Ricci Rivero is making his final year at University of the Philippines count.
The 23-year-old winger is giving back to the school that embraced him during his down years by pledging to donate P250 for every point he makes during the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament to the UP Ikot Drivers Association.
Those drivers are currently still affected by the ongoing pandemic as face-to-face classes in UP’s Diliman campus have yet to come back to normal.
“Marami po kasi sa kanila may pamilya na sinusuportahan, at sa pagpasada po kumukuha ng pangkabuhayan,” said Rivero, a former La Sallian who transferred to UP back in 2018. “Noong nawala po ang face to face classes at public transport, sobra pong laking kawalan nun para sa kanila. Kaya po naisip ko po na i-offer sa kanila yung final year ko po para mas makatulong ako po kahit paano.
“Sabay po kaming magbabalik sa kanya-kanya naming mga biyahe para pagsilbihan ang UP.”
During UAAP Season 82, Rivero scored a total of 124 points. That meant that he would have donated P31,000.
This time around, Rivero is looking to score more buckets in his collegiate swansong.
This is just the start of Rivero’s “RR25 Buckets of Hope” campaign which looks to help more sectors that have been affected by the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Virtual Playground will also match the donations made by Rivero.
“When we learned about Ricci’s plan, I immediately said we wanted to also contribute,” said VP’s Charlie Dy. “So we’re pledging to match the total amount of Ricci’s full-season performance.
“It’s our way to also give back to the UP Community as well as encourage Ricci to perform his best on his final year.”
The Rivero family had been active in helping out the UP Ikot Drivers Association and their hometown of Ilagan, Isabela over the past two years.
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