A long-time tennis patron, Palawan Pawnshop barges through basketball via new alliance with UP Maroons

The UP men's basketball team takes a picture with the top officials of Palawan Pawnshop. Ivan Saldajeno

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--For quite some time now, Palawan Pawnshop has become a household name in tennis thanks to its age-group tennis tournament series.

Not to mention its unlikely alliance with corporate rival Cebuana Lhuillier for Unified Tennis Philippines.

But on Tuesday, the Puerto Princesa-based company, via its money remittance arm Palawan Express Pera Padala, officially added basketball to its sports advocacy.

Through a formal signing of the memorandum of agreement at UP Diliman, Palawan Express became the latest sponsor of the said school's men's basketball team.

On how the partnership began, Lilian Selda, Palawan Pawnshop's vice president for finance, said, "One of my friends who's also from UP but a classmate in AIM (Asian Institute for Management) called me. Yung husband nya is assistant team manager of the UP Maroons. They dropped by our house and then after that, the Nowhere To Go But UP [Foundation] went to our office and presented the package."

Agaton Uvero, the Fighting Maroons' team manager, confirmed that his foundation indeed reached out first.

"Mas madaling lumapit sa mga UP alumni kasi para bang nabuhay yung damdamin ng mga alumni. Dati, tahimik lang yung mga alumni ng UP. Ngayon, maraming gustong tumulong di lang sa basketball pati sa ibang mga programa ng UP," said Uvero.

Selda later bared that the partnership is not just for the men's hoops squad.

"The women's basketball team approached us also, so we're also sponsoring the women's basketball team," she added.

Also present in the formal signing were Selda's father, Palawan Pawnshop president and chief executive officer Bobby Castro, and the rest of their family and the entire team led by head coach Bo Perasol.

"We're really very excited," Selda concluded.

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