Phl rugby gets support from CBRE

MANILA, Philippines – The growing popularity of rugby in the country got an added shot in the arm through the support of one of the leading real estate services and advisory firms.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) reiterated its commitment to further promote and develop the sport in the grassroots level following its successful holding of a junior tournament at the Don Jones Field of the British School Manila (BSM) in Taguig City recently.

The March meet drew over 200 expat and Filipino kids from participating teams, such as BSM, International School Manila, European International School, Clark Rugby Club of Angeles City, Bahay Bata, Duyan, Tuloy, and Bulacan, which saw action in various age groups.

Rick Santos, chairman and founder of CBRE Philippines, said the tournament, now on its third year, hopefully generates more interest in rugby, which gained ground in the country of late with the success of the national team, more commonly known as the “Philippine Volcanoes.”

“We’ve got hundreds of kids now playing rugby in the country. We plan to bring it into the thousands,” said Santos, who was guest in yesterday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Ave., along with local coach Jovic Payton.

CBRE’s cause is further advanced by the ongoing Division 1 tournament of the HSBC Asian 5 Nations 2012 – Asia’s premiere international rugby competition.

Four teams are seeing action in the April 15-21 event the country is hosting for the first time ever at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The Philippines beat Singapore in the opener last Sunday, 37-20, and is gearing up against powerhouse Chinese-Taipei tonight (7 p.m.) in what Santos describes as the `real championship match.’

The Volcanoes cap their campaign against the Sri Lankans at 5 p.m. on Saturday in their bid for promotion in the Asian 5 Nations Elite level in 2013, where the likes of powerhouse countries Japan, Hong Kong, UAE, and Kazakhstan are competing.

Santos, also the secretary-general of the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU), added that through the CBRE juniors tournament, some of the players will be good enough to play for the Philippine team in 10 years’ time.

“The success of the Philippine Volcanoes allowed us to go up in the Asian rankings from no. 72 to no. 62. Actually, we’ve already surpassed China now considering rugby is just a new sport in the country,” said Santos, a former rugby professional, who played for the University of California Berkeley. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to sustain it through a country-wide grassroots development program through the partnership of CBRE Philippines with the PRFU.”