Under the Waratah Junior Metro League, Jordan plays for the Sydney Comets. Recently, he was one of the promising players picked from the Metro League to represent the team of New South Wales at the elite ‘2018 Under-16 Australian Junior Championships’.
Jordan played previously in the nationals, U-14 division, and recalled it as one of the most interesting things he experienced so far.
“It was cool because during the grand finals I was doing so good and all, everyone in the crowd were like chanting M-V-P, it’s like, I was like shocked because it was energetic and stuff,” he said.
The talent of this humble player is hard to miss. At 8 years old, he was featured in Channel 7 News by Damien Smith, after he won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy in Michael Jordan’s basketball camp in 2012.
“He came close to me. I was like gonna ask him questions but I was like, I didn’t say anything because I was just like frozen,” Jordan shared about his experience meeting Michael Jordan face-to-face.
Exposing himself to different leagues in Australia and even to the Philippines, several coaching staff from overseas had offered him to be part of their team. In his latest visit in the Philippines where he competed in the national basketball competition for high school students in Manila, he was offered a scholarship by a top university in the country with a competitive basketball program.
Jordan chose to stay in NSW to keep on improving and exhausting the pathways in Under-16 Australian basketball to help him build and establish his name in this sport.
Together with his mother, Rachel Roman, they are currently focusing on the ‘U-16 Australian Junior Championship’ as this will open doors for him to get to the FIBA U-16, representing Australia.
Rachel is supportive of Jordan. She left her profession as an accountant to focus on her son’s training. She revealed she had spent a lot for him to compete in various locations and states in Australia.
“Everything that he do from his local to reps, to representing the New South Wales, it’s all our own expense so his dad and I would split the expenses most of the time and then my relatives, my mum, my sister, they all chip in as well when we need more,” shared Rachel to SBS Filipino.
Jordan’s mum emphasised that it was not really the money but it was about Jordan and his dream. As a mother, she wanted to help his son to transform his dreams to reality.
“I just have to support him, keep working hard, get the money and yeah as long as he said ‘I’m okay,’ then I’ll be there; I’m gonna keep working hard and help him,” she said.
Rachel thought that other people would say ‘it’s crazy’ to pursue the NBA dream but she said it is not impossible if one would work hard for it.
The big Michael Jordan fan and now Jordan’s biggest fan told SBS Filipino that she is open in moving to United States and is saving money for it. She is determined to help her son achieve the ultimate dream of becoming the first pure-blooded Filipino to play in NBA.
“He promised me ‘mum, don’t worry, I’ll bring you there’ so I’m looking forward to that and I’ll be seeing him there watching him play in NBA.”
