Francis Gesmundo: A bright future ahead

Between the end of a season and the beginning of a new one, the future of a team is one of the topics that are commonly brought up in assessing a squad’s performance.

As people witness the success of different great teams filled with a lot of excellent individuals in their roster, one can help but wonder about what or who will be the future face of the squad. When the seniors move on, who will take hold of the reins in their absence?

After a second place finish last year, the DLSU Green Batters began to look towards the future, adding more depth to the roster through the inclusion of a number of highly-skilled rookies during the offseason. Among the new faces to don the Green-and-White baseball jersey is Marikina-native, Francis Gesmundo.

Coming from a family of baseball players, Gesmundo started playing at the early age of five. His father introduced him to the sport, continuously helping him develop as a player in his role as a pitcher and infielder. His brother is also a baseball player and currently plays for the AdU Soaring Falcons. According to Gesmundo, baseball became the source of bonding in their family, and it was also them who motivated him in pursuing a career in such. “Namotivate lang ako [maglaro] kasi yung family ko, naglalaro rin ng baseball… parang yun na rin yung bonding namin dahil sama-sama kami,” says Francis.

Entering his first season as one of the rookie Green Batters puts a lot of pressure on this young lad, as the primary purpose of the team this year is no less than to win a championship. “Medyo mabigat ang expectation kasi nanggaling [sila] sa second place tapos kinuha kami para makuha yung championship kaya malaki ang iniexpect sa mga rookies na pumasok ngayon,” shares Gesmundo.

In spite of these heavy expectations placed upon him, he seems not too burdened to say the least. Given his background and the past contests he has immersed himself in, he is not new to the level of competition that the UAAP possesses.

“Parang wala naman kasi sanay naman kami sa international competition. Sumasali rin kami dun kaya parang hindi na bago yung UAAP sa amin,” says Gesmundo.

Before entering DLSU, he competed for the high school varsity team of Marist School, as well as the baseball team of Marikina City. He has also competed in the Palarong Pambansa. Last summer, he competed in the Philippine Series, where he went to the Asia Pacific and eventually won the tournament. “Sa Palarong Pambansa lagi kami naglalaban kaya minsan din kakampi ko sila. Magkakakilala na nga kami,” mentions Gesmundo.

As he enters his first UAAP season with La Salle, the rookie focuses himself towards one goal- a championship. For him, the crown is for the team, for the Lasallian community, and most especially, for their seniors who have dedicated a huge fraction of their college lives with the Green Batters. “Basta ang goal naming [ay] mag-champion kami kasi sayang naman yung last year ng mga seniors namin,” explains Gesmundo.

When asked about what he wants to accomplish in his stay in the UAAP, he was confident in his response, saying, “Kahit isang championship lang ang makukuha ko sa five years ko dito, okay lang. Basta alam namin na kaya namin na madami pa.”

Regarding what he plans to do after college, it seems that a career in sports is truly the way to go for him. Along with his involvements with the baseball team, he is also taking up a degree in Sports Management. Moreover, he also considers joining the national team. “Since nung high school palang ako, naglalaro na ako sa national team kaya baka itutuloy ko ang paglalaro ko ng baseball. Pero, kung may opportunity naman na mas maganda, dun nalang ako,” concludes Gesmundo.