It brought a burst of euphoria to a state university whose studentry is still grappling with postelection anxiety and indiscriminate Red-tagging.
For the first time since 1986, the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons clinched the men’s basketball team championship of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) in one epic season that ended Ateneo’s three-year winning streak.
Biz Buzz talked to two of the biggest patrons that made this much-needed victory possible for UP Fighting Maroons.
“Nakakaloka!” is how Robina Gokongwei-Pe, the fairy godmother of the team, describes it. This alumna has supported the UP basketball team since 2010 when UP was still a chronic UAAP bottom-dweller.
“The management of the team is solid and professional,” she said, hailing the “dedicated and passionate” “Nowhere To Go But Up” Foundation led by Renan Dalisay and Agaton Uvero.
“Former coach and now program director Bo Perasol gave the team a winning culture. [New coach] Goldwyn Monteverde is quiet and does his job extremely well.”
Businessman Januario Jesus “JJ” Atencio III, despite being an Ateneo alumnus, has stood as the godfather of the team in the last four years. He liked the underdog story of the team—a personal story he could relate to—and believed that this was in line with Ateneo’s Jesuit value of being a “man for others.”
Atencio is either a lucky charm or value picker, or both. Since joining the pool of UP patrons, the Fighting Maroons became the team to watch and started to attract better junior players from all over the country. This season, UP players are taller and better, and has a pool of rookies comprising the best of National U juniors.
In prepandemic years, Atencio helped send the UP team abroad to get world-class training, thereby building up not just their skills but their confidence level.
“You can’t build a champion team overnight. But you have to like the progression they made in the four years leading to this year’s first place. I’m just happy and privileged to be a part of this history,” he said.
“The amount of school spirit the UP men’s basketball team was able to foster is priceless and has changed the community forever. Beyond winning a championship, this is a legacy for generations to come.”
Atencio’s Januarius Holdings and clothing line Stats supported the team, while Gokongwei-Pe enlisted Robinsons Supermarket, Handyman and pet food brand Top Breed. Tycoon Dennis and Grace Uy-led fiber internet provider Converge ICT and the Castro family’s Palawan Express are likewise among the team’s biggest corporate funders.
Hats off to both UP and Ateneo for a legendary postlockdown season!
—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Ready for the boom
Not a single company escaped the ill effects of the pandemic unscathed, but some were better positioned than others, thanks to quick thinking and fast implementation of remedial plans by their owners.
Two examples of this are DoubleDragon and MerryMart of Edgar “Injap” Sia II which were able to weather the storm of the last two years and emerge better prepared for what the young billionaire expects to be a growth surge that will last at least a decade.
How ready? Well, let’s just say that DoubleDragon, as of the end of 2021, has 1.2 million square meters in gross floor area of leasable space in its portfolio which will provide the firm with recurring income through the years.
That is even more impressive when one realizes that the total leasable space that would provide the firm with recurring income was a big fat zero only eight years ago. How times have changed.
Now, it has 120 hectares worth of space in strategic areas nationwide which, Sia predicts, will reach “optimal recurring revenue generation” status before 2025.
Meanwhile, MerryMart continues to grow and now has 105 branches nationwide thanks to a slew of timely acquisitions.
And the common theme for both firms is a huge cash pile accumulated in recent years that will be useful for fending off the effects of tough times, while providing them with ammunition to take advantage of opportunities.
DoubleDragon is sitting on a cash pile of P11.2 billion—one of the largest among listed firms today—while MerryMart has another P2 billion in reserve. MerryMart is also expected to hit P5 billion in revenues this year, more than double its prepandemic level.
“Both DoubleDragon and MerryMart had been bulking up its liquidity position and continued strengthening their balance sheets,” Sia told Biz Buzz. “We’re preparing for next boom cycle.”
“The next 10 years should be great years full of opportunities to look forward to,” he added.
After the challenges of the last two years, that’s definitely welcome news for everyone.
—Daxim L. Lucas INQ
Email us at BizBuzz@inquirer.com.ph
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