In iWant original sports documentary Dayories, UAAP superstar Ricci Rivero shares the challenges he encountered transferring schools from the De La Salle University to the University of the Philippines Diliman.
The move forced him to start all over again in terms of his academics and adjusting his game to fit in a team loaded with talent and alphas in the court.
“Little did many people know, "I was at a very low point in my life. I couldn't go out of the house and I was really feeling down. My family had to bring me to a specialist to seek professional help and to know what's going on with me,,” the highly-touted small forward Ricci told members of the press during the special screening of the sports documentary last week.
The 21-year-old hardcourt heartthrob admitted that he went through a rough patch after parting ways with his former team and school.
“I’ve been through so many struggles. There were so many issues and I was even accused of using drugs. In the episode that features myself, we wanted to impart that people should not be afraid to have problems because they will always be there. Problem is something that we need to overcome for us to be able to pass bigger obstacles in life,” he shared.
“Life is sometimes unfair but we have our fair God who will help us out throughout our journey,” he added.
Ricci’s story is featured as the second episode of Dayories. The first episode, which is now streaming on iWant, focuses on big man Ange Kouame from the Ateneo De Manila University.
Born and raised in Ivory Coast in Africa, Ange has been living in the Philippines since 2016, to get his education and pursue his NBA dream.
The 21-year old immediately won the respect of the UAAP community in UAAP Season 81, where he won Rookie of the Year and helped his team defend their title, overcoming the language barrier and the difficulty of being away from his mother.
This season, he has been an unstoppable force inside the paint, and one of the main reasons behind Ateneo’s unblemished record in the recently-concluded UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament.
Viewers will also get to know more about Rhenz, a La Union native whose meteoric rise from being an unknown recruit to one of the league’s most exciting players is one of this season’s best storylines. The rookie’s rumored transfer mid-season gave him his first taste of the downside of fame, but with the help of his team he was able to regain his focus and made it to his first finals appearance.
Produced by iWant with the ABS-CBN Sports Digital team and director Enzo Marcos, Dayories traces the roots of Ange, Ricci, and Rhenz and the grit and grind it took for them to make an impact in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the country’s premier collegiate league.
“ We were naturally excited because iWant and ABS-CBN Sports have a similar objective in giving sports fans stories that inspire. It was also a great next step since iWant already provides the livestream UAAP experience. Fans will now get to know UAAP players through deeper storytelling,” shared ABS-CBN Sports’ digital head Mico Halili.
Watch Dayories on iWant starting with the first episode featuring Ange Kouame available now on ABS-CBN’s streaming platform iWant. For more information, follow @iWant on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter or go to iwant.ph or download the iWant app.