MALJUN Lambac, a proud Obu Manuvu, a former goal keeper and a devoted coach of young Indigenous People (IP) booters in his hometown in Marilog District envisions an Obu Manuvu athlete would someday set foot in the international arena.
Lambac recently finished a degree in the University of Southeastern Philippines and had a stint in coaching football and basketball for the past years.
With all of these in the backdrop, the 24 year-old sports advocate formed a football club composed of young Obu Manuvu footballers in mid-2017.
"Gusto namo mag produce ug international players from the tribe. We are looking na mahimong football capital ang Marilog District ug gusto sad nako matabangan ang mga bata na ma expose gawas sa community para ma widen ilahang mga panglantaw (We want to produce international players from the tribe. We are looking to make Marilog District into a football capital. I also want to help expose the kids outside the community to widen their views)," Maljun, son of Datu Mahabbok Luis Lambac, Sr., said.
Lambac's aspiration led him to build an improvised football pitch in a little space within their ancestral domain in Marilog District.
They trimmed down growing grasses within the area and built goal posts using bamboos.
"Football Player pud ko dati ug kabalo ko unsa ang mga kakulangan ug mga kailangan as a player. So gi tap namo ang football community diri sa Davao City para mutabang mag donate og mga gamit pang dula (I am also a football player before and I know what their needs are as a player. We tapped the football community in Davao City to raise donations for the equipment we need)," he said. Among those who donated sports equipment are Marco Suarez of the Rovers Football Club, coach Alvic Troyo of the Philippine College of Technology and coach Ewee De Leon of Ateneo de Davao University.
After a year of hardwork and independently sustaining the club, Lambac produced two promising booters who are bound for the 2018 Nofa Cup.
"Proud kaayo ko sa ilaha. Gwapo ni nga exposure para sa ilaha ug dako ni nga opportunity para ma-motivate and ubang mga bata na modula ug football sa amoang community (I am proud of them. This is a good exporsure for them and serves as a motivation for others in the community to play football)," he said.
Apart from coaching football, Lambac also emphasizes the importance of academics to his wards.
"They're playing football while excelling in their acads because I encouraged them na magtarong ug skwela (I encouraged them to study hard). Dili nako padulaon ug dalaon sa downtown ang sige ug absent ug naay bagsak na grado (I won't allow them to play or go downtown if they have a failing grade)," he explained.
In the future, Lambac hopes to produce more Obu Manuvu athletes.