Efforts are underway to stage a fundraiser for Rio Olympian Ian Lariba, who is battling a rare form of leukemia, Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (Tatap) chief Ting Ledesma said yesterday during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Golden Phoenix Hotel in Pasay City.
Ledesma said Lariba underwent chemotherapy last week and her mother revealed that while the 22-year-old La Salle student “is doing fine, she is not yet ready to receive visitors and well-wishers.”
The event, which will be handled by La Salle, according to Ledesma, aims “to defray the cost of hospital bills.”
The news of Lariba’s diagnosis came as complete shock to Ledesma, who was hoping that the Cagayan de Oro native will spearhead the country’s campaign in the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur this August.