PSC denies giving aid to Jai Alai games

Philippine Sports Commission chair Eric Buhain has denied having issued any official sanction to the Pelota de Manila Tournament (PDMT) nor his office provided financial support to the event.

"We have nothing to do with this kind of tournament nor we issued an official sanction related to this kind of event," said Buhain.

Buhain also stressed that his office had never extended to the tournament any financial assistance usually afforded to accredited NSAs.

Piqued by the false insinuations of some quarters that the PDMT has the blessing of the PSC and the Philippine Olympic Committee, the PSC chief said he would ask Malacañang to look into activities of the association.

Widely known as Jai-Alai, the pelota games are played daily at No. 100 Matatag St., Bgy. Pinyahan, Quezon City at a private court allegedly owned by a former pelotari, Pablo Lorenzo, and are shown live nationwide daily from 12 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. over at SBN 21, Channel 55 (Destiny Cable), and Channel 72 (SkyCable).

Aside from the live TV coverage of the games that started way back in Nov. 2002, the PDMT also has with it a daily program that contains lineup of players, caricature-tips, previous game results, three-digit winning combinations and its corresponding dividend.

The program also includes an official statement of the organizers claiming that the tournament intends to scout promising young players across the land and hone up their skills for future international tournaments.