VOL. 9 ISSUE 234 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, JANUARY 15 - 16, 2017
EDGEDAVAO Sports 15
VALUE FOR MONEY Aussie gov’t: Pacquiao fight hosting must justify huge funding required By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO
P
ICONIC VENUE. The Suncopr Stadium in Brisbane could be the host of the Manny Pacquiao-Jeff Horn fight on April 23.
njb@edgedavao.net
ERTH, Australia – For sure, money wont come easy.
Even for a rich state like Queensland, the hosting of the blockbuster fight between Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and homeboy Jeff Horn will have to go through meticulous funding scrutiny. According to a report on SBS, the Queensland government says the megafight, probably Australia’s biggest boxing card ever, must provide enough value to justify the multi-million dollar outlay required. And so it comes off
the tracks -- the bidding war for the Pacquiao-Horn fight with Horn’s home city Brisbane the early frontrunner. But despite the clamor to keep the fight at home soil, Queensland tourism and major events minister Kane Jones reportedly waved the caution sign to everyone that the state government will only underwrite the historic bout as long as it provides enough value for the huge cost required. In plain business lingo -- value for money. In government terms – fiscal prudence.
F VALUE, 13
Ramrodding the Philippine Sports Commission PH netters expect From the abyss of mediocrity to the doorstep of excellence
By JIMMY K. LAKING
T
HERE is a snow-balling, albeit hardly unnoticed, nationwide undertaking to overhaul Philippine sports once and for all. It has nothing to do with Andre Blatche, the 6’11” naturalized Filipino that some Manila oligardch wanted to project as the face of Philippine basketball. Nor does it have to do with whoever gets the fancy of Jose “Peping” Cojuangco in representing the national colors abroad. It has nothing to do with spiting the old for there were accomplishments, although few and far between, that deserved appreciation. As William “Butch” Ramirez realized early on, the Philippine Sports Commission over the past 26 years of its existence cannot be faulted for lack of something to show. It simply lacked the freedom to fulfill its mandate probably without stepping on powerful toes. Like the war against drugs and corruption, this total overhaul of the system ramrodded by the Philippine Sports Commission is for real. And it is taking the regions like a storm. The casualties differ though. In place of body counts, old ideas are being discarded to give way to the new. Basketball is still considered a cream,
Ramirez but the reality beckons in the grassroots where salvation for Philippine sports may eventually emerge in the long-term. With Duterte’s assumption into power as the catalyst, the true state of Philippine sports has unraveled. It is safe to assume that under the watch of a succession of Philippine presidents, Philippine sports occupied the doormat of priorities, remembered only when one talent sparkled only to fade into the sunset like a flash in the pan. Now change has come to encompass sports. With Ramirez at the helm, the PSC from Day I simply took the bull by its horns by coming out with a novelty: the establishment of a Philippine Institute of Sports that is expected to be launched this Jan. 16 in Pasig. It is the centerpiece to a
two-pronged strategy that seeks to infuse science to the training and selection of sports talents for the long term. With links to the institute of sports of South Korea, Australia and Russia, the PIS will be equipped with bio-mechanics and exercise machines and equipment supervised by experts. It will have a full complement of psychologists, physiologists, nutritionists and medical doctors employed on a full-time basis. It will be complemented region-wide by 13 regional training satellites, five regional training directors and 50 sports coordinators. These will act as the vanguards in working with the local government units in developing sports at the grassroots. National training director Marc Edward Velasco said the
PSI project aims to improve the performance of Filipino athletes in international competitions. He added that with the putting up of the PSI, “there is an opportunity for our athletes to excel in the international arena.” By way of suggestion, Velasco told reporters that the league of mayors and league of governors should realize that their constituents can be very much be a part of the national program. “They must know that this is not for the elite but also for the grassroots,” he added. By way of analogy, the PSI can be likened to the system that miners use to cull the gems from the trough. Ramirez has time and time again underscored the PSC’s desire to succeed in the implementation of its mandate in partnership with all stakeholders. He summarizes the task at hand over the long haul: “Let us put the key fundamental things first: a strong genuine grassroots sports program, a clear picture of how we will fund the athletes, the (establishment of the) institute where science is there and a very good foreign exposure and training.” The PSC will do to ride the river with.
tough tie vs Indons T EAM captain Karl Santamaria on Friday said the Philippines is expecting a strong challenge from Indonesia in the first round of the Davis Cup Asia/ Oceania Zone Group II tie scheduled Feb. 3 to 5 at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) indoor claycourt in Paco, Manila. Led by US-born Filipinos Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales, the Philippines hopes to beat Indonesia and be promoted to Group I in 2018. “It will be a tough tie especially since Indonesia has beaten us in the Southeast Asian Games team events in 2011 and 2015, and also in the Davis Cup in 2013,” said the 37-year-old Santamaria, who is on his second with the RP Davis Cup team. Last year, the team of Huey, Gonzales, Casey Francis Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon bowed to Chinese Taipei, 1-3, in the semifinal round to stay in Group II. This year, the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) has included Albert “AJ’ Lim Jr. in the line-up to boost the country’s bid of getting a Group I promotion in 2018. Lim is currently No. 52 in the world juniors rankings. The 17-year-old freshman at the University of the
East will be leaving next week to compete in the Australian Open Juniors. Huey, who is the world’s No. 22 doubles player, is also seeing action in the Australian Open while Gonzales is playing Challengers in the US. “We have been practicing already at PCA and Valle Verde. Only AJ and Francis Casey are here right now. AJ will leave for Melbourne on the 19th and return as soon as he finishes there. Same with Treat. Ruben will arrive late this month,” said the 37-year-old Santamaria, a champion coach in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). Indonesia will most likely field the same team which scored a 5-0 rout over Sri Lanka in the Group II relegation play-off last year. Christopher Rungkat, Sunu-Wahya Trijati, Aditya Hari Sasongko and David Agung Susanto won all their matches without losing a set against their Sri Lankan opponents. Indonesia’s team captain is Andrian Raturandang. Teams have until January 23 to submit their final lineup to the International Tennis Federation, the world-governing body for the sport. (PNA)