San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua has been appointed as the Special Assistant to the Rector for Sports of University of Santo Tomas.
Petron Corporation, who previously backed Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s seniors basketball team, will also serve as booster for the Growling Tigers program, according to reports.
Chua personally met Fr. Richard Ang, OP, Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) director Fr. Rodel Cansancio, OP, and the team on Monday.
“I’m here to fully support UST. This is my school, dito ako lumaki, mahal ko ang paaralang ito,” said Chua in a statement.
“The only thing we have to do is to prove ourselves with how we play. If we work together, we are strong.”
Grateful is UST to Chua for helping his alma mater.
“I would like to assure you that UST will provide its full support to the team and everybody involved. We hope we will perform well in the coming seasons,” said Fr. Ang.
“This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for — the full support of Coach Al. Coach Al is the most talented recruit we have,” added Fr. Cansancio.
Chua backing UST has been a long time coming.
Back in the late 2010s, the former Tiger tried to help the program out but the school opted to get Aldin Ayo as head coach.
Early this year, Pido Jarencio, a good friend of Chua, was tapped as head coach of the team to replace Bal David.