PHILIPPINE Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richard Bachmann welcomed Matthew “Fritz” Gaston, whose appointment as commissioner finally completed the PSC board.
Gaston reported for work at the PSC offices inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila on Friday.
“My family, they are happy for me because they’ve always rooted for me for sports, and they know I’m a sportsman,” Gaston said. “Even if I worked in the corporate, they know that I truly love sports.”
Gaston was a former commissioner at the Games and Amusements Board and played seven seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association out of Ateneo.
“This is more challenging and has a sense of purpose for me since I have been an athlete,” he said. “We just have to take care of all the athletes, from the elite, all the way from the grassroots.”
A national youth basketball team member in 1977, he coached the national women’s team to a bronze medal finish in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.
“The elite has to be given support to the Asian and Olympic level,” he said. “They have to be given the training, equipment and exposure at an Olympic level.”
“I thank His Excellency President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for appointing Commissioner Gaston as part of the PSC Board,” Bachmann said in a statement. “Commissioner Gaston’s extensive experience and leadership in the field will certainly be an asset towards our goal of providing the most we can for our Filipino athletes, from the grassroots level up to the elite.”
The other members of the PSC board are commissioners Olivia “Bong” Coo, Walter Torres and Edward Hayco.
