I had the privilege of interviewing the Philippines' Olympian pole vaulter, EJ Obiena. What is it about this guy that has so many Titas crushing on him?

EJ hails from Tondo, Manila. His mother, Jeanette Obiena, admitted that peace and order were one of the reasons she was strict with curfews while raising her children.

Jeanette was a hands-on mom who quit her teaching job at a private Chinese girls' school to focus on her children. Both of her kids were into sports, like she and her husband. Her main event was hurdles, and her husband's was pole vault. For them, sports was a good insurance for their children to receive a quality education. Ironically, pursuing the Olympics didn't initially sit well with EJ's father.

EJ expresses himself in fluent English, thanks to spending ten years in Europe, but you can still see the Tondo boy in him. "I like beating the Europeans in their own sport," he says with pride.

He makes no excuses about his loss at the Olympics. "It's a loss, and sports can be brutal," he tells me. Looking at him, there is no trace of anguish--just grace, grit, and the determination to train and compete again. EJ is set on showing Filipinos that we can dream big and achieve those dreams, because we are GREAT. And yes, WE ARE indeed.

#BernadetteSembrano #EJObiena #PoleVault