Erram makes most of time with daughter

Poy Erram hopes his six-month-old baby won’t go through what he went through as a child. —SHERWIN VARDELEON

Poy Erram, TNT franchise’s new big man, said he was so eager for the new PBA season to kick off.

Understandably so.

“I’m in a new team, we have a new year ahead of us, and of course, I’m so excited to show just how much I’ve improved,” he told the Inquirer in Filipino on Saturday.

As a professional, playing the game of basketball is the job. And Erram, like thousands of athletes around the globe, was stranded at home by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

But being locked down at home has allowed him to flesh out another role: being a father.

“That has been my foremost focus now,” the 31-year-old center said. “My wife (Jerrylee) usually has a hard time since we’re the only ones here at home.”

“And she wants us to be as hands-on as possible,” he said of raising 6-month-old Aaliyah.

Erram’s efforts spring from him growing up in a troubled home in Cagayan de Oro City with little parental guidance.

“When I struggled, I had no one to turn to,” he recalled. “I don’t want her—or even my family—to experience what I’ve experienced as a child, so I am all for providing whatever I could.”

“I never want them to go through the trouble of having no one to cry on. I want to be there,” he added.

And the basketball shutdown has provided him with time for moments like having breakfasts together.

“For me, they are the big things. I want my baby to feel my love for her,” he said.

Erram understands that as long as the games aren’t back yet, his daughter will hog his focus: “For now, this is the job.”