UAAP SEASON 80 : SO WHERE IS THE UST CROWD?

Over the years, one of the most recognizable cheer is definitely the Go USTE cheer of the University of Santo Tomas or UST. They always have that unbelievable crowd that seems to be synched every time they use this cheer.

I have watched several volleyball games and a basketball game where UP was up against UST and their fans are really united in cheering and supporting their team.

I had the chance to watch the first round game of UP versus UST last month and their crowd didn't disappoint. They were greater in number compared to us, the UP crowd but we really tried our best to keep up to their cheers. Fortunately for us, Paul Desiderio gave us the win with his now infamous line "Atin 'to, papasok to" and the game winning 3 point shot.

From there, UST piled up losses after losses - making this one of their worst season in UAAP history. Last October 25, UST lost their 11th straight game this season. After the game, as customary, they sang their school hymn to an almost empty UST side of the arena. But there is this only one student clad in UST uniform singing with them. This picture as posted in Twitter has become viral ever since:

Singing of UST Hymn.

10/25/17.
UST vs ADU.
MOA Arena.
UST Side.
0-11. pic.twitter.com/WfkBuBt7H5

— I.J. (@ColomaIsaacJeff) October 27, 2017

This guy was later named as Isaac Coloma, a graduating student making the most of his last year in UST by supporting the Tigers in as many games as he can watch, Players from the team such as Jordan Sta. Ana and Steve Akomo praised him for his support to the team despite their losing streak. Akomo even gave a free ticket to Coloma in their game against DLSU last weekend. The Alumni office also gave him free tickets to all the volleyball games next year.

So where is the UST crowd? The crowd that we always envy. The crowd that is always loud and proud to support the Growling Tigers?

In several tweets that I have seen (one is now deleted as of the time of posting), the UST crowd's non-appearance in the games is their protest against the continuing coaching of their head coach Boy Sablan. The crowd will only watch the games again if Sablan will be sacked or will resign.

Is this fair to Coach Boy Sablan? Definitely not. Coach Boy is making the most of what he has in his line up. They are pegged as one of the team that might pull out surprise win before the season started yet they have not impressed except for some close calls especially on their first UP game. Several players also opted to sit out this season to further improve their skills and come back next season. Notably in this bunch is Renz Subido who is a key cog in last season's team. Embons Bonleon almost transferred to Arellano.

But I get the point of the UST community, they need effective game plans, they need effective coaching and more importantly - they need to see results in form of wins. If Sablan will be sacked, it will be up to the management and clamour of the community must always be considered.

Is this fair to the players? Defintely not. The players are student athletes. They are balancing their studies, trainings, games and personal lives to represent their school. Do we only support them when they win games? Do we abondon them when they lose games? Of course not. The lyrics of the song Welcome to my Life of Simple Plan simply puts it into perspective:

To be hurt, to feel lost

To be left out in the dark

To be kicked when you're down

To feel like you've been pushed around

To be on the edge of breaking down

And no one there to save you

The players are definitely in their lowest morale right now with no win to boast of and not seeing any supporters watching their games is really a big blow to the low morale and making it lower. It in now that they need your support, your presence and your cheers. They need you - UST community.

The UP community is very much familiar with what the UST community is experiencing. We have been considered the team we can beat for so long. Remember Season 76 where we ended the season winless? The only difference is that we never abandoned the players. Even though the numbers dwindled, it never came to a point where the UP side is as empty as this. Remember our infamous bonfire in Season 77? Yes, in that season, we ended a 27 game losing streak. It is nothing to be proud of. We ended the season with a single win. Yet for us, that single win symbolizes a start of change - a new beginning. We have improved every single season after that but we are still in our quest for that elusive final four slot.

What I am pointing out here is that we should support our players win or lose. Winning games is not just about the players and the coaches. There is so many factors coming into the equation - training, academics, and yes - crowd support. The so called 6th man of the game is always important. It provides an added boost when the team is down and can do wonders to the team. The crowd should be there win or lose. We don't abandon the team, we don't leave in the middle of the fight. After all, they are representing not just their team but the whole school and the community.

I have seen some campaign in social media for the community to show up full force in the Tiger's last game on November 12 against UE. I really hope the UST community answers to this call. Let Isaac Coloma serve as an inspiration that they are behind their players back win or lose. They are already out of contention for the Final Four but let this be their preparation for Season 81. Give the players a good last game and hope that momentum will carry them to a better season next year,

So where is the UST crowd? They are still watching, they are waiting. But I hope they show up on November 12. You can do this UST community! We will be cheering for you, we always cheer for the underdogs - Go USTe!

UP FIGHTING MAROONS : THE GAME WE ALMOST DIDN'T WATCH

When the UP Fighting Maroons Men's Basketball team lost two Sundays ago, my sister and I had second thoughts about watching the game last Saturday live. We planned to watch it live at the MOA Arena as part of my birthday gift to her since she celebrated her birthday a few weeks back.

The loss was hard. We expected the team to fair well against UE since we beat them easily in the first round. The trend is somewhat happening again, we had a good start and lose steam in the end - just like last year, and just like what happened with the Women's Volleyball Team last season.

We parked the idea of watching the game for a while but I needed to decide before the morning of last Tuesday. My sister needs to file her undertime leave since she has work on Saturdays.

Why am I having second thoughts? I do not want to see the team lose again live. This season, we went to watch live the first round games against UST and DLSU which we both won. The 3rd game we watched was the first round NU game which we lost in the last few seconds. It was heartbreaking. I don't want to experience it again - especially if we will lose by a large margin - which happened in the first round game against FEU.

But we know we need to support the team, after a tough loss against UE, the guys needs as much support from the UP crowd. So we decided to go and watch. It was our first time to buy Patron tickets and we really hoped it will be worth it.

We arrived early and even got those foam thing from Piattos that we really were looking for the previous games. We caught the first game which was really quite predictable with Ateneo getting an easy win over UE. I actually can't remember the details of the game since I was more engrossed in looking at my Twitter feed about an org event I missed to watch the game, reading tweets of support to the UPMBT and getting surprised by the news that Coach Tai is no longer coaching Ateneo.

Then, it's time for UP's game against FEU. The UP crowd was noticeably smaller compared to the previous game that we watched live. But deep in our hearts, these UP loyals will cheer our hearts out. In fact, even with our smaller crowd, we still out numbered the FEU fans. Saying our own prayers just before game time so that divine intervention can happen. The team started quite sluggish with FEU getting a double digit lead midway in the 1st quarter. Good thing we had a small run towards the end, only down by 4 at the end of the first 10 minutes.

The second quarter was a different story. The Fighting Maroons came in aggressive, starting the quarter with a 17 - 0 run spanning from the end of the first quarter up to the start of the second. They outscored FEU, 18 - 7 in this quarter and ended the half up by 7.

The 3rd quarter was the most excruciating quarter I have watched live. It was as if the basket is covered. Almost all the shots are not going in. The team was only able to score 5 points - the least any teams scored in a quarter this season. The quarter ended with the team down by 10.

Early in the fourth quarter, both teams were trading baskets but at some point, FEU was already ahead by 12 points with about 8 minutes left. The time is definitely not our side. Miraculously, our zone defense was working and FEU's basket are not going in and we even forced several turnovers. Thanks to the superb defense of Ibrahim Ouattara and getting shots on the other end, 4 straight points from Juan Gomez de Liano, Gelo Vito's put back from a Desiderio miss and a 3 point shot and Jun Manzo's floater, we had a 13 - 0 run to get the lead, 56 - 53 with less than a minute left.

When Jasper Parker got that 3 point shot to tie the game, we were just hoping for a sure 2 point shot or overtime. This was also the same wish we had when we were down 2 points at the end game of the UP - UST first round game. We know that Paul Desiderio will still be the go to player and we really hope that he still is the clutch that we witnessed in our first game of the season.

When the first play where Manzo missed the shot and the ball was said to be going to FEU, we were praying hard - Lord give us this win. We know that this win can really help our Final Four bid this season. After reviewing the tape, it was decided that UP keeps the possession. Then they fouled on the next play - leaving us 6.2 seconds to get the winning shot.

Lord, give us this one. We need this win.

Juan GDL inbounded the ball to Manzo who immediately passed the ball to Desiderio. With a step back shot, Desiderio released the ball on our vantage point, it seems to be going in. It seemed slow motion - that 2 seconds seems eternity. The shot went in and the UP crowd was ecstatic! With 1.1 clock ticks left, the inbound was stolen by Juan GDL and we get the win!

Yes, we got the win... Yes, we won! Our Final Four Dream is alive!

I was shaking after the game. I was shaking when we sang with pride "UP Naming Mahal". I was shaking when I took the team photo seen at the bottom of the picture above. I was still shaking after all of this. We literally had to settle down before we left the arena. We were so proud of the team and this win.

We were really happy we watched this game. At the end of the day, we support the team - win or lose. It turns out that the game we almost did not watch was the game we will surely remember for years. It was a good win. It was a team win. It was a win that takes us to the right direction - towards the goal of that elusive Final Four.

We went home and still watched the replay. We can't get over that last 6 seconds and the second game winning shot of Desiderio this season. We were these. We witnessed it live. We believe in this team and we will support the team - whether we get to the Final Four or not.

UP FIGHTING MAROONS : UP MBT ALUMNI JETT MANUEL AND DAVE MORALDE GOT PICKED AT THE 2017 PBA ROOKIE DRAFT

Two UP Men's Basketball Team alumni got picked in this year's rookie draft of the Philippine Basketball Association or PBA.

Former King Maroon and team captain Engr. Jett Manuel and energy man Dave Moralde got picked from a pool of 44 aspirants this year.

Jett Manuel who is still fresh from his stint with the Chooks to Go Pilipinas team that competed in the 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup got picked by the country's favorite team - Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as the 12th over-all pick and the last pick in the first round.I really think that his stint with the Chooks To Go Pilipinas team along side 2nd over all pick Kiefer Ravena, 3rd over all pick Raymar Jose and 5th over all pick Jeron Teng really helped him build his stock before the draft.

With the 12th pick of the #PBAGatoradeDraft2017, @barangayginebra selects @_jettmanuel. pic.twitter.com/S4JOOh6eod

— PBA (@pbaconnect) October 29, 2017

On the other hand, Dave Moralde had to wait for the 3rd round to get picked by Talk N Text Ka-Tropa as the 10th pick in the 3rd round or 33rd pick over-all.

3rd Round - 10th pick of the #PBAGatoradeDraft2017, @TalkNText selects @davemoralde8. pic.twitter.com/NyTzDsWYQ1

— PBA (@pbaconnect) October 29, 2017

Congrats Jett and Dave! Represent the Maroons well! Hope both of you can get slots with your respective teams.

UAAP CDC 2017 : PERFORMANCE ORDER AND SEAT PLAN RELEASED

The order of performance of the different pep squads and the seat plan arrangement of the schools was released this morning through the UAAP Cheerdance Twitter account.

Defending champion NU Pep Squad will be performing first, followed up by the DLSU Animo Squad. Third to perform is last year's third placer Adamson Pep Squad. Performing in the middle of the order are last year's runners up FEU Cheering Squad and the UE Pep Squad. Performing 6th are the come backing UP Pep Squad followed by the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe. Rounding up the performances is the Ateneo Blue Babble Batallion.

Here is the Tweet from the account:

BREAKING:

2017 UAAP Cheerdance Competition Order of Performances

1. NU

2. DLSU

3. ADU

4. FEU

5. UE

6. UP

7. UST

8. ADMU#UAAPCDC2017

— UAAP Cheerdance (@UAAP_CDC) October 29, 2017

The seat plan was also released as follows:

JUST IN:

Seat arrangement in the 2017 UAAP Cheerdance Competition! pic.twitter.com/fxdw7rckAA

— UAAP Cheerdance (@UAAP_CDC) October 29, 2017

The cheerdance competition will be held on December 2, 2017.

X FACTOR UK : ALISAH IS BACK AS A WILDCARD!

Alisah Bonaobra's X Factor journey just refuses to end. She's back in the show again!

After being nearly eliminated in the bootcamp, in the 6 chair challenge and eventually eliminated at judge's house, the young Filipina singer was voted back to the competition as a wildcard for the girl's category mentored by Sharon Osbourne.

In the live show last yesterday, Alisah performed Jordin Spark's winner's song from American Idol, Here is the video as posted in the show's YouTube channel:

After all acts from the girls and boys category performed, one act will go home. Here is the elimination video as posted in the same channel:

So, Spencer Sutherland is eliminated. Alisah will perform again next week!

Good luck Alisah!

X FACTOR UK : ALISAH'S X FACTOR JOURNEY ENDS AT JUDGES' HOUSE

The last Filipino act in the X Factor UK has fallen at judges' house.

Unfortunately, Alisah Bonaobra's X Factor UK has ended last night after mentor Sharon Osbourne did not pick her to advance to the live show.

Last seen as one of the finalists in here season in The Voice Philippines, Alisah sang in front of her mentor and Jack and Kelley Osbourne with Sam Smith hit "Lay Me Down". Here is the video of the performance as posted in the show's YouTube channel:

Sharon's concern in Alisah is really her being dated and not current, which was also raised during the 6 chair challenge. But with Alisah singing Bang Bang in the sing off and a Sam Smith hit now convince her that she deserves to get to the next round? Apparently not.

Sadly, no Filipino acts advances to the live show - after all the other acts were eliminated - JBK, Loverine Fermino, Elysa V and Gaga Lord.

ALAB PILIPINAS : DONDON HONTIVEROS AND RICO MAIERHOFFER REINFORCES ALAB PILIPINAS

Alab Pilipinas just got stronger this coming season of the ASEAN Basketball League which will start next month.

In a press conference held this morning at the Shangri La Hotel at the Bonifacio Global City, the new roster which has been partially revealed over the past few weeks has been officially announced - though not yet complete. The new coach - Gilas legend Jimmy Alapag definitely has a good team at his hand.

Previously revealed in the line up are Alab Pilipinas hold overs Rayray Parks, Robby Celiz and Lawrence Domingo. They will be reinforced by former Talk N Text import Ivan Johnson.

Also joining the team are Chris Sumalinog, Josh Urbiztondo, Pamboy Raymundo and former NU Bulldog Pau Javelona. Just this morning, it was announced that PBA veterans Dondon Hontiveros and Rico Maierhofer are also joining the team.

With this, 10 players of the roster has been revealed and 2 more to named soon. I am so excited to know the complete line up of Alab Pilipinas and I think based on the initial names, they will be more competitive as compared to last year and will give the other teams a run for their money.

The team will also be known as Tanduay Alab Pilipinas, having Tanduay as the team's major sponsor.

Their first game was also announced to be on November 19 at the MOA Arena and will go up against the defending champions Hongkong Eastern Long Lions.

Good luck Tanduay Alab Pilipinas!

UPDATE : As of this afternoon, reports say that Reggie Okosa will be the other reinforcement of Alab Pilipinas this season. He has played against Ivan Johnson in the Korean Basketball League.

UAAP CDC 2017 : LOOK WHO'S BACK!

Look who's back in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition this year! After 1 year of absence in the competition after the controversial competition in 2015, the UP Pep Squad is back this year! This is confirmed with this post in their official Facebook page :

The competition will be interesting this year. Will UP get back the title and edge UST with the most number of titles? Will NU make history as the second team to have a 5-peat championship? Will UST finally take home a title after 11 years?

The competition will be held on December 2, 2017 at the MOA Arena.

SPORTS 5 NOW BECOMES ESPN 5

Sports 5, the sports division of TV 5, will be transitioning to ESPN 5. The partnership between the 2 networks - TV5 and ESPN - was announced last Thursday in a press conference.

Here is the video teaser of the partnership as posted in Sports 5's YouTube Channel:

Can't wait to see how this changes the televised sports landscape in the Philippines. Cheers to you ESPN 5!

X FACTOR UK : JBK FAILS TO GET TO THE JUDGES' HOMES; AND SURPRISE - A FILIPINA IS IN THE OVERS CATEGORY

Filipino boyband JBK almost made it to the judges home, but lost their seat in the final sing off and just missed the cut.

JBK actually started strong by singing the Boyz II Men classic "I'll Make Love To You" and most of the judges even said that they had the best vocals among the groups tonight. After their performance, mentor Simon Cowell gave them Chair number 1.

Here is JBK's performance posted in the show's YouTube channel:

At the end of the challenge, Simon decided to give the New Girl Band a seat and ordered a sing off between JBK and Lemonade. Here is what happened:

All of the other judges thinks JBK needed to stay, but Simon thinks otherwise. He sent JBK home and gave the last seat to Lemonade. This upsets Nicole and she walks out and tells Simon not to talk to her.

I think this is bound to happen since JBK was rarely seen in the boot camp edits. They did not even show any performance of the group at bootcamp. Simon might be concerned on how to market JBK to the UK audience since they are always singing classics and old songs. I think they should have sang a more current song in the sing off - just what Alisah Bonaobra did last week to prove that they are new and current and can be related to by the audience.

This ends JBK's X Factor Uk journey but I really hope they bring back the Judges's wildcard from last season where a judge chooses a wildcard for another judge to join them at judges' home. I really hope Nicole chooses for Simon and she chooses JBK.

With that Alisah is the only Filipino act in the competition - oh wait, there is really another Filipina in the overs category!

Sorry for missing her out but apparently, Loverine Fermino is in the six chair challenge in theovers category of Nicole! She was the winner of Birit Queen before of Eat Bulaga! Here is her performance during the round where she sang Jennifer Holliday's "I Am Telling You":

She gets a seat from Nicole and let's wait tomorrow if she gets to stay in the seat and into the judges' homes round.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Nicole decided to send home Loverine as well, leaving Alisah as the only Filipino act in the competition.

AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR : JERICHO IS THE SOLE SURVIVOR

Australian Survivor just crowned its 4th season's sole survivor - and it is Filipino Jericho Malabonga!

Jericho beat stay home mom Tara in the final tribal council with a jury vote of 6 votes to 3. Jericho officially becomes the first Filipino to win an international franchise season ever.

As I predicted in my last blog post, Jericho's social game and under the radar strategy won over Tara's gameplay of flip flopping and risk taking. Jericho even won the last immunity challenge, outlasting Tara and Peter in the endurance challenge after more than 5 hours.

Here is the post from the show's Twitter page:

Jericho is the Sole Survivor and winner of half a million dollars! 👏 #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/bMVVfgutWL

— Australian Survivor (@Survivor_AU) October 10, 2017

Jericho is the Sole Survivor 💪 #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/VLpo8S0Ocw

— Australian Survivor (@Survivor_AU) October 10, 2017

With the win, Jericho will take home $500,000.

Congratulation Jericho!

PINOY BIG BROTHER : WILL NEW SEASON BE ANNOUNCED THIS WEEK?

Will Pinoy Big Brother announce a new season this week? Your guess is as good as mine.

The PBB Lucky Season 7 finale aired last March 2017 and after 7 months off the air, a teaser was posted on the show's official Facebook page saying that there will be a big announcement with in the week. This is the typical teaser that they post before they announce audition dates for a new season.

Here is the teaser posted:

Let's wait and see!

AUSTRALIAN SURVIVOR : WHO WILL BE THE ULTIMATE SURVIVOR?

It's the finale night of Australian Survivor tonight and after a season full of blindsides, great game moves and hard challenges, who will emerge victorious tonight?

First of all, I just want to say that this is the first season that I followed Australian Survivor and I am really impressed on how this is similar and yet different from the US version. First of all, 55 days in the wild is brutal and at the same time, you have 23 other castaways to go against, this is just hard. I also like the challenges, some were also from the US version but some are original so I really like the challenges here.

So who will win tonight?

Let us look at this in 2 ways. First, let us analyze how each of the three remaining players played the game and then second, let us look at how I think the jury members will vote.

So first, let's look at the players.

JERICHO

I have a bit of bias on Jericho mainly because he is Filipino and a survivor fan as well.

Jericho I think played a good social game. Everyone likes him. He hasn't have any serious confrontation with anyone all through out the season except probably for Michelle in the last stretch before the last tribal council. He is very likeable and has created strong bonds with the other castaways.

He also has good game play. He used his cookie temptation to his advantage by getting Luke, Henry and Sarah's loyalty. He and Luke has orchestrated some of the blindsides in the season - notable once are the Jarrad and Tessa blindsides. I also think he did the right choice in eliminating Tessa since he knows she will always vote for Peter in the final two.

He also speaks well during tribal councils. He always says what the jury needs to hear - being always ready for war, doing what is best for your game and fear nothing. For me, I think he did enough to win the title.

On the other hand, he has a disadvantage on the jury since he never switched tribes until merge. He is in the Asaga tribe from the beginning and he will be in the final 2, he will be against an original Samatau and the jury will be composed of 5 Samatau and 4 Asaga. Some of the Samatau guys known him for only a short time.

Also, being the strongest physically, he will definitely be a target of both Tara and Peter and if he does not win the individual immunity tonight, he will definitely be the last jury member.

PETER

Peter is a nice guy but did he play enough to really win the title? To tell you honestly, I cannot remember a single game move that would put Peter as the mastermind. Yes, he was the swing vote in several occassions but I will not put him as one of the guys who dictated the outcome of the tribal council.

He is also a likeable person and has also made strong bonds with other contestants. As I have said, Samatau has a numbers advantage in the jury. His chance also suffered when Tessa was eliminated from the jury by Jericho - which should have been a sure vote for him.

I also don't think he will be able to beat Jericho in an endurance challenge. I do not see him winning the immunity tonight. But will he reach the final two? Yes, I think it will be the best interest of both Jericho and Tara to bring Peter into the final two because they can both beat Peter.

If he wins immunity tonight, I think he will have a better chance against Tara since she flipped a lot and that might be her downfall.

TARA

Tara also had a good game considering that she should have been voted out by Samatau in episode 8 where the first tribal swap happened. She found her niche in the Asaga Tribe. She constantly worked her way up the ladder and was the swing vote in several occasions.

Knowing her performance from previous challenge, I would not bet on her winning the endurance challenge for the final immunity. It would be wise for her just to outlast one of the boys and make a deal to give the immunity but make her safe.

She is also in a disadvantage in some of the jury members. I would definitely think Jarrad, Anneliese and Ziggy would probably not vote for her to win. Her social game is definitely has not been at par with Jericho's and will definitely play a lot in the final tribal council.

Next, let us see how I think the jury will vote based on their alliances, voting history and relationships with the remaining castaways:

Jarrad will vote for Peter if he stays. If not he will vote for Jericho.
Annelise will vote for Jericho if he stays, If not she will vote for Peter.
Henry will vote for Jericho if he stays, If not he will vote for Tara.
Sarah will vote for Jericho if he stays, If not she will vote for Tara.
Luke will vote for Jericho if he stays, If not he will vote for Tara.
Ziggy will vote for Peter if he stays, If not she will vote for Jericho.
Locky will vote for Tara if she stays, If not he will vote for Jericho.
Michelle will vote for Jericho if he stays, If not she will vote for Peter.

With that said, I think JERICHO will win this season.

But as we know, there will be a lot of surprises come the final tribal council. I am so excited to watch it tonight!

X FACTOR UK : ALISAH BONAOBRA SURVIVES 6 CHAIR CHALLENGE

Filipina singer Alisah Bonaobra almost got eliminated - again - but survives the six chair challenge round and is advancing to the judge's home round of the 14th season of the UK version of the hit show the X Factor.

For this round, Alisah sang the Celine Dion classic "All by Myself". After her performance, judge Nicole Scherzinger said "That is how you do it, that is how you fight for those seats." Judge Louis Walsh commented that he will give her 2 seats. Lastly, the Girls category coach Sharon Osbourne said that "your style is very dated, it''s very Cabaret for me." But she still opted to give her a seat. This is her performance as posted in the official YouTube channel of the show :

But later on in the show, Alisah had to give up her chair for Grace Davies who performed an original song. After Alisah left the stage, the audience really forced Sharon to give her another chance. So she decided to have a sing off between Alisah, Rai-elle Williams and Scarlett Lee. Alisah, who was the last to sing, out of nowhere performed Jessie J's Bang Bang - which was the audition song of another Filipino act, Fourth Impact, two seasons ago. She really addressed Sharon's concern on being dated and Cabaret-ish. She sang a current upbeat song and even rapped. Here is the clip also posted in the show's YouTube channel:

In the end, Rai-Elle and Alisah got the seats and Scarlett was eliminated. Another close call for Alisah.

Unfortunately, the other Filipina in this category - Elysa V - also got cut.

The only other Filipino act left is the boy group JBK in the Groups category which will be mentored by Simon Cowell.

UAAP SEASON 80 : MEN'S BASKETBALL 2ND ROUND SCHEDULE

The second round schedule for the men's basketball tournament of UAAP Season 80 has been released this afternoon. The 2nd round will immediately start this Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with a double header.

Games will be in Araneta, FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan and in the MOA Arena.

Here is UP's round 2 schedule:

Oct 11, 2pm (Wed) - vs UST (Araneta)
Oct 15, 4pm (Sun) - vs DLSU (San Juan)
Oct 22, 4pm (Sun) - vs UE (San Juan)
Oct 28, 4pm (Sat) - vs FEU (MOA)
Nov 5, 4pm (Sun) - vs ADU (Araneta)
Nov 8, 4pm (Wed) - vs ADMU (Araneta)
Nov 11, 2pm (Sat) - vs NU (Araneta)

Here is the complete schedule as posted in the UPMBT Twitter account:

Here is the full second round sched for #UAAPSeason80 pic.twitter.com/BVDxqEPzgc

— UP Fighting Maroons (@upmbt) October 9, 2017

Hoping for more wins for UP in the 2nd round. #UPFight

ASEAN BASKETBALL LEAGUE : ALAB PILIPINAS SCHEDULE FOR 2017 - 2018 SEASON

The schedule of Alab Pilipinas in the 2017 - 2018 season of ASEAN Basketball League is now out. The schedule for November to March play dates was posted in the official Twitter account of the league this evening.

This season, Alab Pilipinas will have a new head coach Jimmy Alapag. Rayray Parks, Robby Celiz and Lawrence Domingo will be back together with former PBA Chris Sumalinog. The team will be reinforced by former Talk N Text import Ivan Johnson.

Alab Pilipinas' schedule for the season is as follows:

Nov 19, 8pm - vs Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions - TBA
Nov 29, 8pm - vs Singapore Slingers - TBA
Dec 13, 8pm - vs Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions - Souther Stadium, Wan Chai
Dec 16, 3pm - vs Formosa Dreamers - Changhua Stadium, Changhua City
Jan 3, 8pm - vs Westports Malaysia Dragons - TBA
Jan 7, 4pm - vs Singapore Slingers - OCBC Arena, Singapore
Jan 10, 8pm - vs Singapore Slingers - TBA
Jan 14, 7pm - vs Mono Vampires - Stadium 29, Bangkok
Jan 20, 7pm - vs CLS Knights - GOR CLS Kertajaya, Surabaya
Jan 28, 5pm - vs Saigon Heat - CIS Arena, Ho Chi Minh City
Jan 31, 8pm - vs Nanhai Long Lions - TBA
Feb 4, 4pm - vs Singapore Slingers - OCBC Arena, Singapore
Feb 7, 8pm - vs Mono Vampires - TBA
Feb 11, 7pm - vs CLS Knights - GOR CLS Kertajaya, Surabaya
Feb 18, 7pm - vs Formosa Dreamers - TBA
Mar 4, 2:30pm - vs Westports Malaysia Dragons - MABA Stadium, Kuala Lumpur
Mar 11, 7:30pm - vs Nanhai Long Lions - Nanhai Gymnasium, Nanhai
Mar 14, 8pm - vs Saigon Heat - TBA
Mar 21, 8pm - vs CLS Knights - TBA
Mar 25, 8pm - vs CLS Knights - TBA

Good luck Alab Pilipinas!

AFC ASIAN CUP 2019 QUALIFIERS : AZKALS ANNOUNCES 23 MINE LINE UP FOR CLASH VS YEMEN

The Philippine Men's Senior National Football Team - The Philippine Azkals has announced the 23 man line up for the upcoming game versus Yemen in the 3rd round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

The following players has been called up to play for the Azkals:

Dylan De Bruycker (Davao Aguilas)
Carlos de Murga (Cere Negros)
Dominic del Rosario (Global Cebu)
Patrick Deyto (Global Cebu)
Curt Dizon (Meralco Manila)
Neil Etheridge (Cardiff City)
Harry Foll (Hansa Rostock)
Kevin Ingreso (Ceres Negros)
Sean Patrick Kane ( JPV Marikina)
Jesus Joaquin Melliza (Stallion Laguna)
Hikaru Minegishi (Global Cebu)
Paul Mulders (Global Cebu)
Jim Junior Munoz (Ceres Negros)
Nicholas O'Donnell (Davao Aguilas)
Manuel Ott (Ceres Negros)
Mike Rigoberto Ott (Angthong United)
Stephan Palla (Wolfsberger)
Iain Ramsay (Ceres Negros)
Simone Rota (Davao Aguilas)
Daisuke Sato ( Horsens)
Dennis Villanueva (Global Cebu)
James Younghusband (Davao Aguilas)
Phil Younghusband (Davao Aguilas)

The game will be played at Saoud bin Abdulrahman Stadium, Al Wakrah in Qatar on October 10. The Azkals is currently on top of Group F after wins against Nepal and Tajikistan and draw against Yemen.

X FACTOR UK 2017 : ALISAH BONAOBRA ALMOST GOT ELIMINATED IN WALL OF SONG ROUND, BOUNCED BACK IN SOLO ROUND

Filipino contestant and The Voice of the Philippines alumni Alisah Bonaobra almost got eliminated in the wall of song round of the boot camp of X Factor UK.

In boot camp this year, the first round is the wall of songs where contestants gets a song that they like to sing in a wall full of songs. After which they need to find 3 more contestants that with the same song and they will perform as a group.

Alisah ended up with another Filipina Gaga Lord, Natalie and Rai-elle Williams singing a Mariah Carey classic We Belong Together. After they performed, the judges decided that only one - Rai-elle will advance. Alisah just won't accept no, begged for a second chance and sang a part of the song again, convincing the judges to give her a second chance. Here is the video from the show's YouTube channel :

With that, Alisah moves on to the solo rounds and Gaga Lord's journey ends. It is also reported that boy group  JBK also survived the round though I can't find their performance video. Elysa V. also advances and is included in this group who sang Bruno Mars' Locked Out of Heaven:

In the solo round where they need to perform in front of a live audience, Alisa has to prove that she deserves her spot, performing Defying Gravity - she did just that:

Judges unanimously voted that she indeed deserved her spot and she advances to the 6 Chair sing off round next week.

I am still looking for reports on how Elysa V. and JBK fare in the solo rounds. I really hope they too advance to the 6 chair challenge.