PBA, PBL BACK WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL LEAGUE
Pasig City, Nov. 9, 1998 - The country's top two basketball leagues are sponsoring the First Philippines Wheelchair Basketball League which will stage games every Sunday from Nov. 15 to Dec. 3 at the Philsports Arena.
Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (Philspada) president Mike Barredo, organizer of the sports fest, said the games are aimed at showcasing the skills of persons with disability (PWD) and to elevate the level of wheelchair basketball from a mere demonstration sport.
"This is a triumph in adversity in action. This will prove that persons with disability are actually differently-abled in sports," Barredo said.
Philspada recently affiliated with the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation and hopes to send a very competitive team to the Gold Cup in Australia, the World Cup's counterpart for persons with disabilities.
Chow King and Blu Detergent are sponsoring one team each. PBA Commissioner Jun Bernardino is looking into possibilities for PBA teams to sponsor two teams, to complete the roster of four teams for the first meet.
"We hope that this event will create its own following and eventually encourage more persons with disabilities to get into sports, particularly wheelchair basketball," said Bernardino and PBL Commissioner Yeng Guiao.
Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi
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