Serendipity in BaliPure’s emergence

MANILA, Philippines - Ateneo Hall of Famer Tito Panlilio never imagined he would be part owner of a team in a sport other than basketball until the Shakey’s V-League came along. Things happen for a reason and Panlilio, who co-owns the Shakey’s V-League team BaliPure Water Defenders with businessman Choy Cojuangco, said the other day it was serendipity that brought him to volleyball.

Panlilio, 65, initially thought of forming a basketball team to carry the brand BaliPure, a bottled water product of Balibago Waterworks. His options were to join commissioner Vince Hizon’s Filsports Basketball Association, Rey Gamboa’s Countrywide Basketball League or the PBA D-League. Ricky Palou, president of Shakey’s V-League organizer Sports Vision, suggested another alternative.

Panlilio and Palou were teammates on the Ateneo squad that won the 1969-70 NCAA senior men’s basketball title with Francis Arnaiz, Joy Cleofas, Marte Samson, Chito Afable, Baby Boy Morales, Cesar Ijares, Bobby Rius, Frank Harn, Jun Ross, MayMay Fernandez, Jose Gepuela and Guillermo Balmaceda.

BaliPure hit the intermediate market last January, catering to hotels and restaurants, as a first approach to marketing the product. It will soon be available in supermarkets and sari-sari stores at the tertiary level. Panlilio said his idea was to use sports as the vehicle to promote BaliPure.

“We bottle purified water, using the scientific approach of reverse osmosis,” said Panlilio. “Balibago Waterworks was established in 1958 but our group took it over in 1997. From one branch, we were able to grow it to 55. Our group is made up of Michael Escaler, the Pasudeco subsidiary San Fernando Electric and Light Co., and myself. We’re an independent water operator and our source is ground, not surface, water. We work with municipalities and residential subdivisions in providing water services from sourcing to purifying to delivering to billing to collecting. Our branches are in North and Central Luzon and also in the Visayas.”

Panlilio, a former Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments chairman, said producing bottled water was a natural offshoot of the business. “At the moment, we’re moving 800 cases of BaliPure a month,” he said. “The exposure we’re getting from the Shakey’s V-League is tremendous and we’re expecting to move 7,000 cases a month, which is our breakeven. Our plant in Balibago, Pampanga, is equipped to produce what we aim to deliver to the market.”

Panlilio said it wasn’t difficult to convince him to consider volleyball. “I remember I watched my first volleyball game live when Ateneo lost to La Salle in the UAAP senior women’s finals a few years ago,” he said. “I found the game exciting, even more fast-paced than basketball because you’re allowed only three touches and that’s about five seconds every possession. On TV, I noticed the red-colored backrests were exposed during a recent big volleyball game, meaning the spectators were at the edge of their seats.”

The clincher for Panlilio was when Kia Motors backed out of supporting a Shakey’s V-League team at the last minute. “Two weeks before the opening of the tournament, Ricky called me, offering the team that Kia would’ve sponsored,” he said. “I was told the players on the team had access to at least three million fans, based on their social media followers. The star was Alyssa Valdez who would’ve joined her Ateneo coach Tai Bundit at Pocari Sweat but couldn’t because of her contractual commitments with Gatorade. There were other Ateneo players on the team like Denden Lazaro, Amy Ahomiro and Mae Tajima. Former Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb also helped to bring in San Sebastian players Gretchel Soltones and Alyssa Eroa.”

Panlilio estimated a budget of P3 Million to sustain the team for a three-month tournament. That was later reduced to P2.2 Million because ABS-CBN requested to cut short the duration by a month. “Choy came in as a partner on a 50-50 basis and we decided to do it,” he said. “I’ve been exposed to basketball all my life and I still play to this day. But promoting BaliPure through volleyball was the best thing for our product.”

Panlilio said because of commitments abroad, he met the Water Defenders for the first time only a few weeks ago. “I was introduced to the team only recently in the dugout and I told the players about BaliPure,” he said. “We’re excited about making our product available on a wide scale. Our volleyball team is creating awareness for BaliPure and from a marketing perspective, we’re on the right track.”

Last Wednesday, BaliPure booked a slot in the semifinals of the Shakey’s V-League Season 13 Open Conference by blasting Baguio, 25-18, 25-14, 25-18, at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Today, the Water Defenders battle unbeaten Pocari in the 6:30 nightcap at the PhilSports Arena. BaliPure’s record is 5-1 and the team has won its last five outings since starting the conference with a 25-23, 14-25, 25-19, 25-16 loss to Air Force as Valdez and Soltones were abroad on an exhibition tour. Since the return of the UAAP and NCAA MVPs, BaliPure has been untouchable.