing line that not only entertains local clients but also those from abroad.

Known before as Jerseydawgs, based on his PBA moniker Junkyard Dawg, 24 to Score was personally conceptualized by Peña in pursuing his own passion besides basketball.

“I love fashion, and I can say I have a taste for it,” said Peña, whose shop is located in San Juan.

The San Miguel Beer (now Magnolia) center started his first business venture three years ago with the help of his wife, getting small orders from his dad in the States. Now, Peña found a partner in Dwight Lago, a former teammate in the PBA, and they now run the store.

“I saw the demand here, that’s when I started getting into this business,” Peña added.

The Fil-Am cager revealed that when the business was still in the conceptualization stage, he was already bracing for possible problems that he might encounter in putting up the store.

And he did meet some trouble.

“I had anticipated the problems before, that’s why I was able to lessen the problems,” he said.

The logistics of his business is being handled by a small group of people—a secretary, an accountant, sewers, artists, a painter and his brother in law who helps them besides being their master cutter.

Besides sports clothing, 24 to Score also caters for uniforms for restaurants, souvenirs for product-launching, and even embroideries on garments.

According to Peña, the business is doing well locally, but their main goal right now is to expand outside.

“I have a lot of plans for the business. But right now, we’re focused on our clients abroad. Locally, our products are pricey compared with other shops, but our aim is to give our clients high-quality products,” Peña explained.

He admitted that being a PBA player helps him with his business, as most of his clients are ex-players living here and abroad.

“It helped me to have connections,” said Peña. “And at the same time, they are my usual clients.”

Like other cager-entrepreneurs, Peña knows the importance of personal attention to any business, that’s why he makes sure to visit the store despite a hectic schedule.

“It is a matter of time management and knowing your priorities,” said Peña, currently on the injured list and won’t be back until December for San Miguel (Magnolia) this coming season.

“Right now, my No.1 priority is basketball because it is my bread and butter. Business comes second because I know I will eventually need something as a fallback when I decide to stop playing. Basketball is not forever,” he added.


Relaxing Wes

THE concept was borrowed from military parlance, but Barracks was conceived for people who want to relax after a tiring duty in their everyday work.

San Miguel Beer (Magnolia) forward Wesley Gonzales hooked up with more experienced business entrepreneurs in putting up the resto bar, where the idea is to have a good place where friends and families can hang out.

“We ended up with the military concept to be different and to catch the attention of people,” said Gonzales, whose resto bar is located along Tomas Morato near the corner of Timog Avenue in Quezon City.

Barracks is the first business venture of the former Ateneo hotshot, and keeping the resto bar in good business condition would be the biggest challenge for him.

“This one is riskier, but it’ll definitely create more income when it clicks. Well, we’re all hoping it does. We are actually a lot in this bar and restaurant. We started from scratch and so we needed to come up with a decent capital for the infrastructure and working capital,” the 27-year-old forward added.

The resto bar opened in July and Gonzales said that it’s doing well as of late. “It’s a bit early for us to predict things, and we’re just hoping that it would pick up some more and accommodate more people who want to relax and enjoy.”

Gonzales reveals he’s just a rookie in the entrepreneurial field and those who call the shots for the day-to-day operation of Barracks are his partners who know the ins and outs of a resto-bar business.

Is going into a resto-bar business a reflection of his outgoing personality?

“I guess it does not really reflect my personality. I consider myself as someone who doesn’t really go out that much. Ironic, ’di ba?” said Gonzales.

The six-foot-three forward admits that being a PBA player helps him market the business. “I guess it helps a bit because we are seen on television and it creates a connection between our identity and our resto bar.”

For him, it’s too early to tell if this is the kind of business he’ll pursue when he retires from the PBA. Barracks is just part of his grand plan to secure his future by gaining the needed experience to be successful as an entrepreneur.

“I think it’s a good move for players to venture into something like this because as we all know, the career life span of professional basketball players is getting shorter. The competition among players is getting stiffer while teams in the PBA are not increasing. I should say it’s a good fallback for us,” said Gonzales.

“Just manage your money well. If you can invest part of your savings properly, please do so. You never know what’s going to happen to you. It’s not bad to prepare well for the future,” he added.