Rey Mark “Mac” Belo, the newest endorser of Blackwater for Men, looks every inch an athlete on camera and in person—standing six feet four inches tall with a muscular build that can only be acquired from hours spent studying screen drills, acing his shots and dribbles in the basketball court.
However, his imposing frame hides a shy personality. The soft-spoken Mac admits that he is still not comfortable with interviews, preferring to be seen in action.
A native of Midsayap, Cotabato, Mac first became known for his buzzer-beater shots against De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University, where he led his alma mater, Far Eastern University (FEU), to their back-to-back finals spot in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He finished strong in his final playing year by clinching a UAAP championship and bagging the Most Valuable Player award.
Now a power forward for Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and also part of the pool of players for the Gilas Philippine National Team, the player admitted that he was a late-bloomer in basketball.
“My love for the sport started in high school. My older brother was the one who got me into basketball, and I began to enjoy it when my friends encouraged me to join the varsity. After that, I was given the opportunity to play for FEU where I was given proper training, and my career took off from there,” he says.
But moving from college to professional basketball was a different playing field for him. Training sessions grew more intense with three hours of practice daily, and getting drafted into the PBA meant competing with other athletes whose skill level in the sport match his own.
Mac shares, “Being able to play professional basketball is a big achievement for me, but it also took a lot of discipline and hard work to earn my PBA spot.” These and love for the sport have paid off: he has become one of PBA Philippine Cup’s top rookie players in the first half of its 2016-2017 conference, helping his team earn three straight wins for the first time since its inception.
With this newfound recognition, he acknowledges the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He stresses, “Even off court, I’m constantly trying to improve my skills. I work on strengthening exercises at the gym.” Besides pushing his body to its limits with daily training sessions, he adds, “I try to get enough sleep and eat healthy, in fact I trained myself to avoid pork and oily food. I also maintain a good personal hygiene by taking a shower before and after practice, and using Blackwater Men’s spray to keep me smelling good even while training.”
Indeed, Mac Belo’s dedication, discipline and passion for the sport not only make him one of the sought-after rookie athletes of his generation, but also the perfect personality to be included in Blackwater’s roster of highly regarded endorsers.
To know more about Blackwater and its products, visit blackwater.com.ph and follow its official Facebook page, www.facebook.com/BlackwaterForMen. Follow the progress of the Blackwater Elite team at www.facebook.com/blackwaterpba.