BASEBALL is a way of life for the Ubungen family.
The passion for the sport, considered as a national pastime of the Americans, was first embraced by Dennis Ubungen, a Filipino-American who traces his roots in La Union, and his wife, Julia Marquez Ubungen, a school teacher, who hails from San Juan City.
The elder Ubungens passed on their love for the sport to their sons Lorenzo and Florentino, while a brother and three other sisters are also into baseball, softball, basketball and volleyball.
Because of the family’s passion for baseball, weekends and even breaks during school days are spent playing the game at the campus diamonds and at their neighborhood in San Francisco, California, where Dennis, an academic counselor, graduated with a Masters Degree in Social Work and Bachelor of Sociology at the City College of San Francisco.
Aside from Dennis, Julia and sons Florentino and Lorenzo are also employed as academic counselors in San Francisco.
The Ubungen family are currently in the country for their yearly vacation here in Manila for a couple of months.
While here, Florentino and Lorenzo are seeing action for separate local teams in the PSC Commissioners Cup.
Florentino, Dennis’ eldest child, first played as a 13-year old teenager during a summer vacation. He went on to become a varsity baseball player for Laney College and College of Alameda.
“It’s like a homecoming. It’s always great to play here and feel the real camaraderie from friends and ralatives who supports our passion for the sport. In America, players come and go. It’s all about competition. But here, it’s all about family,” said Florentino during a break at the PSC Commissioners Cup.
Lorenzo, a product of George Washington High School and Meritt College, also expressed his wish to play for the Philippine national team if the right opportunity comes.
“It is always a pride playing for the country of my origin. Like my brother Florentino, we are always ready to represent the Philippines in international baseball competitions.”
Dennis said he doesn’t mind spending big amount of money in travelling to the country and back for the love of the sport and their country of origin.
“My dad was also a baseball player and I followed his footstep as a catcher before I decided to focus in my career as an academic counselor. When my children grew up, I passed my bats to them. Later, they would mnake me proud as they scored homeruns during their playing stints in the Little League Philippines to the pro league Baseball Philippines and the Philippine Sports Commission’s baseball programs -The Chairman’s and the Commissioner’s Baseball Cup. I’m really proud to see them play here and contribute whatever they can to share their passion for the sport.”