University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons star player Ricci Rivero is ending his historic stint with the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball by giving back to the UP community which welcomed him.
Rivero was embraced by the UP community as he first played for the state university squad wearing the Maroons’ jersey #25 in Season 82. He capped his stint with a historic victory by the team against the three-time defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles on May 13, 2022, in a UAAP championship series that ended a 36-year title drought for UP.
The win gave the UP Fighting Maroons standout his second title, making him the first player to win championships with two different teams in the UAAP – first with the De La Salle University Green Archers in 2016 and most recently with the UP Fighting Maroons.
The 23-year-old athlete announced at the start of his last UAAP tour in Season 84 that he intended to match every point he makes with a PHP 250 donation to the drivers whose livelihood was severely affected by the quarantine lockdowns enforced due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
By the end of the season Rivero had accumulated 248 points in 18 games and with the help of other benefactors who added various amounts now totaling PHP 600 for every point, he will now end up making a larger donation to the UP IKOT drivers plying the routes of the Diliman Campus.
Rivero’s sports management agency, Virtual Playground, shared in a Facebook update on May 16, 2022, that a total of PHP 178,800 will be donated to the UP Ikot Drivers Association through the Filipino athlete’s “RR25 Buckets of Hope” campaign.
Ricci Rivero has been involved in various humanitarian efforts of the UP Fighting Maroons. The star athlete, together with his family and athlete friend John Vic de Guzman extended COVID relief efforts for local frontliners and indigent neighbors in their hometown in Isabela.
In 2020, the UP Men’s Basketball Team player celebrated his 22nd birthday with a Quarantine Birthday treat for his cancer-stricken fan, Freslee Salazar of Iloilo.
SEND CHEERS in the comments below to UP Fighting Maroons star player Ricci Rivero for raising funds for the UP Ikot Drivers Association and making history in University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball!
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