San Beda and De La Salle to raise Yolanda relief funds in charity game

As a sport, basketball is central to Filipinos' way of life. In the wake of the destruction of Typhoon Yolanda, the basketball community wants to give their countrymen a chance to start life anew.

The San Beda Red Lions and the De La Salle Green Archers announced Monday they will face off in "Champions for a Cause," a charity game between the NCAA and UAAP titlists to raise additional funds for typhoon relief and rehabilitation efforts in the Visayas region.

In cooperation with the MVP Foundation and FilOil Flying V Sports, the event will be held on December 7, Saturday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum at 12 noon.

During a press conference with the event organizers and representatives from both schools, Mandy Ochoa, chairman of FilOil Flying V Sports, said the game was an avenue to capitalize on Filipinos' love for basketball and compassion for their countrymen to generate financial aid for Tacloban and other affected areas.

"It devastated a lot of people and a lot of lives. It's sent a lot of messages not only here in the Philippines, but all over the world. This unified the world for one purpose, and that is to help our kababayans, the Filipinos," he said." We're extremely grateful for the support we've been receiving from the schools, that they've come together for a charity game to show our solidarity."

According to Ochoa, 100 percent of the revenue will be split equally between San Beda and De La Salle for them to use in their respective relief efforts. The SMART-Araneta Coliseum is also lending the venue free of charge.

In addition, the alumni associations of both schools have pledged to donate P1000 for every point scored by their respective squads.

Both teams also expressed their eagerness to lend their time and efforts for the charity game. "We're glad to be part of this, not only in the basketball aspect but in whatever aspect we can do to help, we'd be more than willing," said DLSU head coach Juno Sauler.

San Beda head coach Boyet Fernandez echoed his sentiments, and said, "We're really proud to be part of Champions for a Cause. Noong nalaman namin yung project na 'to, hindi na kami umiling sa sumali."

Red Lions Kyle Pascual, Rome Dela Rosa and Art Dela Cruz were also present and expressed their solidarity with the typhoon's victims and said they have also given to relief efforts. "Two weeks ago lang nag-champions kami, pero we shared some of our buenas with the victims of the typhoon," shared Dela Cruz.

Rekindling a rivalry

A few distinguished alumni were also in attendance, namely former Red Lion and former SBC head coach Frankie Lim and ex-Green Archer Lim Eng Beng in support of their alma maters. Most of all, the three looked forward to a throwback to the glory days of the NCAA when the schools would regularly butt heads in the best college league decades ago.

"Ang tagal na nito eh," shared Lim about the rivalry. "During my college days, we had La Salle, San Beda and Ateneo in the NCAA, and that made the NCAA the number one college league in the Philippines. Those were good memories, although it was pretty wild. It was always exciting, it was a match we'd look forward to."

"It'll be a close game, parehong champion teams 'to. Syempre San Beda by a slim margin," said Lim. Beng also agreed it would be a close match.

Beng, who was diagnosed with liver cancer, left the audience to speculate whether San Beda or DLSU alumni might also be involved in some competition during the event. "For charity, I'll do everything I can, even if I have to play basketball again. As of now, there's no go signal from the doctor. Siguro I need to practice 1,000 shots a day but for charity, I'll do everything I can," he said.


Clash of champions

Both camps promised to give fans and supporters their money's worth for what is essentially a non-bearing game. Sauler and Fernandez said they saw the match as an opportunity to measure themselves against each other before the Philippine Collegiate Champions League begins next month.

"Sa akin walang difference ang basketball kung elimination, finals, practice or exhibition. We'll play the game as it's treated," said Sauler. "I watched the finals series and I think they're a very disciplined team. They're very strong, they win championships year in and year out."

"We treat every game as an important game," stressed Fernandez. "Even if this is an exhibition game we're looking to win just because we're wearing the San Beda uniform. This will be a good preparation for us for the PCCL as well."

"It's an honor to play against La Salle. I know Coach Juno is a warrior, and he instills that discipline and execution in his players," he finished.

A few players' families were affected by the typhoon. Archers Oda Tampus and Robert Bolick are from Cebu and Ormoc, respectively, while Red Lions Richie Villaruz's family is from Iloilo. Fortunately, their families and property survived without major incident.

Tickets can be purchased on Ticketnet and at the participating schools. - AMD, GMA News