DLSU’s Lariba eyes 2nd UAAP top plum
PSC chair leaves new board P1.3B
The next Philippine Sports Commission leadership will have a massive budget when it takes over in July.
“We’re proud to say the next PSC leadership will have money in its coffers because we saved about P1.3 to P1.4 billion in our six years here,” said outgoing PSC chair Richie Garcia yesterday.
“With that amount, he or she would not be encountering money problems,” he added.
Garcia said his successor could use the money to fund the construction of a new training center outside congested, polluted Manila and Pasig City where majority of the national athletes are currently billeted.
“They could use it as seed money to build training centers,” he said.
The amount saved by the government sportsfunding agency came from its cost-cutting and belt-tightening measures, including cutting off the list delinquent National Sports Associations that have failed to liquidate funds advanced to them.
Garcia, however, clarified the money saved was not at the expense of the athletes and the country’s sports programs.
“We weren’t negligent in giving our athletes and NSAs support. In fact, it is in my term when the athletes’ monthly salary was raised. In my first year, they received only P7,000 to P8,000 a month but gold medalists now receive P43,000 plus P40,000-worth of training,” said Garcia.
Athletics, now headed by Philip Ella Juico, is the biggest recipient of PSC funding pegged at P40 million a year while boxing and wushu come next at more than P30 million annually.
Garcia also said that the national differently abled athletes start to get monthly stipend worth P8,000 to P9,000 plus free billeting.
That is apart of the amended National Athletes Incentives Act that also included handing out incentives to performing national differently abled athletes.
“I’m proud to say that we started giving them a monthly stipend and a free board and lodging during my stay,” said Garcia.
Rio Olympicsbound table tennis ace Ian Lariba of La Salle looms as a strong favorite to bag the Athlete of the Year plum that the UAAP will hand down on Saturday as it formally closes Season 78 at University of the Philippines’ Ang Bahay ng Alumni.
Lariba, who shared top honors with Ateneo’s Hannah Dato and FEU’s Janelle Mae Frayna last year, made a strong case for a second consecutive AOY award when she spearheaded the Lady Archers to back-to-back crowns last October.
Going farther, Lariba brought honors to the country by becoming the first ever Filipino table tennis player to qualify for the Olympics.
The Cagayan de Oro pride hacked out an 11-6, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 victory over higherranked Indonesian rival Lilis Inoriani to clinch a “golden ticket to Rio” in the ITTF-Asia Olympic Qualifiers in Hong Kong last month.
Athletics MVP Karen Janario of University of Santo Tomas and chess champ IM Paulo Bersamina of National U, among other MVP winners from the 29 events, are also tipped to contend for the top plum for their feats in the international scene.
Janario, a Typhoon Yolanda survivor from Leyte, went four-for-four in a fiery debut in the UAAP and continued her winning ways in the Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championships in Bangkok, where she led a one-gold, one-silver, one-bronze haul for Phl.
For his part, Bersamina helped the Bulldogs end a three-year title drought then carried the country’s colors in the 2016 Asian Juniors (Open-Boys and Girls) Chess Championships in Shahdara, New Delhi, India and in the third Japfa ASEAN Chess Championship in Jakarta.
Aside from the AOY, the league is also set to fete all the MVPs and Rookies of the Year as well as athlete-scholars who did well academically.
The closing rites will end with Season 78 president UP Chancellor Michael Tan turning over the UAAP flag to the next host, UST.