PBA superstars Arwind Santos and Ian Sangalang flank Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda and Apalit Mayor Jun Tetangco in this campaign sortie in the 4th District. Contributed photo
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Outside the hardcourt that they routinely dominate, PBA stars Arwind Santos and Ian Sangalang are scoring high points in the campaign trail for the reelection bid of Gov. Dennis “Delta” Pineda.
Santos and Sangalang, only two of the many Kapampangans in the Philippine Basketball Association “discovered and nurtured” by Pineda, have been accompanying him in his sorties and motorcades around Pampanga, presenting themselves as “living examples” of Pineda’s mentoring and leadership that the province itself is benefiting from.
“This is a way of thanking him for his support in my sports career. I believe he can help more young people not just in sports but also in other career pursuits,” Sangalang said in an interview.
He added that the Pineda administration’s programs and his personal support for sports in Pampanga have cultivated the area that is often neglected by most politicians.
It was Pineda who discovered Sangalang and Santos before they were recruited to play in Manila. Pineda, aside from his career in politics, is a sports enthusiast who has hosted local league competitions in Pampanga for several years now.
In several sorties of the governor, Santos urged fans to support Pineda whom he looks up to as one of his mentors in sports. Both players lauded Pineda’s support for basketball that catapulted the careers of some of the players he discovered into the national league.
Pineda is also the team owner and head coach of the Pampanga Delta, the two-time champion of the National Basketball League-Pilipinas.
In recognition of Pineda’s passion and support for basketball, Converge ICT Solutions founder-CEO Dennis Anthony Uy tapped the governor to be a consultant to his team Converge FiberXers in the PBA.
At the recent unveiling of the newest team in the country’s premier basketball league, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial lauded the governor for his “invaluable contribution in making possible” amid the coronavirus pandemic the holding of the 2021 bubble tournaments in Pampanga.
