Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA). UCLA faxed David’s credentials to Mr. Go and by the time he got back to LA in February, everything was settled.
In April, Go visited him in UCLA, and he only found out about his allowance being “adjusted” when he arrived in Manila last May. Incidentally, his trips on Economy Class are also paid by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), and then upgraded by Philippine Air Lines, David’s “Official Carrier”.
Shortly after he arrived, he met with PSC Chairman Philip Juico, whom he found to be “a very sincere man, who really wants to help.” The new deal is that he will be given a monthly allowance of 8,000 pesos, same as all the other Filipino athletes, and the PCS and PATAFA will take it upon themselves to look for the balance from private sector. Apart from that, anything else that David makes from personal endorsements is between him and his business managers. That’s right, David’s got two of them, Marie Gutierrez and Aligada, who schedule his commitments, represent him in all negotiations and tell him when it’s time for bed (I’m not kidding).
The alliance came about because a certain product wanted him to be their image model and was offering a huge sum. Marie looked high and low for David and offered to manage his career.
“how did you find me again – you called, like, 50 million people, right?” David still seems surprised about all the trouble they went through to hunt him down.
Unfortunately, at that time, he was getting a lot of negative publicity, and the company withdrew their offer. But there will be more, we can be sure of that. He’s definitely not lacking in all the accouterments of a future personality.
Aside from the gorgeous Najera brothers and the boyish good looks of Paeng Nepomuceno, David is one of the most winning-looking athletes of this decade.
And he’s taken it a step further. He makes time for the interviews, the photo sessions, the charity events and the clinics.
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well with people in the sports world. Many are beginning to think of David as publicity hound. But that might just be a perception of people – probably because other athletes don’t get the same treatment. And he doesn’t seem to go looking for exposure. The media looks for him. Undoubtedly, even adverse publicity has served him well. At the same time, it also pushed the sport into the public eye.
It comes down to an individuality issue. Is David Bunecacz more concerned with himself than with his sport? When you hear him say, with utter conviction, “You have to go beyond you means to achieve something because there are always better athletes out there, “you begin to concerned, it might not to be too far-fetched to say that he’s just what the country needs.
Besides, will we care about possible “ulterior motives” when the medals start coming in? And if there’s anything we can say for sure about David, it’s that he’s got what it takes to be a champion.
And he knows it. “I’ve always loved competitions, and I’ve always had to win, no matter what.”
No matter what. Fighting words. To go with a fighting spirit. Exactly what David will need to weather it through detractors, disappointments, and difficult training—all the things you can expect when you’re not yet a champion, but rather, a champion in
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