Former UST Growling Tigers CJ Cansino and Bismarck Lina and former Centro Escolar University Scorpion Malick Diouf got the chance to live up to their Iskolar ng Bayan identity on May 5, 2021 and May 12, 2021. The newest members of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons Men’s Basketball Team manned a community pantry at the Quirino Avenue Gate near the UP Integrated School and the College of Home Economics in Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Organized by the UP Transport Group, the community service activity appealed heartily to Cansino, Lina and Diouf, who volunteered alongside UPMBT coaches Mo Gingerich and Poch Juinio to distribute essential goods to the people who lined up at the community pantry. Cansino and Lina both expressed their happiness and gratitude for being able to help in community outreach efforts even in their own little way.

“I’m really excited to meet the entire community ever since I transferred to UP but sadly, safe opportunities for that are super limited in the current situation,” Cansino said. “There might not be any live games right now, but we can still help boost school spirit by supporting the community even in this simple way. My fellow recruits and I are proud to be Iskolars ng Bayan and part of this Diliman community.”

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Cansino, Lina and Diouf were accompanied by nowheretogobutUP Foundation founder Renan Dalisay and Atty. Gaby Concepcion of Sama-Sama Tulong-Tulong non-profit organization. Dalisay said, “This is their first official outing in UP after the first lockdown in 2020 and I am proud that even in such a short time even if they have not yet been able to play with the team, they have already imbibed the spirit of service and concern for others that is the hallmark of our Iskolars ng Bayan.”

Sama-Sama Tulong-Tulong is a group composed of nowheretogobutUP Foundation, the UP Resilience Institute, the UP College of Human Kinetics and the UP Auxiliary Corps that joined hands with the team in this community effort. The coalition group donated goods and fresh produce directly sourced from farmers in San Ildefonso, Bulacan, Philippines in order to help the agriculture sector during this pandemic, pursuant to the Sagip Saka Act of 2019.

Initially, Sama-Sama Tulong-Tulong was founded in January 2020 to initially give assistance to those affected by the Taal Volcano in Batangas, Philippines. The group tapped another important group in the UP community called the UP Transport Group to transport the goods from Bulacan to Diliman to provide them with alternative source of income.