“Big Daddy”

By Robbie Pangilinan

He is the self-confessed “bad boy” of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), having been involved in several controversies and scandals. He has been called “unmanageable” and labeled “brutally frank”, but Alex Crisano has a soft side—one that only three special people are privileged to see and experience.

This side of the intimidating 6’7” cager is known as “fatherhood” and the three persons who enjoy this are his three children—Alex Louis Jr., Aliyah Marie and Joey Vincent.

The big daddy is proud and happy that his kids have inherited his height and are all talented in their own ways. Alex, Aliyah and Vinny are studying in different schools in the US and are not able to see and spend time with their dad often. But Alex loves the three more than anything and he misses them every minute.

The PBA star brings his training in sports to disciplining his children. He acts like a coach to the three, always encouraging and motivating them to be the best but also making sure to point out their mistakes and weaknesses.

He helps them become better persons by offering his advice when they need it. Though Alex, Aliyah and Vinny are still quite young—10, 8 and 6 years old—their father is keen in teaching them good values. He gives them rewards when they do something good and reprimands them for the bad deeds they do. “I take away the things they love to do like watching TV and playing video games. More importantly, I make sure that they understand what wrong they have done,” Alex shares.

The tattooed big guy with eight-pack abs looks daunting but surprisingly, his most memorable experiences are the sleepless nights he had when his darling children are still babies. And up until now, Daddy Alex likes cuddling the three and giving them all the love that he can give. Despite his many achievements in sports, Alex considers parenthood as the biggest milestone in his life and being the father of Alex, Aliyah and Vinny as the greatest role he will ever play.

Being a responsible father, Alex even earns extra for his family by doing rap gigs. His rap album titled “Bullet-Hate Proof” will be launched this year with Andrew E. as one of the producers.

There is nowhere else that Alex dreams of being in the future than with his three children—his inspiration, the ones that keep him going and fighting everyday. Though the three are far away from him, Alex says, “I will always be here for them and I’ll be watching their back at all times.” #