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MANILA, Philippines – Renaldo Balkman may be best known as a notorious figure on the basketball court, but he isn’t exactly that off it.
The Puerto Rican import hopes to take a break from the heated 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals between San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra to give back to underprivileged Filipino children.
Balkman, through his Balkmania Cares project, will spend time with the children at the Alay Pag-asa Christian Foundation during the weekend and gift them with toys and school supplies.
“For me, giving them what they want – I’mma feed them breakfast, I’mma be there every morning, I’mma give them toys, play with them. Whatever I need to do for a couple of hours just to see a smile on their face,” Balkman said.
“It’s not about basketball all the time – winning a championship, yeah. But it’s bigger than basketball.”
To add to the gifts, the Best Import Candidate also plans to buy tickets for the children in Game 5 of the best-of-7 affair on Sunday, August 5.
And if the Beermen beat the Gin Kings in Game 4, the children will have a chance to witness Balkman and San Miguel defend the mid-season conference championship.
“It’s a great opportunity for these kids to let them know that, ‘Hey, you can be whatever you want to be.’ I was once a kid that didn’t have everything,” Balkman shared.
“[I] want to give the kids something I didn’t have [before] and I’ll look forward to that on Sunday. It will be a great thing no matter what and forget about basketball. It will be for them the whole day.”
Balkman and the Beermen go for a commanding 3-1 lead in Game 4 on Friday, August 3, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com
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