Hoopsters, coaches play up airport
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players and coaches, specifically from Bulacan and Pampanga, expressed high hopes that San Miguel Corp’s P734-billion new Manila International Airport project in Bulakan will give Philippine sports a big shot in the arm as part of post-pandemic recovery efforts.
“It will definitely be a big help for sports. We already have the biggest sports venue in Philippine Sports Arena. With the new airport, we can now host any major local and even international sporting event,” said Bocaue, Bulacan native Jonas Villanueva, coach for the Bataan Risers in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and former player for the San Miguel Beer and Purefoods teams in the PBA.
His fellow Bocaue native Billy Mamaril, a player for San Miguel Beer, believes that the airport will promote sports tourism.
“Having an airport in Central Luzon will boost all sectors. Sports and entertainment in general will be elevated because traveling by air will be easier. Having games abroad and having foreign athletes compete in the Philippines will be even more possible. Even fans from abroad can come here to watch major sports events. It will make us Filipinos very proud,” Mamaril said.
Emerging sports mecca
Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok coach Chito Victolero, who hails from Sta. Maria town, said the new airport could eventually make Bulacan province a go-to place for sporting events.
The Bulakan Airport will not only a have a beneficial effect on sports, it can also improve the standard of living of locals through the jobs that will be created during its construction and through its actual operations. Jobs will also be generated at its adjacent development, the Bulacan Airport City economic zone.