PLDT and Smart's Manny V. Pangilinan as boxing godfather!

Just saw this interesting read from ABS-CBN Interactive:

• "The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines may have found a new patron in businessman and sports lover Manny V. Pangilinan.
  
  According to Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez, the man they call MVP is keen in supporting the RP boxers’ bid in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
  
  Ramirez said First Gentleman Mike Arroyo wants the boxing association headed by Manny Lopez to prepare a blueprint of its program for the next year’s Olympics.
  
  “The First Gentleman wants to know the extent of the program. He wants to know how much it would need to keep it going,” Ramirez said.
  
  Ramirez said initial computations showed the boxers would need P15 million to P19 million for the Olympics, including stints in high-caliber international competitions.
  
  “I was told that Mr. Pangilinan is interested in boxing. He wants to help the team,” said Ramirez, who is setting up a meeting between Lopez and the First Gentleman.
  
  Pangilinan, chairman of telecommunication giants PLDT and Smart, is deep into sports and has particularly helped in the development of basketball and badminton.
  
  “Helping boxing will give him his three Bs in sports (basketball, badminton and boxing). I’m sure MVP will be a big help once he comes in,” Ramirez added.
  
  The First Gentleman has agreed to help raise the funds through the private sector to train 31 Filipino athletes from seven sports disciplines for the next Olympics.
  
  “This is basically the group he wants to send to the Olympics,” Ramirez said of athletes from boxing, taekwondo, shooting, fencing, lawn tennis, diving and wushu.
  
  Boxing has been the country’s biggest provider of medals in international competitions like the Southeast Asian Games, Asian Games and Olympics.
  
  In the Olympics, boxing has been the country’s pride with three bronze medals from Jose Villanueva in 1932, Leopoldo Serrantes in 1988 and Roel Velasco in 1992.
  
  Anthony Villanueva, the son of the 1932 medalist, won the country’s first silver in boxing in 1964, and was followed by Mansueto Velasco, brother of Roel, in 1996."

Indeed, this is welcome news to our Filipino Boxers participating in the 2008 Beijing Olympics! Let's just hope and pray that Manny V. Pangilinan's (MVP) support for our pugilists continues even after The Games are concluded. And by the way, MVP's sponsorship of the Philippine boxing team is an excellent tie-up with his business interests, PLDT and Smart. Although both firms are already giants in the telecommunications industry, exposure during The Games is a very big plus for any company - foreign or domestic. And I kid you not!