"Elevate Our Level of Achievement" Panlilio on Future of Philippine Sports

"I want us to elevate our level of achievement internationally," that's what Al Panlilio wants to see from Philipino sports in the next few years.

2OT aired another episode on Tuesday where Carlo Pamintuan and Magoo Marjon were able to chat with the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) who is also running as the first vice president of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) under the ticket of incumbent POC President Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino in the November 27 POC polls. While Panlilio was able to share some updates with regards to the preparations of Gilas Pilipinas for the Baharain bubble in the upcoming window of the 2021 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers, Panlio also shared his vision for Philippine sports in the coming years.

"We haven't won our first gold medal (in the Olympics)" he began. "We (with the MVP Sports Foundation) were choosing sports where we have a chance to be competitive internationally. If we can get our first gold, that would be an achievement for us," The Meralco Bolts governor in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)  mentioned some sports that the MVP Sports Foundation have been supporting such as boxing, taekwondo, golf, badminton, and football. He also added, "Basketball? If we win Olympic gold? Maybe not in our lifetime but basketball is really a big sport in the Philippines Everybody loves basketball but If we can see ourselves developing every time and improving every time, it's already a success for us. This is why our recent World Cup stint is a bit of a disappointment because went down a bit so hopefully, we can improve in the next World Cup,"

Panlilio also reiterated, "It's really about making sure that we are able to elevate, we can become better step by step and we're not stagnant.  We don't go back to a lower level. I hope we can elevate. I hope that we can see improvements even if it's bit by bit and the only way to do that is that if we can provide better facilities, better training, and better competitions", 

Screenshot is from 2OT Facebook page