Pacman boosts PSC grassroots project

Manny Pacquiao. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

What better way to give Philippine boxing a boost than involve Sen. Manny Pacquiao himself?

That’s the wisdom behind the decision of the Philippine Sports Commission and the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines, which will work together with the eight-division champion.

The PSC-Pacquiao Amateur Boxing Cup will kick off on Dec. 16 and 17, fittingly in General Santos City—the birth place of the country’s greatest athlete ever and one of the biggest global sporting heroes.

The program will stage weekly tournaments across the Philippines with the goal of discovering talents from the grassroots.

“The project aims to encourage these boxers to develop love for the sport during their formative years,” said PSC Games Secretariat chief Annie Ruiz.

Ruiz and PSC-PSI consultant Roger Fortaleza will spearhead the project, whose regional winners will clash in the national finals.