Sports a great leveler

At a round-table discussion with STAR CEO Miguel Belmonte and The STAR sports staff at the Ramon Cojuangco Building in Makati last week, PLDT chairman Manny Pangilinan or MVP said media support is necessary for every nascent sport.

"Media exposure will help patronage and generate interest from advertisers and this way, there will be more money to support athletes," said Pangilinan who called it a virtuous cycle.

Pangilinan is a competitive badminton player who often takes to the court with the national team. He plays two to three days a week from about 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Manila Polo Club and logs up to five to six sets a session.

Pangilinan recently played matches with a visiting Korean delegation of 10 players and two coaches invited to train the national team here. One of the doubles sets he played nearly went to the 30-point limit.

Pangilinan said when he was based in Hong Kong, the Chinese staff of American Express Bank introduced him to badminton. But he shifted to squash because badminton courts were too few and far between. To play badminton, he sometimes had to motor all the way to the New Territories. In contrast, squash courts were more accessible. Eventually, MVP reverted back to badminton.

Pangilinan’s late father Dominador, a well-respected banker, was the project director for baseball once upon a time. MVP used to watch baseball games with his father but never really developed a passion for it unlike badminton and of course, basketball which is every Filipino’s favorite sport.

* * *

Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion are now ranked No. 21 in the world in mixed doubles but they’re not sure of playing for the country in the Asian Games late this year. They’ve just come from winning tournaments in Auckland and Melbourne.

Fresh from playing in the recent MVP Cup, the brother and sister tandem flew to Macau last Tuesday in quest of ranking and qualifying points. The duo is scheduled to compete in Thailand and the US Open after playing in Macau.

Kennie, 29, and Kennevic, 26, said the Philippine Badminton Association helps out in processing their accreditation papers to join overseas tournaments but they pay their own way to play abroad.

In their recent Oceania campaign, the Asuncions had to stay an extra three days in Auckland and sleep a night at the Melbourne airport because of travel restrictions and delays. Sadly, they travel on their own to play and use their miles to get free airline tickets. Players of their caliber shouldn’t be subjected to such stress but due to lack of support, they just sacrifice for the sake of gaining valuable experience by competing abroad.

* * *

Pangilinan said he’s sure the private sector will not hesitate to support national sports associations (NSAs) with rational, logical and workable programs of action. The problem is not too many NSAs can show something concrete on the table.

Pangilinan said if there’s one sector that should be insulated from politics, it’s sports.

"Sports is a great leveler," he explained. "We revere real accomplishments. Manny Pacquiao and Bata Reyes did it on their own and we need more of them. Sports brings people from all walks of life and all social classes together. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor in sports. If you’re capable, you’ll excel. But it’s such a huge disincentive to the youth when they see athletes given the breaks because of connections or because they can afford or because they can raise money on their own, not because they deserve the breaks or because of talent. So they ask themselves why should I aspire?"

Pangilinan said the reason why some NSAs fail is quite simple. It’s because of ego, political considerations and bureaucracy.

"Who should draw up the development plan?" he asked. "Surely, it must be the NSA. The private sector will assist in producing champions but the credit will always go to the NSA as it should be. But the plan must be complete to include expert coaching, facilities, sending players abroad and bringing top players here. It can’t be ad hoc programs where individual players come knocking on the doors of sponsors asking for assistance."