How Vee, Renejay, and Aurora Fulfilled This Family’s Little Dream
The Adrias family is just as regular as any Filipino family could be. Kris Adrias works for an overseas firm involved in the transportation sector, while Lucel Adrias worked at a bank where she enjoyed a prominent role. They both love music, but something that keeps their bond strong is Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.
“I’m a 40-year-old MPL tita!” Lucel proudly told ALL-STAR.
She started playing the widely popular mobile game in her late 30s and discovered esports through the game. She began supporting MPL Philippines because of OhMyV33nus and Wise.
It was her husband Kris who introduced her to the game. Now, Lucel is a bigger fan of the MPL than he is. From the south, the couple would drive with their son Gab all the way to Quezon City in Tomas Morato, hoping to get a glimpse of some of the players they love.
“Narinig po kasi namin na doon palagi umiikot sina Renejay, baka makita namin,” said Lucel.
Their six-year-old son Gab calls Renejay his “Daddy Number 3.”
Daddy Number 1 is Kris, and Daddy Number 2 is a Roblox character.
It had been 7 years through their marriage before they were blessed with their only son Gab.
“Gab arrived in our lives after two miscarriages,” said Lucel.
“Tanggap na po namin na baka hindi na kami bigyan ng ganoong blessing ni Lord, so we spend a lot of time together.”
Because of this, they would frequently have road trips, eat outside, and enjoy their time together as much as possible.
Until one day, the worst of nightmares struck.
Gab was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer.
“It was out of nowhere,” Kris and Lucel said.
For months, the family practically lived in the hospital while their savings were depleted by cancer. They spent nearly 3 million pesos on hospital bills and doctors’ fees, and at the end of it, Gab was skin and bones.
With a trembling voice and teary eyes, Lucel struggled to recall the painful moment.
“It is the worst thing a parent can undergo, seeing your child in that state. He had tubes in his nose, in his neck, in his throat. Buto’t balat na siya at yung mga mata na lang niya yung gumagalaw,” said Lucel.
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Because of the crisis, Lucel had to give up her job in banking to be a fulltime mom and take care of Gab throughout his stay in the hospital. She also took on the role of being Gab’s home schooling teacher.
It was a very steep uphill battle for the family. But just as they were at their most defeated and helpless moment, God made miracles.
Through church and through Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, strangers came to help the family through their darkest times.
“God is really good kasi marami pong tumulong po sa amin kahit mga hindi namin kilala,” said Lucel.
She recounted how strangers from the MLBB gaming community pitched in for Gab’s hospital bill. The fundraiser even reached some players and coaches from the esports community. Coach Bon Chan even shared the post, which helped it gain traction.
Gab was diagnosed in 2023. He had five brain surgeries and had been undergoing chemotherapy. But since the cancer spread to his spine, which was diffucult to operate on, he had to undergo a separte series of radiation therapy to slow the growth of the cancer.
After many months of uncertainty and fear, Gab was finally released from the hospital in June. Right now, he is resting up and enjoying as much of life as he can before he battles once again for his last series of therapies to kill cancer.
‘What happend to us was an Epic Comeback’
Now, Gab is visibly stronger and more playful, a significant improvement from his state just a couple of months ago.
“If we are going to compare it with something from MLBB, what happened to us is an Epic Comeback,” said Kris.
In MLBB parlance, an Epic Comeback is a dramatic reversal of fortune in a match in which the winning team was significantly behind but managed to win through clutch plays, objective steals, and strong defense.
On the opening week of MPL Philippines Season 14, the Adrias family wanted to treat themselves for finally coming home from the hospital. They decided to watch the MPL at the venue even if they had no ticket.
When they got to the venue, there were no more tickets for the grand opener of Aurora vs Blacklist. Only one ticket was available for the second match. Lucel settled for that.
“Since medyo malaki yung pagbabago po ngayon at matagal din po yung pinagdaanan namin, sabi ko kay Lucel ako naman okay lang naman sa akin na manood kami sa MPL,” said Kris.
But since there was only one ticket, they decided to let Lucel enjoy it while Kris looked after Gab.
They had no idea of the things that would come their way.
A Chance Encounter With Mara Aquino
It all started with a chance encounter with MPL’s longtime host Mara Aquino.
“There was a commotion outside our room, so we checked what was happening. It turned out, our room was opposite the casters’ holding area,” said Lucel.
Starstruck, Kris and Lucel could not believe their luck. When the casters were entering their holding area, Mara Aquino noticed the little family looking at them from their bedroom door.
Mara approached and said hello, but because she was needed in the holding room, she said she would come back and knock later.
“Their meeting took a long time, nearly an hour. When I went to check after an hour, I saw Mara walking back to our room!”
For nearly an hour, Mara bonded with the family and heard the story about Gab’s struggle. Moved to tears, Mara promised the family she would do something for them the following week.
But the Adriases were overjoyed just talking to Mara.
“Oh my god! Totoo ba to? Si Mara Aquino, in the flesh, nakikipag-usap sa amin? Nakikipaglaro kay Gab? Sobrang, sobrang saya ko po. Just the fact na napasaya niya yung source of joy namin is beyond our expectations,” Lucel told ALL-STAR.
(“Oh my god! Is this real? Mara Aquino, in the flesh, talking to us? Playing with Gab? We are overjoyed. Just the fact that she was able to make our source of joy happy already exceeded our expectations.”)
Little did they know that what was about to happen the following week would take them to the moon.
OhMyVeenus and Renejay Fulfills the Dream of the Adrias Family
What the Adrias family did not know was that Mara Aquino secretly talked to Boss Rada and OhmyV33nus of Aurora, and told them the story of the Adrias family.
On the second week of the MPL Philippines Season 14, Lucel, Kris, and Gab was in the audience. They were starstruck when they saw OhMyV33nus from afar. They did not realize she was walking toward them.
To say that Lucel is a huge VeeWise fan is an understatement. She used to set aside money for buying merch from BLCKBOX and VeeWise.
“Sometimes, after work, I would take her to BLCKBOX,” said Kris. It was one of the ways to truly make Lucel happy.
“But I also order online!” laughed Lucel, who spent P10,000 at one point on VeeWise and BLCKBOX merch. That was all before they found out about Gab’s condition.
“Minsan nakakalusot, naka-order pala siya online!” said Kris playfully.
Beyond supporting her MPL idols through their merch, she would also watch their streams and send Facebook Stars. On Facebook, Stars are virtual tokens of appreciation convertible to cash.
She had never met Vee before, so when she saw her walking nearer, she never expected the superstar player would hug her and give the whole family gifts.
“Natulala ako! I was speechless!” said Lucel.
She was on the verge of tears as she was recalling this. But unlike the tears of sorrow earlier, these were tears of joy.
The feeling was ineffable.
When Lucel collected her composure, she talked about Vee.
“Yung fact na mahawakan ko si Vee, mahawakan ko yung mga players, makausap sila, sobrang overwhelming!”
(“It’s overwhelming just to be able to touch Vee and the players, to be able to talk to them!”)
She was so elated to see her idols so close and so casual she couldn’t believe it was real.
“Aminado talaga ako, hands off, sobrang VeeWise fan ako, lalo na kay Vee! Bukod doon sa galing niya, good vibes po talaga siya. Hindi siya pumapatol sa mga bashers, at gandang ganda po ako sa kanya!”
(“I admit, hands off, I’m a fan of VeeWise, especially of Vee! Apart from her being so talented, she’s always good vibes. She doesn’t react to haters, and I think she’s so beautiful!”)
“Sabi ko nga po sa staff sa MPL Philippines, maaring sa inyo ay trabaho lamang po ito pero sa aming mga ordinary fans, yung maliliit na bagay pong ito, sobrang nakaka-inspire po iyon sa amin,” said Lucel.
“Kaya sobrang sobrang mameet mo lang in the flesh, mayakap mo siya, mahalikan mo siya, beso beso, hindi ko alam kung papaano ako magpapasalamat kay Lord kasi I know he has better plans. Ito pala yung better plan niya kaya hindi ko nakikita si Vee noon. Grabe. Natulala po ako! Sino ba naman ako para makausap ang isang OhMyV33nus at Wise na decorated players? Tapos lumabas pa yung buong Aurora team para magpapicture sa amin! Hala! Ganito pala yung feeling?”
(“This may be just a regular job for the staff and media at MPL Philippines, but for ordinary people like us, small moments like seeing our idols from afar is already very inspiring. That’s why when we were able to meet them, embrace them, and kiss them on the cheek, I don’t know how to thank God for all of it! I was speechless! Who are we for OhMyV33nus and Wise to spend time talking with? And then the whole team came up to us. Oh my! So this is how it feels?”)
Aurora had a custom-made jersey for the family inscribed with name of Gab on the back. They were also given merch from the team, and Vee and Renejay spent time talking with them. Renejay, who is the idol of Gab, spent time bonding with the six-year-old.
‘We felt like VIPs’
At that moment, the broadcast crew of MPL Philippines focused their lenses on the precious encounter. All eyes in the tournament hall were suddenly trained on the Adrias family.
Even Kris, who was calm, could not believe what has happening.
“Hindi namin ineexpect na mangyayari iyon. Akala lang namin, magpapa-picture lang. Kami pala ang titigilan nila. Yung mga dala pa nila, sa amin pala nila ibibigay.. Pakiramdam namin, sobrang VIP.
(“We did not expect that to happen. We thought we would just have a photo with them. We didn’t realize it was us they were walking to. The things they were carrying were also for us. We felt like VIPs.”)
But something Vee told them changed the way they saw the superstar.
“Ayaw ni Vee na gawing content yung anak namin for the views,” said Lucel.
“Noong sinabi niya iyon, mas lalo po akong humanga sa kanya!”
But she clarified, “Pero okay lang po na i-share namin ang story ni Gab and ourselves as parents to inspire people.”
“God is really good, nandito siya. Nakikinig sa mga prayers natin. So maybe this is his answer to our prayer requesting him to use us as an instrument of his glory. His message is clear: ‘Do not be afraid because I am here. Be still and know that I am God,’” said Lucel.
“Yung ‘mess’ na nangyari sa amin ay maging message sa ibang tao,” added Kris.
“Sa sobrang grabe ng pinagdaanan namin as parents, gusto po namin maging inspiration sa mga tao,” said Lucel.
As Gab played with Renejay aka “Daddy Number 3,” Lucel and Kris couldn’t help but smile seeing the joy on their son’s face.
“Doon pa la ng pong napasaya niya si Gab, quota na po kami noon! Okay na po ako. Masaya na po ako.”
