BY JONAS TERRADO
Alaska coach Jeffrey Cariaso has pledged a donation of P100,000 to PBA employees and arena personnel affected by the postponement of games due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Cariaso said he will give P25,000 from his own pocket plus another P25,000 from team governor Dickie Bachmann and P50,000 from the Aces in order to help those who rely on gameday salaries to make a living.
Several players, namely NLEX’s Kiefer Ravena, Meralco’s Cliff Hodge and Nico Salva and TNT KaTropa’s Harvey Carey had earlier heeded Cariaso’s call to take the endeavor which was also initiated by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial.
“To coincide with the PBA’s initiative to support those people who are not regular employees, I am making a pledge to donate (P100,000) to our hard working PBA game day personnel who are severely affected by the cancellation/ delay of our season,” Cariaso said.
“Those without monthly salaries are our statisticians, table officials, gate keepers, entertainment personnel (blue boys), and our parking (and) operations personnel..
“These individuals are the hard working people behind the scenes that allow players and teams to showcase what we do best. They complete the platform and pave the way each and every play date,” he added.
Cariaso is hoping that the drive will eventually reach an amount were they could help each personnel get at least a salary of two months.
“My goal is to make up for the at least two months worth of wages for those individuals relying heavily on the games. If anyone would like to help out, kindly message me personally.
“God bless you,” added Cariaso.
The PBA suspended its games last week due to the severe threat caused by the infectious disease and subsequent declaration of an enhanced community quarantine by the government.
The postponement left the aforementioned employees a dilemma of how to make up for the lost income.
But Cariaso eventually took the lead in efforts to compensate those affected, with several players later expressing their commitments to join the efforts.
