Mamiit, ATP lend hand to 'Ondoy' victims

MANILA, Philippines - Cecil Mamiit, the ace of Philippine tennis, is counting on good karma in his search for a third straight singles gold in the SEA Games.

Two days before he departed for Laos for the 25th staging of the biennial event, the 33-year-old tennis star was at the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City to hand over a little over $9,000 (roughly P420,000) as donation to victims of the “Ondoy” tragedy.

Mamiit was all smiles as he turned over the cold cash to an ABS-CBN representative. He raised the amount during an exhibition match in Los Angeles last Nov. 28, a day-long affair also graced by fellow Fil-Am netter Erik Taino and tennis star Michael Chang.

“The ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) actually started it when they donated equipment which we autographed and auctioned. Then we played some matches, and got the crowd joining us. We were able to raise more than $9,000,” Mamiit told The STAR.

It was his way of giving back and helping the countless victims of tropical storm “Ondoy” which struck the country on Sept. 26 this year, and left more than 200 persons dead, countless others injured and billions of pesos to property and agriculture lost.

“I feel that we could have done more. We feel that this is not enough. But it was good. It felt good. It always feels good to help,” said Mamiit, now in Laos eyeing his third gold in men’s singles following his 2005 win in Manila and in 2007 in Thailand.