FINDING commonality in their thrusts to raise the standards in how athletes in the country are handled, two top local sports management agencies have decided to collectively work as one.
HypeSportsPH and Espiritu Manotoc Basketball Management (EMBM) earlier this week made their merger official and set out their plans to continue providing athletes in the Philippines with first-rate service and premier endorsements.
Established in 2015 by veteran sports and entertainment industry agent Paula Punla,
HypeSportsPH has focused on providing collegiate talents in Philippine sports with off-court opportunities while maintaining and enhancing their public image.
Part of the team are Naveen Ganglani, who serves as Head of Public Relations, and Karina Sitaldas, in charge of the agency’s Marketing Department.
HypeSportsPH is the home agency of collegiate standouts like Juan and Javi Gomez De Liaño, Shaun and Dave Ildefonso, Raffy Verano, Renzo Subido, Aljun Melecio, John Lloyd Clemente, Will Gozum, Josh Sinclair, and others.
EMBM, set up 2011, meanwhile, is the brainchild of Marvin Espiritu, the son of veteran Philippine Basketball Association sports agent Danny Espiritu, and Matthew Manotoc, the son of PBA Hall-of-Fame Coach Tommy Manotoc.
It has since evolved to become the largest full-service basketball agency in the PBA, representing over 90 active PBA players, including Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Jayson Castro, Poy Erram, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, Matthew Wright, Jason Perkins, and Robert Bolick.
Now known as HypeSportsPH x EMBM, both parties said they welcome the partnership, saying it affords them the opportunity to further their common mission and vision of raising the bar of sports management in the land, anchored largely on championing the welfare of athletes.
“We’ve always had a friendly relationship with the HypeSportsPH group so we’re looking forward to this mutually beneficial partnership to better serve our athletes,” said Mr. Manotoc of their newly forged tie-up with HypeSportsPH.
For their part, Mr. Ganglani said they are looking forward to the vast potential of the partnership.
“We’re excited at the chance to work with Matt and Marv, because we know that as one collective unit our two agencies can reach greater heights together — especially by providing our athletes with a family-like environment where they can feel taken care of,” he said.
As a partnership agency, HypeSportsPH x EMBM will see the two groups combining their knowledge, experience, and dedication to assist their athletes in the following areas: contractual negotiations, commercial earnings, social media promotion, marketing and PR consultation, social responsibility, brand development, and career planning. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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