MVP Feature
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 14 Mar 2011
In basketball, the ?sixth man? fans refer to a guy who comes off the bench when things go awry in his team?s game. He takes the ball, perks the team up again and turns a losing game into a victory. That?s is why there is such a thing as the ?sixth man? award accorded by an award-giving body like the PBA Press Corps in the country?s premier pro-league.
The best sixth man though in PBA Philippine Cup champion Talk ?N Text Tropang Texters was never fielded by Coach Chot Reyes to see action when his ream needs to turn things around. He never made a winning basket, inbounded a pass, grabbed a rebound, blocked a shot, drew a foul; things like those.
Manny V. Pangilinan, the team owner and the top honcho of the MVP group of companies that include corporate giants PLDT, Smart Telecommunications, NLEX, Maynilad and now Meralco, to mention a few, just have to be at the coliseum to see the Testers? play to perk up their campaign for a championship.
Never mind if anyone or two in Kelly Williams, Ryan Reyes, Ali Peek or even Jimmy Alapag or Jason Castro are absent due to injuries, all the Texters need is to see MVP at the back of their bench to lambast the opposition.
Fact is, he is not even a threat to the salary cap, but nobody was more valuable than he is to the franchise. Simply because he provides everything the Texters need, whatever forms they are.
MVP is to the late Danny Floro of the legendary Crispa or Ambassador Danding Cojuangco of the oldest PBA franchise San Miguel Corp. or Fred Uytengsu of Alaska Milk.
Reason why, like the business empire he has built and will build, the Texters or even the Meralco Bolts, for that matter, is headed more successful campaigns to become local basketball?s newest dynasty.
What?s the secret of his success in all the undertakings he has involved himself in, one sportswriter asked after the Texters? title conquest of the 2010-2011 All-Filpino?
?I always believe that success, be it large or small, is the result of cumulative efforts ? the little things that one does everyday to improve, brick-by-brick, stone-upon stone, sweat-after-sweat,? he retorted.
?There are no secrets to success, really. Or short cuts,? he emphasized.
Reyes, of course, and TnT?s representative to the PBA board Ricky Vargas, now CEO of water supplier Maynilad and even Norman Black of UAAP champion Ateneo and Frankie Lim of NCAA titlist San Beda could only agree.
The Blue Eagles and the Red Lions have, themselves been in the process of reclaiming the glory days their respective institutions enjoyed in the early days of the varsity and collegiate leagues through the all-out support of MVP.
Not known to many, MVP is a blue-blooded sports enthusiasts engaging into squash and badminton.
?Occasionally, I am also into water-skiing and snow-gliding. I love snow sports because they are very therapeutic,? MVP attested.
When he was a kid, MVP confessed he played baseball and dodgeball and, rather jestingly, got into fights.
Why is he in sports?
?Because the many qualities you need to succeed in life are the very same qualities required in sports. As you plumb deeper into sports ? whichever sport that might be ? you will discover values that ate spiritual, because they shape and form a person?s character and spirit. He explained.
?That is why sports is indeed a metaphor for life,? he added.
GOAL PILIPINAS
Sports needs heroes, Stars. Reason why athletes in whatever event ? basketball athletics, etc. ? they put their names and numbers on the back of their uniforms.
For Businessman-sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan, to create heroes and stars, a team must win, or, for that matter, a sports undertaking must succeed. Sports leaders must have commitment, mission. Or to put it simply a GOAL!
That is why he put up the MVP Sports Foundation and adopted ?Goal! Pilipinas? as battlecry.
?Sports to me, is more than jus playing games,? MVP as he is known to sports and business communities and in whose name the foundation title was derived , explained during the launching of the project Friday night at the Meralco auditorium.
?It is also a powerful catalyist for change. It motivates each one of us to become better person . It gives us courage to surmount challenges. It can even offer an escape from the poverty. Sports, my friends, can be the answer to our desire to lead better lives,? he added as he discussed the intended expanded scope the project.
?When we say goals, we are talking about specific, reasonably ambitious, realistic and achievable goals,? he said. ?We?re not going to go for the usual motherhood statements as ?go for gold,? or ?best of the best.? Let?s face it, how the hell can we ever competed against the U.S. in basketball or beat Brazil in the World Cup (of football)? ?
The Foundation has identified eight specific sports to support ? basketball, boxing, cycling, taekwondo, badminton, tennis, running and football.
For basketball, MVP, whose father the late, Dominador Pangilinan, used to be baseball godfather and led the renaissance in the sport in the 70s and 80s, explained, ?The goal is to be the Asian champion, the best in Asia.
We?ve been an Asian power before, so there?s no reason why we can?t be one again. For boxing and taekwondo, the goals are Olympic golds no less because we are the best in these sports in the world.?
MVP said the goal for cycling is to have a Filipino rider qualify in the Tour of France. For badminton and football to be among the best three in Asia. For tennis to be the top in Southeast Asia.
?In running, the goal is Asian Games gold. Why? We?ve had runners before wgho hve won gold in Asia. There?s no reason why we can?t do it again,? he reasoned out.
Pangilinan disclosed that when the idea of putting up the MVPSP came up, he felt giddy like a basketball rookie getting drafted by his favorite team, excited as the prospect of sweeping title victories in the UAAP, NCAA and PBA, which he accomplished as godfather of Ateneo and San Beda and owner of the professional Talk ?N Text.
?Let me tell you, it?s an incredible feeling ? the feeling of winning. In life, nothing quite compares to the thrill of victory . And I want to share this feeling to everyone, ? he told his audience that included Bert Lina of Air 21 and Metro Pacific Group, which he heads.
He wanted to put up the foundation that will be a perfect vehicle to further help Philippine sports, while at the same time, encourage all Filipinos to live like a winner by leading a more active lifestyle.
?I wanted to put up a sports foundation that would have positive impacdt not just on the performance of professional athletes, but more importantly, on the attitude of everyday Pinoys, who genuinely cared about their physical well-being,? he stressed.
MVP, clarified though that the foundation is not himself, now what he feels, nor about his personal agenda, nor his desire to win.
?It?s about all of us. About what we truly want for Philippine sports and what we want for all of s, as a nation. If you notice,, the logo of the MVP Sports Foundation doesn?t emphasize the letters MVP, nor the worlds sports foundation,? he said.
?The emphasis is on our thrust, our commitment, our mission ? which is GOAL! PILIPINAS.? he said. ?We chose the motto, first, to define what we?re aiming for in Philippine sports as well as the over-all physical fitness of our people. Second, because it is symbolic of our own journey in life ? which is to have goals our career, business, relationship, love life or spiritual life,?
GOAL, MVP added, is an acronym that stands for Golden Opportunity through Active Lifestyle. ?I truly believe that if we are all committed to living a healthy and active lifestyle, opportunities will naturally come our way and we can become a progressive nation.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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