The City of Manila is expected to rise as a sports powerhouse following the appointment of former national team star Dale Evangelista as chief of the Manila Sports Council (MASCO).

No less than Manila Mayor Isko Moreno appointed Evangelista, giving him the tough task of shaping the nation’s capital into one of the most respected sports destinations, especially at the grassroots level.

The 46-year-old Evangelista, a prized water polo athlete who had competed in the Southeast Asian Games, said he is using his deep background and strong connections to carry out the marching order of Moreno.

But Evangelista admitted that finding the right people to help him isn’t easy.

“It’s quite tiring. If you think about it, it’s a continuous job. Sometimes, I start at 8 a.m. and finish at 7 p.m. because we’re still talking about the right people who would help us in our objectives,” Evangelista said in the latest episode of “Off the Court,” the weekly sports show of DAILY TRIBUNE.

“Then in the office, we’re already arranging the program for sports development.”

Evangelista hit the ground running. In fact, he was already preparing for the job way before being formally installed as MASCO chairman.

“Before I assumed the role on 30 June, I was already holding meetings because I was already in the office. From 2 July, I was having, sometimes, 14 meetings to 16 meetings,” said Evangelista, a barangay chairman at Barangay 56 in Tondo.

“The instruction of Mayor Isko is clear: He wants to see programs that will help our grassroots sports development. He wants to see athletes from the city capital make the national team, and he wants these things to be standardized to ensure continuity within the MASCO program.”

Speaking from experience

Evangelista’s drive to boost Manila’s sports program comes from experience.

As a former athlete who grew up in the gritty streets of Tondo, Evangelista knew what it takes to compete and overcome any given task.

“I trained in sports complexes. That’s why I know what the kids feel when they train,” Evangelista said, emphasizing the need for better facilities and training venues.

“You see your colleagues live in this good place, wear good gear, and you don’t. It’s degrading. As a national athlete, you want the kid to be mentally prepared.”

“My income alone wasn’t enough, so I started working at a young age. I would conduct sports programs and partner with schools.”

Evangelista said he couldn’t wait to see the faces of the young athletes once they have completed the upgrade of sports facilities around the city.

“In swimming alone, we have sports complexes. But now, the Public Recreation Bureau is rehabilitating it so that when we start using it, it will be good,” Evangelista said, raising the idea of having the young Manileño swimmers train at the Rizal Memorial Aquatic Center in Malate.

Developing sports heroes

But the ultimate yardstick of a good sports program is actual victory.

Evangelista admitted that he is facing the huge challenge of leading Manila to a solid performance in various grassroots tournaments, including the Batang Pinoy — the prestigious multi-sport event organized by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for athletes 17 years old and below.

Manila is not figuring prominently in the Batang Pinoy as it got outshone by nearby Pasig City and Baguio City in the overall medal standings. But that is now about to change with a former national team skipper in Evangelista plotting a very detailed game plan with a morale-boosting approach that was drawn from long years of experience in major sports competitions.

“For now, our first step, of course, is the Batang Pinoy. We know that Manila was not in the Top 30 in the past. If you want to join the Batang Pinoy, you want to win and get medals,” Evangelista said.

“We’ll start with swimming, water polo and other sports.”

To turn the vision into reality, Evangelista forged a pact with newly-appointed PSC chief Patrick “Pato” Gregorio about the use of government-owned sports facilities around the city.

“For the partnership, yes, there is. I asked him ‘Sir, can we open the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for Manila athletes and the schools in Manila for training,’” Evangelista said.

“Maybe in a few weeks’ time, we will open the Rizal Memorial to use for public training because it’s closed for national athletes.”

Aside from that, Evangelista is also plotting the revival of the Manila Youth Games.

“What we wanted was to twist the rules a bit. I want to actually study the events that will be in all the events for the Manila Youth Games but I’m also excited,” Evangelista said.

Yes, developing a new sports hero like the Malate-raised Carlos Yulo, a double gold medalist in the gymnastics competition in the Paris Olympics, is truly never easy.

But with a young and dynamic chief like Evangelista at the helm, nothing is impossible.

After all, he is a sports executive with the heart of a true-blue Filipino athlete.