VOLLEYBALL: PHILIPPINE LINE UP FOR THE SEA GRAND PRIX REVEALED

The Philippine Team pool for the Southeast Asian Grand Prix has been announced by the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI). The team will be composed of a mixture of veterans and young talents both from the 2 semi-professional leagues - Pilipinas Superliga and Philippine Volleyball League.

The team is composed of the following players:

Kath Arado - Generika Ayala
Majoy Baron - F2 Logistics
Roselyn Doria - Dignal HD
Jovelyn Gonzaga - Pacific Town Army / Cignal HD
Eya Laure - Foton Tornadoes
Dawn Macandili - F2 Logistics
Maddie Madayag - Choco Mucho
Aiza Maizo-Pontillas - Petron
Aby Marano - F2 Logistics
Kalei Mau - F2 Logistics
Ces Molina - Petron
Jia Morado - Creamline
Mylene Paat - Cignal HD
Alohi Rpbins-Hardy - Cignal HD
Iris Tolenada - Motolite
Alyssa Valdez - Creamline

The team will depart for Thailand for a training camp on September 7 and competition will start on September 20 in Bangkok.

FIBA WORLD CUP 2023 : LET US MAKE #playlouderin2023 TREND ON DEC 8 AND 9

To help our joint bid to host the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas is again asking for our help. They will be presenting to the Central Board who will decide to whom they will award the hosting rights on Saturday, December 9. If last time, our #PUSO trended, they are again counting on us to make our new campaign slogan - #playlouderin2023 trend starting Friday, Dec 8 until Dec 9.

SBP President Al Panlilio urging Filipino fans to help promote #playlouderin2023 to help the country's (multi-nation) hosting bid for the 2023 FIBA World Cup pic.twitter.com/wfHjeX6Ci6

— HoopTalk (@hooptalk918) December 4, 2017

The Philippines is bidding again to host the FIBA World Cup after losing 2 years ago to China. Now, the country is in a joint bid with Indonesia and Japan. They are up against another joint bid by Argentina and Uruguay after both Turkey and Russia withdrew their bids last month. This will be the first time that more than 1 country will host the said event.

If we win the hosting rights, the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be played here at the Philippine Arena and the Filipino fans will get a glimpse of world class basketball in our home soil.

I really hope that the Pinoy fans support this like what we did 2 years ago. Let basketball come back home, to our home. Bring the 2023 World Cup to the Philippines.

#playlouderin2023

AFC CUP 2017 : LET'S SUPPORT CERES NEGROS FC IN THE ZONAL FINALS

Ceres Negros FC will be battling for the Southeast Asia Zonal Championship of the 2017 AFC Cup against Home United FC of Singapore. This is the first time that a Filipino Club reached this stage of the competition and will have a chance to even go further and compete for the cup.

The Filipino side will again rely on Bienvenido Maranon, Iain Ramsay, Manny Ott and captain Martin Steuble to score goals, Luke Woodland and Junior Munoz for their defense and Roland Muller's goalkeeping. They will also be fielding their new mainstay, Stephan Shrock for the first time in the competition.

The first game (the Away game for Ceres Negros FC) will be tomorrow, August 2 in Singapore. The 2nd game (the Home game for Ceres Negros FC) will be on August 9 in Bacolod. Both games will be broadcasted live by Fox Sports.

Good luck Ceres and win that zonal championship!

GILAS PILIPINAS : JAYSON CASTRO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM INTERNATIONAL PLAY

After Ranidel de Ocampo, another Gilas Pilipinas mainstay announced his retirement from international basketball after the Philippines' elimination in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament here in Manila.

Back to back Asia's best point guard in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Asia Championship and Gilas veteran playmaker Jayson Castro announced in his Instagram account that he will no longer suit up for Gilas Pilipinas :

The end of our bid for a spot at the Rio Olympics will also be the end of my stint as a member of Gilas Pilipinas. For the past few years, it has been my honor to represent all of you but now it's time to hand over the responsibility to the younger generation. Maraming salamat sa walang sawang pagsuporta niyo sa Gilas. Hindi ko makakalimutan lahat ng pinagsamahan natin. Ako si Jayson Castro William, taga Guagua, Pampanga, lumaban para sa bayan. #7 #PUSO

A photo posted by Jayson Castro (@jaywill_17) on Jul 7, 2016 at 7:05am PDT

Thank you very much Jayson Castro for all the sacrifices and hardwork. When Jimmy Alapag retired, it was definitely a big shoe to fill as point guard and leader of the team but you never disappointed us.

Salamat Jayson Castro for showing us what PUSO means!

VIRAL PHOTO : FIRST FAMILY PHOTO OF THE DUTERTE FAMILY IN MALACANANG

The new president's eldest son, Davao Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte posted the Duterte family's first family photo inside the Malacanang Palace in his official Facebook page :

As of the writing, the post already has 56 thousand reactions and has been shared 11 thousand times just a few hours after it was posted.

PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE AND VICE PRESIDENT LENI ROBREDO FORMALLY TAKES THEIR OATH AS THE PHILIPPINES' TOP OFFICIALS

President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo separately took their oath today as the Philippines' top officials.

It was Robredo who took the oath first in her new office in New Manila, Quezon City. She was with her daughters during the ceremony and it was her youngest daughter who was holding the bible. Here is the video as posted in the official Twitter page of Rappler :

WATCH: Vice President @lenirobredo takes her oath of office https://t.co/pg3Bzd758T https://t.co/oFMOZjD8L4

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) June 30, 2016

At noon, it was Duterte's turn to take his oath in Malacanang Palace. He was with his children - Paolo, Sara, Sebastian and Veronica, who was holding the bible during the ceremony. Here is the video posted in the official Twitter page of CNN Philippines :

WATCH: Rodrigo Duterte takes his oath as the 16th President of the Philippines https://t.co/fVeySxmTj9 https://t.co/m0nBQ0kDiD

— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) June 30, 2016

Hope this will be a good start to their terms as our leaders. We are all hoping that indeed, change is coming.

GILAS PILIPINAS : LA TENORIO SHOWS HIS HEART ON ITALIAN COURT

Gilas Pilipinas veteran LA Tenorio showed his heart on the Italian basketball court - that is, his fatherly heart.

During their tune up game against Italy yesterday in a pocket tournament being held in Bologna, there was a 6 year old girl who mopped the wet floor during a break in play. The girl can be seen having difficulty in doing the job. Without hesitation, LA Tenorio helped the little girl, got the mop and was the one who actually mopped the floor.

This can be seen in these photos posted on Mary Ann dela Cruz's Twitter page :

@carlo_pamintuan Bait ni @LA_Tenorio #pusongAma pic.twitter.com/CGlx70CoOW

— Mary Ann Dela Cruz (@MeAnneCaravita) June 25, 2016

@carlo_pamintuan @LA_Tenorio Sure po😊 eto pa po isa pic.twitter.com/J8RJfiSKva

— Mary Ann Dela Cruz (@MeAnneCaravita) June 25, 2016

Thank you LA for showing the heart of the Filipino - always willing to help and serve the country!

Mabuhay ka LA Tenorio!

TEAM PILIPINAS : WEIGHTLIFTER NESTOR COLONIA QUALIFIES TO THE 2016 RIO OLYMPICS

Weightlifter Nestor Colonia just qualified to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games. He now joins fellow lifter and now 3 time Olympian Hidilyn Diaz in the competition.

In a letter from the International Weightlifting Federation to the Philippine Olympic Committee, the international weightlifting body confirmed the slot awarded to Colonia, who will compete in the men's 56kg division.

Colonia had an impressive showing during the world championship in Texas by getting the bronze in clean & jerk but wound up 4th in the snatch. He duplicated the same feat in the 2016 Asian Championship in Uzbekistan last April.

Colonia and Diaz are now in training in China as a build up for their campaign in Rio.

With this qualification, Filipino athlete count in the Olympics is now at 8 - with 2 boxers, 2 lifters, 2 in athletics, 1 in table tennis and 1 taekwondo jin. Others expected to join the group are athletes from golf and swimming. The basketball team will be in a qualifying tournament next month.

Good luck in the Olympics Nestor Colonia!

Image is from an article from Pilipino Sta Ngayon website

FACEBOOK GREETS FILIPINO USERS HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY WITH AN INVERTED PHILIPPINE FLAG

Facebook just declared war - by sending Happy Independence Day greetings to their Filipino users with an inverted Philippine flag!

The Philippine flag is the only flag in the world that has a different meaning when it is inverted. The Philippine flag has the blue part on top but when the red part is on top - it means the country is in a state of war, as what is shown above in this Facebook greeting.

Was this intentional - meaning during the time the independence was declared, the country was in war; or was this one of the biggest boo boo of Facebook Philippines?

Anyway, as always, Google has its home page blinged up as well as a jeepney to commemorate the independence day :

Anyways, Happy Independence Day to all Filipinos!

FIBA 3X3 U18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : JOSHUA SINCLAIR TO LEAD TEAM PHILIPPINES

After the successful defense of the SEABA U18 crown and getting the title in a pocket tournament in Thailand, Joshua Sinclair will lead Team Philippines in the 2016 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan on June 1 to 5.

Sinclair, who is dubbed as the next Kobe Paras, will be joined by Theo Joshua Flores, John Lloyd Clemente and Kyle Tan.

Sinclair is currently ranked no. 12 in the Philippines in the FIBA 3x3 ranking. He was first sighted when he bannered the Manila South team in the Manila leg of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour last year. The team qualified to the tournament after the MVP 3x3 Cup last year.

It will be a tough assignment for the 13th seed young Filipinos. They are grouped in Pool D with Hungary (4th seed), Brazil (5), defending champion New Zealand (12) and Spain (20). All teams in this bracket participated in last year's world championship.

Despite the low seeding of the Philippines, Sinclair's inclusion in the tema has created so much buzz in the official FIBA website. Sinclair is dubbed as one of the 10 players to watch out for in this tournament and the Philippines - New Zealand game is included in the Top 5 match ups to watch in the men's tournament.

The group stage schedule of the Philippines are as follows:

Jun 2 - 6:10pm - vs New Zealand
Jun 2 - 7:40pm - vs Brazil
Jun 4 - 6:30pm - vs Hungary
Jun 4 - 8:20pm - vs Spain

Only the Top 2 teams in each pool after the group stage will advance to the knouckout bracket stage.

Good luck to the Philippine U18 3x3 Team! Laban Pilipinas!

Image is from the FIBA 3x3 2016 World Championship website.

PHILIPPINES WINS BIG IN THE ICU WORLD CHEERLEADING CHAMPIONSHIP 2015

Team Philippines made its presence felt in the 2015 World Cheerleading Championship in the Disneyworld Resort in Orlando, Florida. All the 3 teams that the Philippines sent garnered a podium finish this year.

The big winner is the all girls team of NU in the All Girl Elite category where the Philippines got 2nd place out of 13 countries. The NU Pep Squad represented the Philippines in the Coed Elite Category and the Sayawatha Dance Troupe of Miriam College represented the Philippines in Team Cheer Hiphop Category both took home bronze medals.

Here are the performances of Team Philippines in the said event organized by the International Cheer Union:

All videos are from the official YouTube channel of ICU

2014 fiba world cup: gilas pilipinas versus argentina

gilas pilipinas suffered another heartbreaking loss, now in the hands of the world's number 3 team - argentina, 81-85.

the philippines actually started strong, leading in the first quarter up to the start of the 2nd quarter. argentina then held its ground and lead as much as 15 points early in the fourth quarter. the filipinos did not give up and eventually caught up and was down by only 2 points during the last minute of the game. unfortunately, several missed shots and errors later, argentina escaped with the win.

ranidel de ocampo posted 18 points, leading the team but it was the heroics of jimmy alapag that kept us in the game. his leadership in the court is unmatched and he delivered 5 crucial 3 point shots in the second half. gabe norwood also showed his great defense and got two magnificent dunk shots, one even on the face of argentina's nba veteran, luis scola.

here are the highlights of the game:

gilas needs to win both of its final two assignments in the group round. it will face puerto rico on september 3 7:30pm and senegal on september 4 8pm (manila time).

we still have hope to advance to thr round of 16. let us all pray for gilas pilipinas. laban pilipinas!

video is from fiba's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJLRmewbkeY&list=UUtInrnU3QbWqFGsdKT1GZtg

2014 fiba world championship: gilas pilipinas versus croatia

having been absent in the international basketball scene for almost 4 decades, filipino fans started the gilas pilipinas campaign with modest expectations but high hopes. making it to the world cup is an achievement itself and seeing the local PBA heroes side by side with the world's best is simply unbelievable.

but nobody expected what happened in their first game versus croatia...

croatia, who is ranked number 16 in the world, is expected to top the group b of the group stage. in fact, some websites bpredicted at least a 31 point victory over the philippines. but with pure heart and guts, the gilas pilipinas forced the game into overtime at 71-all after 4 quarters before eventually losing after the 5 minute additional time, at 81-79.

nobody expected this to be this close, i think this is the biggest surprise of day 1. gilas pilipinas made a statement last night that they might have been a virtual unknown entering the  tournament but they will fight with all heart. that was really an impressive debut by the philippines.

here are the game highlights from the fiba youtube channel:

philippines will be going against greece tomorrow early morning at 2am, then argentina at 11pm (manila time).

video is from the fiba youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOwuJtXXe04&list=PLCXERy73Oiz_dZlx-PgDDaW7393y6ngL8

meet the cast of the 25th season of the amazing race

cbs announced the new cast of the silver season of the amazing race. this season 11 teams of 2 will be racing around the world and they are:

• adam and bethany, married surfers
• dennis and isabelle, dating couple
• brooke and robbie, couple / professional wrestlers
• keith and whitney, engaged couple
• kym and alli, friends / cyclists
• lisa and michelle, sisters / realtors
• maya and amy, friends / scientists
• michael and scott - friends / firefighters
• misti and jim, married dentists
• shelley and nici, mother & daughter
• tim and te jay, dating couple

notable contestants are bethany, the one-armed surfer who survived a shark attack; and whitney and keith who previously appeared in survivor south pacific and eventually became a couple after the show.

here is the meet the cast video from the official youtube channel of the show:

the show also had its first public starting line in las vegas earlier this year. they will also introduce a new twist, "the save". this will be awarded to the first team to finish in the first leg and will allow that team to save themselves from elimination. the show will also have a new timeslot (fridays 8pm) and will premiere on september 26 (september 27 in the philippines).

ps - rumors is that they will be having 2 legs in the philippines! this is only the 2nd season that they will have pitstops in the philippines. the last time they were here were legs 11 and 12 in season 5 where they went to manila, cavite, laguna and palawan.

image is from : http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/photos/1002236/meet-the-cast/ 

video is from : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQK4imtNQmg

luis gabriel moreno wins gold at the 2014 nanjing youth olympic games

luis gabriel moreno, a 16 year old archer from quezon city, gave the philippines its first youth olympic game medal. he teamed up with china's jaiman li to capture the gold medal in the international mixed doubles event in archery.

they were able to beat the duo of malasian muhamad zari zulkefeli and german cynthia freywald in the gold medal match in 3 straight sets, 38-37, 38-35, 37-33. from the 3 sets, they already gained 6 points which sealed the gold medal for the asian archers.

both li and moreno exhibited great performances during the final match, only scoring 10's and 9's in all 3 sets. here is the awarding ceremony for the event:

moreno is the grandchild of entertainment icon german moreno and was the flag bearer of the philippines during the opening ceremonies of the games.

hope with this win, he will be given more support and international exposure. he is definitely an archer to watch in the next few years.

mabuhay ka gab moreno! laban pilipinas!

video is from pinoy headline's youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSqH9vscrJo
image is from their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TeamPhilippines?fref=nf

the philippines says thank you

the department of tourism launched a short video in its youtube channel showing filipinos saying thank you to the world. this is after the tremendous support extended to the country after the devastation caused by typhoon yolanda (or typhoon haiyan).

here is the short yet very nice video uploaded in you tube:


similar billboards were also put up in several countries who extended their help during the crisis.

great job to the tourism department! to all countries who help, again from the filipino people... thank you very much!

survivor blood vs water premieres on september 18

the 27th season of the reality show survivor; dubbed as survivor blood versus water will premiere on september 18 (september 19 here in the philippines). the show will feature returning castaways with a loved one competing with them. but they will not be competing with each other, they will be competing on opposite tribes - against each other.

the tribe of the returning castaways is named "galang" or respect (but i really prefer if it was "respeto") and the tribe color is yellow. the tribe of the loved ones is named "tadhana" which means destiny with red as tribe color.

the castaways this season are the following:

standing, starting from left:
> tyson from survivor tocantins and heroes vs villains and girlfriend rachel
> rupert from survivor pearl island, all stars and heroes vs villains and wife laura
> tina from survivor australian outback and all stars and daughter katie
> colton from survivor one world and fiance caleb
> laura from survivor samoa and daughter ciera
> gervase from the original survivor borneo and niece marissa
> monica from survivor one world and husband brad

seated, from left
> aras from survivor exile island and brother vytas
> candice from survivor cook islands and heroes vs villains and husband john
> kat from survivor one world and boyfriend hayden

it is interesting to note that this season features a castaway from season 1 (gervase) and 2 (tina); 2 winners (tina and aras) and a fourth chance for a castaway (rupert). notable loved ones includes former nfl player brad and big brother winner hayden.

this is also the show's 3rd straight season in the philippines. but this time, they are moving to the northern part of the country. the show was filmed in the palaui islands in cagayan. there are also news that the show will also feature a redemption island kind of twist.

this morning, i was able to find a sneak peek into the first seven minutes of the show. it was released in the entertainment weekly website. based on the video clips, this seems to be a very interesting season and i can't wait to start watching it; being a big fan of the show from season 1!

here is the link to the sneak peek video:

http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/09/16/survivor-blood-vs-water-premiere-video/

survivor blood vs water will air in jack tv here in the philippines; with live via satellite airing at 2pm and primetime airing at 9pm on september 19.

miss philippines shamcey supsup is miss universe 2011 3rd runner up

philippines' own shamcey supsup won 3rd runner up in this year's miss universe contest held in sao paulo, brazil. shamcey is one of the 89 contestants from all over the world that competed in the 60th edition of the annual beauty contest.

shamcey was definitely a frontrunner in the competition after her good showing in the preliminary judging. she has participated in most of the contest's major activities, was chosen to be one of the candidates in the press conference and has been loved by the brazilians during the three weeks duration of the competition.

she also got high scores in the fan scoring through the nbc website. she did a good job at the swimsuit and evening gown rounds and gave an amazing answer at the q&a. she was asked if she was willing to change her religious beliefs for the man he loved. she answered that she will not change her beliefs because god is the first person that she loves and her faith and principles are with god. i quote, "if the man truly loves me, he will love my god too."

but in the end, the beauty from general santos city only got 3rd runner. i really think she deserves a higher placing, if not the crown.

this comes after philippines' venus raj placed fourth runner up in the 2010 edition of the pageant.

miss angola, leila lopes captured the miss universe 2011 title.

picture is from: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/09/13/shamcey-supsup-ms-universe-3rd-runner-179077

choose philippines

the department of tourism recently launched its newest tourism campaign: choose philippines. the campaign aims to encourage everyone to tour the philippines and document their experiences in a website so others can read and be inspired to visit these places and experience what the philippines has to offer.

the website has been launched and can be accessed through this url: http://choosephils.com/

they also has a facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/ChoosePhilippinesOfficial

hope everyone commits to travel inside the philippines rather than outside and document your experiences in the website.

they also made a music video featuring star power winner angeline quinto and vincent bueno. here is the said music video:

pnoy's 2nd state of the nation address - complete transcript

here is the complete transcript of president benigno aquino, iii's 2nd state of the nation address delivered today, 25-jul-11, in front of the joint congress:

State of the Nation Address of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III (transcript) | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/26/10/state-nation-address-pres-benigno-s-aquino-iii