2015 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES : FIL-AMS DELIVER 3 ATHLETICS GOLD MEDALS

Three Filipino-American recruits deliver gold medal performances at the start of the athletics competition at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

New recruit Caleb Stuart started the day for the Philippines with a record setting performance at the Men's Hammer Throw. His 3rd throw of 65.63m is the new SEA Games record. He was able to beat Thailand (62.12m) and Malaysia (61.18m). Another Filipino, veteran camapaigner Arnel Ferrera, finished fifth. Here is Caleb's performance:

In a rare feat, the fastest man and woman in Southeast Asia comes from the Philippines. Eric Shaun Cray and Kayla Richardson both won the 100m for Men and Women, respectively. Cray clocked in at 10.25s, a clear 0.20s faster than the silver medalist. Richardson, on the other hand, had a photo finish race against the Thai runner and both of them clocked in identical times of 11.76s. In the end, the gold was awarded to Richardson.

Here are their performances at the 100m sprint races:

With more events for all these 3 athletes, the target of 8-12 medals for athletics seems very much attainable. Hope this is the start of the resurgence of Philippine athletics.

2015 FIBA 3X3 UNDER-18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : KOBE PARAS DEFENDS DUNK CROWN

Team Pilipinas captain Kobe Paras was able to defend his slam dunk title that he won 2 years ago in Jakarta, Indonesia, He was able to again be the champion in the 2015 FIBA Under-18 World Championship Slam Dunk Contest in Hungary.

Here is the video of the contest as posted by FIBA 3x3 official YouTube channel:

YOUR FACE SOUNDS FAMILIAR : MELAI CANTIVEROS IS THE FIRST GRAND WINNER

PBB Double Up Big Winner Melai Cantiveros has been declared the first grand winner of the localized version of the talent show Your Face Sounds Familiar. The results of the voting was announced during the grand finale last Sunday at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Casino.

Melai got 51.39% of the public text votes. She was able to edge out 2nd placer Nyoy Volante (24.51%), 3rd place Jay-R (16.1%) and 4th placer Edgar Allan Guzman (7.47%).

Here are the winners as posted in the show's official Instagram page :

Congratulations MELAI! Ikaw ang #YFSFGrandWinner!

A photo posted by Your Face Sounds Familiar PH (@yourfaceph) on Jun 7, 2015 at 7:30am PDT

Congratulations @nyoyvolante! #2ndplacer #YSFSGrandWinner

A photo posted by Your Face Sounds Familiar PH (@yourfaceph) on Jun 7, 2015 at 7:29am PDT

Congratulations Jay R! #3rdplacer #YSFSGrandWinner

A photo posted by Your Face Sounds Familiar PH (@yourfaceph) on Jun 7, 2015 at 7:17am PDT

Congratulations EA! #4thplacer #YFSFGrandWinner

A photo posted by Your Face Sounds Familiar PH (@yourfaceph) on Jun 7, 2015 at 7:15am PDT

PINOY BIG BROTHER : ANOTHER 4 HOUSEMATES REVEALED

Pinoy Big Brother released teasers revealing 4 more housemates in their official Twitter account. There is one global housemate, 2 from Visayas and 1 from Luzon. Here are the teasers released in Twitter:

First up, we've got another Global Housemate 🙌🏼 #PBB737 pic.twitter.com/5mI9NTqbvI

— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) June 6, 2015

We've got a sweet girl from Luzon 🙋🏻 #PBB737 pic.twitter.com/l6gqGTyoI0

— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) June 6, 2015

Umiyak sa sobrang tuwa nung nalaman niya na confirmed housemate siya! Visayas represent 🙌🏼 #PBB737 pic.twitter.com/UoADX8YymP

— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) June 6, 2015

We've got another confirmed housemate from the Visayas 🙌🏼 #PBB737 pic.twitter.com/pDGTqJhGiW

— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBabscbn) June 7, 2015

It was also revealed that the show will start on June 20. 

Super excited to watch this new season!

2015 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES : PHILIPPINES SNAGS 6 GOLDS DURING THE WEEKEND GAMES

Team Philippines delivered 6 gold medals over the weekend, with 5 more silvers and 14 bronzes. With this medal haul, Philippines is still in 7th place in the medal tally.

The 6 gold medals came from 5 sports : triathlon, wushu, rugby, billiards and judo.

The Philippines shown its dominance in triathlon, winning both the men's and women's events. Claire Adorna and Kim Mangrobang finished 1-2 in their Saturday race respectively. They delivered the first gold medal of the Philippines. Here are the girls as posted in Inquirer Group's Twitter Page :

Palace lauds Claire Adorna for winning PH’s first SEA Games gold http://t.co/9cuEh5FCSY | @AHeginaINQ pic.twitter.com/NmMrPeXXRF

— Inquirer Group (@inquirerdotnet) June 7, 2015

Nikko Huelgas continued the country's dominance in the event by topping the men's race earlier this morning. Here is his winning moment as posted in the 2015 SEA Games Twitter page :

#Triathlon #PHI Nikko Bryan Huelgas was tearing up as he marked 2:04:32 to secure place as winner! Photo by Hutomo pic.twitter.com/fbcfUzhaAY

— 28th SEA Games (@seagames2015) June 7, 2015

Wushu athlete Daniel Parantac also delivered by topping Men's Optional Taijijian event. He scored 9.71 and just 0.02 points ahead of the silver medalist. Here is the awarding ceremonies of the event as posted in the Sports Singapore YouTube channel :

Wushu was also able to deliver a silver medal in the Men's Duel Event - Weapons from the trio of Parantac, Norlence Ardee Catolico and John Keithley Chan.

Billiards also delivered a golden performance with the pair of Carlo Biado and Warren Kiamco winning the 9-ball doubles event. They beat Vietnam in the finals with a score 9-5. Here is the awarding ceremonies for the event, also posted in the Singapore Sports YouTube channel:

The Philippine Volcanoes also did not disappoint, sweeping the elimination rounds up to the finals to capture the men's Rugby 7s gold medal. The women's team also got a podium finish, getting the bronze medal in distaff side. Here is a picture of the Philippine rugby team celebrating after the medal ceremony as posted in the official Twitter page of Philippine Volcanoes:

Inaalay namin ang mga medalyang ito sa lahat ng Pilipino sa buong mundo! Salamat po sa suporta! #LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/N8hXKwtkTS

— PhilippineVolcanoes™ (@PhilippineRugby) June 7, 2015

The last gold medal of the weekend was contributed by judoka Kiyomi Watanabe in the Women's 57 - 63kg division. Judo also contributed 2 bronze medals by Gilbert Ramirez and Helen Dawa in their respective divisions.

Other sports that contributed medals were swimming (3 bronzes) athletics (1 silver), canoeing (2 bronzes), fencing (4 silvers and 1 bronze), gymnastics (1 bronze), shooting (2 bronze) and table tennis (1 silver).

Hope this is a sign of more medals in the coming days. Good luck Team Pilipinas!

2015 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES FORMALLY OPENS

The 2015 Southeast Asian Games was formally opened today at the Singapore National Stadium with a 2 hour program.

The best athletes and coaches from the 11 member nations of Southeast Asia; Brunei Darusalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam and host Singapore, marched into the stadium to proudly represent their respective countries in this 28th edition of the games. There are 37 sports in this edition and will run until June 16.

Here is a glimpse of Team Philippines during the parade of nations, led by volleybelle Alyssa Valdez as posted by GMA News in their Twitter account :

LOOK: Team Philippines at the #SEAGames2015 led by flag-bearer @AlyssaValdez2 http://t.co/AnR6QxgBlM pic.twitter.com/wGgz5reUCT

— GMA News (@gmanews) June 5, 2015

Here is the video of the Team Philippines during the parade of nations as posted in the YouTube channel of Sports Singapore :

It was also revealed that Philippines is interested to host the 30th SEA Games in 2019 after Brunei backed out. It will be a busy year for sports if we confirm hosting the SEA Games and if we win hosting the 2019 FIBA World Cup as well!

2015 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES : GOLD STILL ELUSIVE FOR PHILIPPINES, FENCING AND TABLE TENNIS DELIVER MEDALS

Team Philippines still cannot get that first gold medal a day before the official opening of the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

The good news is that the Filipino fencers added 2 more medals and table tennis added 1 more before the day ends to keep the Philippines in 5th place in the medal tally with 3 silvers and 1 bronze medals.

Fencer Nathaniel Perez got the first bronze of the country after losing to Minh Quang Nguyen of Vietnam in the semi-final round of the Men's Individual Foil, 14 - 15.

Shortly after that, fencing delivered another silver medal. Harlene Raguin lost to Thi Len Than of Vietnam in the Women's Individuale Epee event, 7 - 11. Here is Harlene during the the awarding ceremony as posted in the Twitter page of the Sountheast Asian Games :

#Fencing: women's épée ind event - congrats to #VIE, #PHI, #SIN, THA! By Leong Mei Lin & Naomi Michiko #seagames2015 pic.twitter.com/11lH4CJQz5

— 28th SEA Games (@seagames2015) June 4, 2015

Table tennis also contributed to the medal count for Team Pilipinas. Richard Gonzales got the silver medal after losing to World No. 15 Gao Ning of Singapore, 1 - 3.

2015 FIBA UNDER-18 3X3 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : KOBE PARAS BECOMING NEW COVERBOY OF THE TOURNAMENT

Team Pilipinas captain Kobe Paras is becoming the new coverboy of the 2015 FIBA Under-18 3x3 World Championship. KObe has been featured so many times in articles about the tournament and has been named one of the 10 players to watch out for in the tournament in FIBA.com.

He was also the only male player in the opening press conference. Kobe has risen to stardom from virtually unknown to an internet sensation after winning the slam dunk contest in the 2013 edition of the tournament in Indonesia.

Here is a preview of the tournament posted in the official YouTube channel featuring no other than our very own Kobe Paras:

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER : PHILIPPINE AZKALS LAUNCES NEW KITS

The Philippine Azkals launched their new kits for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers that will start on June 11.

The kits were made by the sportswear brand LGR. The shoes of the Azkals will still be sponsored by Adidas.

The kits will be available to the public and will be sold at the Bootcamp Football Shop which has branches in Quezon City, BGC and in Cebu.

Here is a photo of the new Azkals kits as posted in the Twitter page of Sports5 :

PHOTO | Azkals’ new kits for FIFA World Cup qualifiers http://t.co/Y6jY4fBZT9 pic.twitter.com/MaEnHRzZ2f

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) June 3, 2015

YOUR FACE SOUNDS FAMILIAR : HOW TO VOTE FOR YOUR GRAND WINNER

The grand showdown of the hit show Your Face Sounds Familiar will happen on Saturday and Sunday, June 6 and 7. The final 4 celebrities were the one who choose the icons that they will impersonate for the finals night.

The grand champion will be decided via a public vote and the voting mechanics has been released by the show in their Facebook page.

Here are the instructions on how to vote for your grand champion for the show (only 1 vote per SIM is allowed) :

2015 SOUTHEAST ASIAN GAMES : FENCER JUSTINE GAIL TINIO GIVES TEAM PILIPINAS ITS FIRST MEDAL

With still 2 days before the actual opening ceremonies, Team Philippines already barged into the medal tally. A silver medal was won by one of our lady fencer in the Women's Individual Foil event.

Tinio, a UAAP fencing champion from the University of the East, lost to Singaporean Wenying Wang in the finals, 15-7.

Here is a photo of Tinio during the medal ceremony as posted by Sports5 in their Twitter page:

Philippines' first Silver Medal in the 28th SEA Games courtesy of Justine Gail Tinio! #LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/hogO7qwyQ2

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) June 3, 2015

This is also posted in the 2015 SEA Games Facebook page :

Hope this is the start of more medals for Team Pilipinas! Congratulations Justine Gail!

MOCKINGJAY PART 2 : NEW POSTER RELEASED

The new poster for the 2nd part of the last of the Huger Games series, Mockingjay, has been released in the movie's official Twitter account :

Down with the Capitol! Check out the all-new official poster for #MockingjayPart2 & #UNITE at http://t.co/ILbKFF3L06! pic.twitter.com/iQVFnjSLwF

— Mockingjay - Part 2 (@TheHungerGames) June 1, 2015

The Mockingjay Part 2 will be released on November 20, 2015. I am just so excited to see this movie!

PROJECT RUNWAY PHILIPPINES : MEET THE DESIGNERS OF SEASON 4

ETC released the designers that will compete in the 4th season of the reality show Project Runway Philippines through their official Facebook page. The following are the 15 designers that will compete this season:

The show will premiere on June 14 at 8pm.

2018 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIER : PHILIPPINE AZKALS STARTS TRAINING CAMP

<UPDATED JUNE 2> The Philippine Azkals has started its training camp here in Manila today, June 1. This will be the start of their preparation for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

PFF previously announced the 23 men that were called up for the training camp -  mix of veterans, youngbloods and new foreign recruits. You can view the list here.

In a tweet from @Clyde17Azkals , Stephan Schrock is back in Manila to train with the Azkals after the falling out incident last year with Azkals coach Thomas Dooley:

Stephan Schrock has arrived. @teddydario @filipinofootbal @dscpalami @mikelimpag @RyanFenix @PassionateFanPH pic.twitter.com/xaf8mfWfgs

— Clarence Clyde (@Clyde17Azkal) May 30, 2015

Cedelf Tupas (@cedelfpt) also posted a photo of the new Azkals recruits Luke Woodland and Kevin Ingreso :

New Azkals Luke Woodland (right) and Kevin Ingreso.Luke's mom is from Talisay, Cam Norte. Kevin's dad is from Manila pic.twitter.com/AHlUnlBwel

— Cedelf Tupas (@cedelfpt) June 1, 2015

He also posted some pictures of the Azkals training camp today:

Azkals train for the first time in preparation for World Cup Qualifying match vs Bahrain on June 11 pic.twitter.com/pdArD0LLpT

— Cedelf Tupas (@cedelfpt) June 1, 2015

A picture of another new Azkals recruit Iain Ramsay was also posted in the Facebook page of football.com.ph when he arrived at the Rizal Memorial Stadium straight from the airport.

The Azkals will start their World Cup Qualifier campaign with a home game against Bahrain at the Philippine Stadium in Bulacan on June 11 and then an away game against Yemen on June 16 in Doha, Qatar.

COKE PHILIPPINES LAUNCHES ITS TIMEOUT CAMPAIGN

Coca-Cola Philippines launch its Timeout campaign this weekend through its newest TV commercial which feature Kapamilya teenstar Janella Salvador.

The company also launched its new bottle design for the 237mL size. It is a taller bottle but still have the iconic Coke curves and is sold at an SRP of PhP7.