Robinsons returns for 17th year of UP basketball sponsorship

MANILA, Philippines — Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) is continuing its longstanding sponsorship of the University of the Philippines (UP) Men’s Basketball Team, marking the partnership’s 17th year.

The partnership started in 2010, when UP Men’s Basketball was still searching for its identity and enduring some of the toughest seasons in program history.

RRHI, however, continued to stand behind the team even through winless campaigns.

RRHI said the partnership, now entering its 17th year, stands as a testament to a belief that began long before UP became a perennial contender.

RRHI chairman Robina Gokongwei-Pe said the decision to stay was rooted in something she recognized from her own experience building the multi-format retailer from the ground up.

“When Robinsons Retail started 46 years ago, we were building the business from the ground up with a single store. Very few suppliers wanted to support us because they weren’t sure we knew what we were doing. But there was a small group of suppliers who saw in our eyes that, with their support, we could be successful one day,” Gokongwei-Pe said.

“It was the same with the UP Fighting Maroons. We saw it in their eyes,” she said.

Gokongwei-Pe said the company’s continuing support to the Fighting Maroons was also about giving back to the university that helped make her and the RRHI family who they are today.

“Supporting the UP MBT was never just a sponsorship. There are many ways to help one’s school, and this was one way we could help,” she said.

Gokongwei-Pe said the team’s return to the UAAP Finals in Season 81 in 2018 best captured how far the program had come.

“When the team reached the finals for the first time in 32 years during Season 81 in 2018, our ninth year of sponsorship, that’s when I realized, ang layo na pala ng narating natin,” she said.