2 weeks Ago
Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips celebrate the Petro Gazz Angels’ PVL All-Filipino Conference championship after beating Creamline Cool Smashers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net So wait, let’s get this straight: It’s 2025 and we’re, what, still gatekeeping Filipino identity? There was a noticeable moral meltdown when Petro Gazz won the PVL All-Filipino crown over the widely popular Creamline Cool Smashers.
All of a sudden, the Angels became a team that fielded two imports in a conference that was supposed to showcase local talent. They’re not “kinda-Filipino.” Not “Filipino only when convenient.
” Filipino by blood, by heart, and by passport. For critics, it doesn’t matter that Brooke Van Sickle and MJ Phillips have time and again, brace yourself, talked about their pride in their Filipino lineage. Their Filipino-ness should have expired long before, when their mothers married foreigners and decided to raise their kids abroad.
READ: PVL: Brooke Van Sickle, MJ Phillips proud of Filipino heritage “I don’t know, like, no words. I mean, I try to ignore the comments, because, I mean, everything is honestly for my mom and my Lola who passed away. Like, every time I look at the flag, I think of the Philippines,” said Phillips, who grew up in Carson, California, but whose mom is from Zambales.
“It is what it is, and, you know, I’m here, and I want to represent the Philippines. I am Filipino. I do have a passport, and I caught it, you know, on my own.
But, you know, it’s okay,” said Van Sickle. “I don’t expect people to be open-arms with us. I understand how they feel and I just hope that one day they’ll embrace us and, you know, just accept us.
” Do you know when that day people should accept them with open arms is? When they first set foot here. READ: PVL: Van Sickle, Phillips turn close bond into championship fuel Phillips and Van Sickle are Filipinos. Not “kinda-Filipino,” not “honorary-Filipino,” not “Filipino only when convenient.
” No—Filipino by blood, by heart, and by passport. And it doesn’t matter if they didn’t grow up playing piko until their parents dragged them by their ears at sundown or spent their spare loose change feasting on streetside delights like fishball or scramble. They’re not imports.
The AVC may say so, but this is largely due to the federation they are registered with, not their nationalities. If things fall in place, they even could be representing the country soon. “From what I’ve heard, our paperwork’s already been processed,” Van Sickle said.
“We might have to fact-check that, but what I’ve been told is that it’s already been processed. That’s just one step closer to being able to reach our dreams. We want to be able to do as much as we can for our country.
It’s awesome to be able to be even considered.” Here’s the kicker: If the fact-check proves wrong, it doesn’t matter. The pertinent parts of this quote are the last three sentences.
(Let’s all hope, though, that Van Sickle and Phillips do get their papers. They will be valuable assets to the national team.) “I just want to be able to play volleyball, the sport I love, and continue to immerse myself in this culture and our culture.
,” Van Sickle said. “Years back in the States ..
. I missed out on this, and I’m really grateful to be here now and experiencing it now. So I think it’s just a part of the journey, what God had for me, for us.
Hopefully one day they, you know, will all love each other, and we’ll be okay.” Guys, Van Sickle and Phillips are okay. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address.
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Ochoa is the sports editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer).
