Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s return to Philippine basketball will see the former Ateneo mainstay in a different light after years of living in Kuwait.
In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Al-Hussaini said while he was with his family in the Middle East from 2019 to 2023, he was shocked by the prospects of working another job outside of basketball.
Al-Hussaini worked as a warehouse coordinator for Agility Logistics from 2021 to 2022 and as quality control security for Jazeera Airlines from 2022 to 2023 while playing for Al Qadsia from 2020 to 2023.
The 2011 Philippine Basketball Association Rookie of the Year is set to play for the Manila Stars in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
“In Kuwait, basketball isn’t the primary source of income. For them, any sport is the secondary. Some do it for fun. Some even play for free,” Al-Hussaini said.
“At that time, I was ready to face the challenges there and I knew what I was going into.”
Al-Hussaini wasn’t also spared from the dreaded Covid-19 disease as he admitted to getting it twice.
“I just didn’t post about it on social media. I went through it like anybody would. It was hard but I was able to recover,” Al-Hussaini, 35, said.
The 6-foot-7 big man said he wasn’t making a big fuss about his return to the Philippines but just wanted to see if he still had some gas left in his tank.
“I finished my obligations in Kuwait. So, I didn’t want to extend further over there,” Al-Hussaini said.
“So, I figured why not try out again over here?”
“It’s just a matter of trying again. If I’m good enough to play, okay. If not, I’m okay with it.”
The one-time PBA champion advises the younger players to always stay humble in every situation they are in because they might never know what will happen in the future.
“I guess as a person, you have to be adaptive. I feel the players are kind of spoiled because they are famous and can get away with everything,” Al-Hussaini said.
“But when you are in a situation where no one knows you, you have to adjust. So I guess with athletes nowadays, just try to be more humble. Because we are so lucky as athletes or as basketball players because everyone knows us in the Philippines.”
“It’s easy to say the word humble but it has a deep meaning.”
