The National University Bullpups whoop it up after defeating the La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers, 96-75, at The Arena in San Juan to capture their third UAAP juniors basketball title in five years.
Banking on the country’s potential to produce great athletes, the Henry Sy-led National University (NU) is set to build the Philippines’ first ever sports academy to be located in a billion peso worth of prime land in Calamba, Laguna.
In an interview, Hans Sy, chairman of the board of NU, said the 116-year institution is now gearing towards the establishment of a sports academy, a facility that would offer graduate degrees in sports fields such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, and others.
“We are not acquiring although we will be expanding. We are looking into another kind of business in Calamba, which would be the first in the Philippines. It’s already approved by the board. We are planning to put up a sports academy,” Sy, who also serves as the president of real estate giant SM Prime Holdings, Inc., told reporters.
“This is a sole undertaking of the National University but after which, once this is done, we can go partnership [with government and other sport institutions]. It would be much easier,” he added.
Although the group has not yet identified the name of the academy, Sy specified the facility will be developed in various stages and according to international standards.
“They are still trying to get approval for the names but it’s going to be very interesting. I’m happy that the board approved it and the siblings approved it because this is something that we believe that can help the country not necessarily in terms of sports development, it would also be able to [help the country] lessen drugs issues [among youth],” Sy said.
Sy said the academy aims to produce more athletes in the country and to give them the kind of education that could provide them a sustainable career.
“It’s just not really going to be sports itself. We felt this is something we should go into because of course we want to have sports development but at the same time, how about these athletes, what happens to them after their prime years? We want to be able to give them certain education that will [give them career for the long-term],” he said.
Targeted to open at the start of 2018 school year, the school will be located in a four-hectare land in Calamba but Sy said this should further expand in the future.
“The whole study is there already. We are starting to get architects to finalize it. We have foreign consultants for the development of the school,” Sy said.
Sy said the academy will not only be open to train professional teams here in the Philippines but also foreign professional players that will be interested to do their training and team building in the country.
It was in 2008 when the SM Group of Companies acquired majority ownership of NU, one of the country’s oldest universities.
Built in 1900, NU is a founding member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and is a pioneer of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU). Its international affiliations and memberships include the Association of
Southeast Asia Higher Institutions of Learning (ASAHIL) and the International Association of Universities (IAU).