A tale of 2 mothers

Photograph courtesy of Team Philippines GILAS star Camille Clarin (left) poses with mother Abbey at the sidelines of the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA — Abbey Policarpio-Clarin and Marestella Torres-Sunang go to such lengths to be with their children.
For Abbey, this means traveling from Toronto, Canada to be at the side of Camille who plays for the Gilas Pilipinas women's basketball team.
Marestella, on the other hand, finds ways to spend time with her nine-year-old son Mavie.
Abbey said she has gone to Mongolia, Vietnam and Malaysia to cheer for her daughter.
"I felt like I'm the real MVP," she said in jest.
But that's the least she can do for Camille.
"I was able to witness how they sacrificed a lot," Abbey said. "As a mom, all I can do is support Camille and the rest of the team all the way."
Camille's getting into basketball was not a surprise since her father Ron used to play for the University of the Philippines varsity squad.
"We're a family of ballers," Abbey said. "Since she was young, she was already separated from us. She was studying in the States in grade school, then she suffered an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury entering her Grade 10."
Abbey said Camille got an opportunity to play for National University and the Gilas team through coach Pat Aquino.

