From Purple to Maroon: 3 valuable life lessons from pro basketball player Abu Tratter to the UP Fighting Maroons

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. recently held a victory luncheon to celebrate the legendary triumph of UAAP Season 84 Champions, the UP Fighting Maroons.

During the event, the team not only gave thanks to Converge for their constant support throughout the years, but also chanced upon receiving valuable advice from a pro baller himself: the Converge FiberXers’ very own Abu Tratter.

Basketball is a game that requires as much mental strength as it does physical skill and power. There are countless things one can learn from a professional athlete’s life of discipline, sacrifice, and admirable zeal.

In his congratulatory speech to the young athletes of the UP Men’s Basketball Team, Abu Tratter encourages the recent champs with key lessons he’s picked up in his career as a pro-  advice that athletes and non-athletes alike can carry into their daily lives.

Here are three valuable life lessons you can learn from pro basketball player Abu Tratter:

1. Your hard work will lead you to greatness.

• “As a former UAAP champion I know the sacrifices it took to reach the feet that you guys have worked hard to achieve,” Tratter shares with the team. “Your blood, sweat, and tears have not gone unnoticed, it has led you to greatness.”

• It’s easy to be discouraged by day-to-day defeats, especially when your goal seems all too out of reach and your physical body seems to have reached its limit. While giving up may very well be the easiest option, Abu Tratter reminds the Fighting Maroons that hard work will always pay off eventually.

• From being a college-level player to now playing a valuable role in a professional basketball team, Tratter is living proof that sometimes it isn’t solely the trophies or the achievements but rather the very process of becoming great that makes it all worthwhile.

2. Do not take anything for granted.

• Tratter urges the young players to cherish every moment they have–whether good or bad–with the teammates they have now. As a pro who has battled against players that were once his teammates, Tratter emphasizes the importance of treasuring every memory they make in the present.

• “I want to challenge you: do not take this for granted,” Tratter urges the Maroons. “These same sacrifices that you share with your teammates will be the fondest of memories that y’all will laugh at for the rest of your lives.”

• While it is important to stay motivated and driven, to keep your eyes locked on your goal, it is also equally important to simply enjoy every step of the process! A true understanding of this produces the most humble yet driven of characters, a trait we can most definitely learn from Tratter and his team, the brilliant players of the FiberXers.

3. Do not settle. Use your wins to aim higher and fuel yourself forward.

• Tratter ends by proposing a change in mindset – that a win does not mark an end but rather the beginning of a new opportunity to be even greater.

• “Winning a championship is not just a reward but an opportunity,” Tratter advises the young athletes. “You have opened doors to the basketball world that many hoopers can only wish and dream of, take it for its entirety and build from it.”

• While it’s important to stop and be thankful for every achievement you attain, the desire to aim higher, do better, and dream bigger for yourself is essential to a life of victory.

• “Looking forward to playing with you guys in the pros. Who knows,” Tratter teases. “Maybe one of you might end up being my teammate.”

Converge is proud to support two incredibly talented basketball teams who uphold the same values of excellence, teamwork, and empowerment among their players.

The company is proud to have supported the UP Fighting Maroons both within and beyond the court since 2020, and they will continue to support them through the next UAAP season and to hopefully yet another monumental championship.

The Converge family will also continue to support the FiberXers as they play their last three games at the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup as one of the league’s youngest yet most promising teams.