Ross, Hodge join Cariaso in helping PBA personnel amid COVID-19 crisis

Cliff Hodge and Chris Ross were the first two PBA players to help coach Jeff Cariaso with his cause (PBA Images)

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Due to the PBA’s decision of suspending all basketball operations because of safety concerns regarding COVID-19, hundreds of PBA personnel also momentarily lost jobs.

No games played means no jobs for the PBA personnel which includes the ball boys, the utility boys, the gym caretakers, etc.

The crisis drove Alaska Aces’ head coach, Jeff Cariaso, to raise funds and donate them to the PBA family affected by the ongoing crisis.

Cariaso’s initiative was heard so fast that PBA players like Cliff Hodge of the Meralco Bolts and Chris Ross of the San Miguel Beermen expressed their help for the cause through tweeting.

Hodge said on his twitter account that he will be donating 20,000 pesos to help Cariaso with his initiative, and later on, Ross, retweeted Hodge’s statement and quoted “I’ll match!”

Cariaso said that his drive aims to help in covering for the PBA workers’ wages good for two months, including the table officials, statisticians, and the entertainment and operations division.