2017 SEA GAMES : A SALUTE TO OUR SPORTS HEROES - OUR PHILIPPINE MEDALISTS

The 2017 Southeast Asian Games is closing today and it is just fitting that we salute our new heroes - this year's Philippine medalists.

For this edition, the Philippines collected 121 total medals - 24 golds, 33 silvers and 64 bronze medals. Though we fell short of our target of 50 gold medals and even lower than our 29 gold medal output in the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, it is just right to salute the sacrifices our our athletes to win these medals on the week when we celebrated Araw ng Kagitingan.

So here are our heroes:

GOLD MEDALISTS

Mary Joy Tabal - Athletics - Women's Marathon
Nikko Bryan Huelgas - Men's Triathlon
Marion Kim Mangrobang - Women's Triathlon
Reyland Capellan - Gymnastics - Men's Floor Exercise
Kaitlin de Guzman - Gymnastics - Women's Uneven Bars
Agatha Chrystenzen Wong - Wushu - Women's Taijiquan
Brennan Wayne Louie - Fencing - Men's Foil
Eric Shaun Cray - Athletics - Men's 400m Hurdles
Aries Toledo - Athletics - Men's Decathlon
Trenten Anthony Beram - Athletics - Men's 200m and 400m
Curte Robert Guarin, Emmanuel Portacio, Leoncio Carreon, Jr. and Ronald Lising - Lawn Bowls - Men's Fours Team
Eumir Felix Marcial - Boxing - Men's Middleweight
John Marvin - Boxing - Men's Light Heavyweight
Men's Ice Hockey Team - Ice Hockey
Rodolfo Reyes, Jr., Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella - Taekwondo - Men's Poomsae Team
Kiyomi Watanabe - Judo - Women's 63kg
Gilas Pilipinas Cadets Team - Basketball - Men's Basketball
Chezka Centeno - Billiards - Women's 9 Ball Singles
Samuel Thomas Morrison- Taekwondo - Kyorugi - Men's -74kg
Mariya Takahashi - Judo - Women's -70kg
Carlo Biado - Billiards - Men's 9 Ball Singles
Colin John Syquia - Equestrian - Individual Showjumping
Dines Dumaan - Pencak Silat - Tanding Men's Class A

SILVER MEDALISTS

Men's Chinlone Team - Sepak Takraw - Men's Chinlone Team (Linking)
Nicole Marie Tagle - Archery - Women's Individual Recurve
John Leerams Chicano - Men's Triathlon
Ma. Claire Adorna - Women's Triathlon
Samantha Kyle Catantan - Fencing - Women's Individual Foil
Agatha Chrystenzen Wong - Wushu - Women's Optional Taijijian
Hanniel Abel - Fencing - Women's Individual Epee
Nathaniel Perez - Fencing - Men's Foil
Jason Ramil Macaalay - Karate - Men's Kumite +60kg
Rexor Tucay - Karate - Men's Kumite - -67kg
Eric Shaun Cray - Athletics - Men's 100m
Kaitlin de Guzman - Gymnastics - Women's Floor Exercise
Marco Vilog - Athletics - Men's 800m
Mark Harry Diones - Athletics - Men's Triple Jump
Mario Fernandez - Boxing - Men's Bantamweight
Marisa Baronda, Nancy Toyko, Nenita Tabiano, Sharon Hauters - Lawn Bowls - Women's Fours
Jemyca Aribado & Yvonne Alyssa Dalida- Squash - Women's Jumbo Doubles
Hazel Jagonoy, Rosita Bradborn, Vilma Greenless - Lawn Bowls - Women's Triples
James Deiparine - Swimming - Men's Breaststroke - 100m and 50m
Marcelito Pancho & Angelo Morales - Lawn Bowls - Men's Pairs
Anna Clarice Patrimonio - Tennis - Women's Singles
Colin John Syquia, Sophia Amor Chiara, Joker Arroyo, Marie Antonette Leviste - Equestrian - Team Show Jumping
Rubilen Amit - Billiards - Women's 9 Ball Singles
Arven Alcantara - Taekwondo - Kyorugi Men's -68kg
Michael Martinez - Ice Skating - Men's Figure Skating
Rhezie Aragon - Taekwondo - Kyorugi Women's -53kg
Geylord Coveta - Sailing - Men's RS One Windsurfing
Kristie Elaine Alora - Taekwondo - Kyorugi Women's -73kg
Jason Huerte, Mark Joseph Gonzales, Rheyjey Ortouste, Ronsited Gabayeron - Sepak Takraw- Men's Regu
Robert Andrew Garcia, Reymark Begornia, David William Pelino, Juan Rafael Yam - Squash - Men;s Team

BRONZE MEDALISTS

Paul Marton dela Cruz - Archery - Men's Individual Compound
Paul Marton dela Cruz, Joseph Benjamin Vicencio & Earl Benjamin Yap - Archery - Men's Team Compound
Mark Javer, Florante Matan & Gabriel Moreno - Archery - Men's Recurve Team
Nicole Marie Tagle, Kareel Meer Hongitan & Mary Queen Ybanez - Archery - Women's Recurve Team
Maxine Isabel Esteban - Fencing - Women's Individual Foil
Women's Regu Team - Sepak Takraw - Women's Regu
Orencio James delos Santos - Karate - Men's Individual Kata
Junna Tsukii - Karate - Women's Kumite -50kg
Harlene Raguin - Fencing - Women's Individual Epee
Richard Gonzales - Table Tennis - Men's Singles
Roxanne Ashley yu - Swimming - Women's 200m Backstroke
Evalyn Palabrica - Athletics - Women's Javelin Throw
Kaitlin de Guzman - Gymnastics - Women's Balance Beam
Reyland Capellan - Gymnastics - Men's Vault
Arnel Ferrera - Athletics - Men's Hammer Throw
Mae Soriano - Karate - Women's Kumite -55kg
Jasmin Alkhaldi - Swimming - Women's 100m Freestyle, 50m Butterfly, 200m Freestyle
Jemyca Aribado & Yvonne Alyssa Dalida- Squash - Women's Doubles
Amparo Teresa Acuna - Shooting - Women's 50m Rifle
Ian Clark Bautista - Boxing - Men's Flyweight
Charly Suarez - Boxing - Men's Light Welterweight
Marvin Guarte - Athletics - Men's 1500m
Women's Kumite Team - Karate - Women's Team Kumite
Lois Kaye Go - Golf - Women's Individual
Women's Bowling Team - Bowling - Women's Team
David Pelino & Robert Andrew Garcia - Squash - Men's Jumbo Doubles
Janry Ubas - Athletics - Men's Long Jump
Dennis Orcullo & Warren Kiamco - Billiards - Men's 9 Ball Doubles
Alkhaldi, Oliva, Pamintuan, Sta. Ana - Swimming - Women's 4 x 200m Freestyle Relay
Denise Dy & Katharina Lenhert - Tennis - Women's Doubles
Kayla Richardson, Kyla Richardson, Zion Nelson & Eloiza Luzon - Athletics - Women's 4 x 100m Relay
Anfernee Lopena, Archand Christian Bagsit, Eric Shaun Cray, Trenten Anthony Beram - Athletics - Men's 4 x 100m Relay
Melvin Calano - Athletics - Men's Javelin Throw
Marestella Sunang - Athletics - Women's Long Jump
Mark Griffin - Wakeboarding - Men's Individual
Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. - Taekwondo - Men's Individual Poomsae
Clinton Kingsley Bautista - Athletics - Men's 110m Hurdles
Rinna Babanto, Juvenille Crisostomo and Jecel Lyn Ninobla - Taekwondo - Women's Poomsae Team
Daniel Caluag - Cycling - Men's BMX
Shugen Nakano - Judo - Men's -66kg
Keisei Nakano - Judo - Men's 73kg
Ainie Knight & Asuncion Bruce - Lawn Bowls - Women's Pairs
Denise Dy & Ruben Gonzales - Tennis - Mixed Doubles
Edgardo Alejan, Archand Christian Bagsit, Michael Carlo del Prado, Aries Toledo - Athletics - Men's 4 x 400m Relay
Elmer Abatayo - Lawn Bowls - Men's Singles
Jayson Huerte, Rheyjey Ortouste, Mark Joseph Gonzales - Sepak Takraw - Men's Doubles
Emerson Villena & Lester Troy Tayon - Sailing - Men's International 470
Women's Team - Rhythmic Gymnastics - Women's Single Apparatus
Sydney Sy - Judo - Women's -68kg
Pauline Louise Lopez - Taekwondo - Kyorugi Women's -62kg
Alisson Perticheto - Ice Skating - Women's Figure Skating
Johann Chua - Billiards - Men's 9 Ball Singles
Jemyca Aribado - Squash - Women's Singles
Robert Andrew Garcia- Squash - Men's Singles
Princesslyn Enopia - Pencak Silat - Tanding Women's Class A
Rickrod Ortega - Pencak Silat - Tanding Men’s Class C
Jefferson Rhey Loon - Pencak Silat - Tanding Men’s Class D
Ryan Jakiri - Muay - Men's 60-63kg
Francis Aaron Agojo - Taekwondo - Kyorugi Men's -63kg
Juryll del Rosario - Pencak Silat - Tanding Men’s Class I
Isabelle Gotuaco, Jemyca Aribado, Joan Aribado, Yvonne Dalida - Squash - Women's Team

Congratulations to all our Philippine medalists and to all the athletes that competed! Mabuhay kayo!

To all SEA Games athletes - see you in Manila in 2019!

2017 SEA GAMES : MARY JOY TABAL WINS PHILIPPINES' 1ST GOLD MEDAL

Veteran marathoner Mary Joy Tabal has won the Philippines' first gold medals of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.

Tabal led almost the full length of the race and clocked in with a time of about 2 hours and 48 minutes and 26 minutes, more than 7 minutes ahead of the second placer and improving her silver medal finish 2 years ago in the 2015 SEA games. She beat 6 other female runners, including 2015 SEA Games winner Natthaya Thanaronnawat of Thailand.

The silver medal went to Hoang Thi Thanh of Vietnam (2:55:43) while the bronze was won by Natthaya Thanaronnawat of Thailand (2:58:17).

Here is her winning moment as posted in Camille Naredo's Twitter account:

Mary Joy Tabal crosses the finish line! What a performance! pic.twitter.com/RYjzSP6vEZ

— Camille B. Naredo (@camillenaredo) August 19, 2017

Tabal, an Olympian and a 4-peat winner of the Milo Marathon, almost did not make it to the national team for the SEA Games after some dispute with PATAFA, the country's athletics association. She was later reinstated after agreeing to a compromise. This is just a validation that she really belongs to the national team.

With this win, Tabal ends the Philippines' 8 year gold medal drought in SEA Games marathon. The last time Philippines won a gold medal was in 2009 in Laos when both Eduardo Buenavista and Jho-An Banayag ruled both the men's and women's races.

On the men's side, Jeson Agravante failed to finish in the men's marathon race after getting cramps a few kilometers to the finish line.

Congratulations to Mary Joy for this golden performance and thank you Jeson for representing the country!

#LabanPilipinas

AVC WOMEN'S SENIOR VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : JAPAN WINS GOLD, DAWN MACANDILI NAMED 2ND BEST LIBERO

Japan was named the champion of the 2017 AVC Women's Senior Volleyball Championship after their come from behind victory over Thailand. The Japanese overcame a 2 set lead of the Thais and win the last 3 sets en route to a thrilling 5 set victory: 26-28, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16 and 15-7.

Korea won the bronze after beating East Asian rival China in an earlier game. The Philippines finished in eight place after bowing to Kazakhstan in a 5-set thriller as well.

The final standings are as follows:

2017 Asian Senior Women's Volleyball Championship final standings

🏐 #AVCWomensSCH pic.twitter.com/c6PRSWTJl7

— VolleyMetricsPH (@VolleyMetricsPH) August 17, 2017

Individual awards were also given out. And for the surprise of everyone, a 2nd best libero award was given out and it went to Philippines' Ms Everywhere Dawn Macandili. Here is the list of individual awardees:

#AVCWomensSCH individual awards @spinph pic.twitter.com/pp1dlcqqDk

— Mei-Lin Lozada (@meilinspin) August 17, 2017

Congratulations to all winners! To the Philippine girls, let's now win that bronze in the SEA Games!

2017 SEA GAMES : TEAM PHILIPPINES GETS ITS FIRST SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS

Team Philippines got its first 2 medals 3 days before the official opening of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The country's first medal is a silver - won by the Chinlone (Linking) men's team in Sepak Takraw after they qualified in the finals after the morning qualifiers but succumb to the Malaysians in the finals. This is a good start to the sepak takraw team's campaign since they are targeting to win 6 medals in this games - 1 gold, 2 silvers and 3 bronzes. In 2015, they only won 2 medals - 1 silver and 1 bronze.

Gallant stand by PHI sepak takraw team! Silver medalists #SEAGames2017 in men's chin lone pic.twitter.com/tAgNFZOkTc

— Marc Anthony Reyes (@marcreyesINQ) August 16, 2017

The second medal was a bronze medal from Archery, won by Paul Marton dela Cruz in Men's Singles Compound Archery event. He edged out a Malaysian archer in the battle for 3rd place where they both shot to a score of 144 but his best arrow was closer to the bulls eye so he was awarded the bronze medal. Unfortunately, the distaff side was not able to get a medal.

Paul Martin snatches bronze in men's individual compound pic.twitter.com/NDBeCZE2z8

— Marc Anthony Reyes (@marcreyesINQ) August 16, 2017

In other events, the men's water polo team succumb to the host Malaysia in a very close match, 7 - 8. In netball, Siklab Pilipinas suffered its 2nd straight loss after losing to Brunei, 32 - 69.

Here is the Team Philippines' schedule for tomorrow, August 17.

10:00am - Sepak Takraw - Chinlone Event 3
11:00am - Aquatic Water Polo - Men's - Philippines vs Singapore
2:30pm - Aquatic Synchronized - Solo Free Routine
4:00pm - Football - Women's - Philippines vs Vietnam
5:15pm - Netball - Women's - Philippines vs Singapore
8:00pm - Aquatic Synchronized - Solo Technical Routine
8:45pm - Football - Men's - Philippines vs Indonesia

Congratulations to the Sepak Takraw Team and Paul Marton dela Cruz! Mabuhay kayo! #LabanPilipinas

2017 SEA GAMES : KEY WINS IN WATER POLO AND FOOTBALL FOR TEAM PHILIPPINES

Team Philippines got good results in water polo and football on the first day it plunged into action at the 2017 Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The first team that went into action was the men's water polo team, who beat 2015 SEA Games bronze medalist Thailand with a score of 9 - 7. The offense of the Philippines was Roy Canete who came back to help the team from Dubai. In 2015, the men's water polo team went home winless and are here to definitely get a medal. They last got a medal when they got the silver in Indonesia in 2011. The team will next face hots Malaysia tomorrow.

Netball, which is in infancy state in the Philippines, suffered a setback after the team lost to 2015 bronze medalist Thailand, 16 - 86. The netball team, a last minute addition to the Philippine delegation, was also winless in the 2015 games in Singapore. The girls will go for a come back tomorrow against Brunei.

Football also registered great starts from both the men's and women's teams. The men's team won over Cambodia, 2-0 with 2nd half goals from Reymart Cubon (52') and Kouichi Belgira (81').

FT: CAM 🇰🇭 0-2 PHI 🇵🇭

Three points for the Philippines as they open their @KL2017 SEA Games campaign with a win against Cambodia. #KL2017 pic.twitter.com/Ng5pqDaJ0z

— The-AFC.com (@theafcdotcom) August 15, 2017

On the other hand, the women's team was victorious over the host team Malaysia, 2-1 with goals from Patrice Impelido (45') and Camille Rodriguez (73').

FT: MAS 🇲🇾 1-2 PHI 🇵🇭

All three points for the Philippines after a narrow win over Malaysia in the @KL2017 opener! #KL2017 pic.twitter.com/4E4JQdU3fV

— The-AFC.com (@theafcdotcom) August 15, 2017

The next assignments for the men's team is Indonesia and for the women's team, it will be Vietnam, both on Thursday, September 17.

Team Philippines' schedule for tomorrow, August 16 is as follows:

9:00am - Aquatic Water Polo - Men's - Philippines vs Malaysia
9:30am - Archery - Compound - Men's Qualification Distance 1
9:30am - Archery - Compound - Women's Qualification Distance 1
10:00am - Sepak Takraw - Chinlone Event 3
10:55am - Archery - Compound - Men's Qualification Distance 2
10:55am - Archery - Compound - Women's Qualification Distance 2
2:30pm onwards - Archery - Compound - Men's and Womens - Quarterfinals to Finals
3:00pm - Netball - Women's - Philippines vs Brunei

Congratulations to the water polo and football teams for the wins today! Good luck to all athletes! #LabanPilipinas

SEA GAMES 2017 : FOOTBALL SCHEDULE FOR TEAM PILIPINAS

Here is the initial schedule of the football games for Team Pilipinas:

A. Men's Team

Roster:

Christian Lapas
Daniel Bernan Gadia
Dimitri Lionel Limbo
Dylan Alain Lucienne De Bruycker
Jaime Vicenzo Cheng
Jordan Blair Jarvis
Javier Augustine Gayoso
Jeremiah Raphael Rocha
Julian Mariano Clarino
Junell Mark Bautista
Kou Ichi Belgira
Nathaniel Ace Villanueva
Nimrod Balabat
Ray Joseph Joyel
Rey Franco Miguel De La Torre
Reymart Cubon
Roberto Corsame Jr.
Richard Talaroc Jr.
Valentino Calvo
Yoshiharu Koizumi

Group Phase - PH is Group B

Aug 15, 8:45pm - vs Cambodia
Aug 17, 8:45pm - vs Indonesia
Aug 20, 8:45pm - vs Vietnam
Aug 22, 4:00pm - vs Thailand
Aug 24, 4:00pm - vs Timor Leste

Knockout Stage

Aug 26 - semifinals
Aug 29 - bronze model match, finals

B. Women's Team

Roster:

Mea Dematao Bernal
Anicka Chabeli Arrieta Castaneda
Sara Isobel Arrieta Castaneda
Maeva Bella Abao Collatos
Alisha Claire Mendoza Del Campo
Kyrhen Angela Bretana Dimaandal
Alesa Nazareno Dolino
Patrice Mae San Pedro Impelido
Kayla Jan Aragones Inquig
Hali Moriah Candido Long
Eva Silva Madarang
Isabela Francesca Medallon Mahoney
Regine Metillo
Irish Oliveros Navaja
Inna Kristianne Beza Palacios
Kathleen Camille Muldong Rodriguez
Faith Sean Ruetas
Jesse Anne Shugg
Jovelle Cordero Sudaria
Patricia Tomanon

Game Schedule:

Aug 15, 8:45pm - vs Malaysia
Aug 17, 4:00pm - vs Vietnam
Aug 22, 4:00pm - vs Myanmar
Aug 24, 4:00pm - vs Thailand

Sources:
http://www.spin.ph/sea-games/news/philippines-2017-southeast-asian-games-list-of-athletes

2016 RIO OLYMPICS : JUDOKA KODO NAKANO BECOMES THE PHILIPPINES' LUCKY 13TH ATHLETE

Filipino - Japanese judoka Kodo Nakano becomes the lucky 13th athlete of Team Philippines in the 2016.

The 23 year old judoka was only invited last Tuesday after an Iranian player withdrew from the competition. Being the player next on the reserve list, the slot was given to Nakano.

The last time that the Philippines sent a judoka in the summer Olympic Games was in the last edition - 2012 London Games where Tomohiko Hoshina competed in the men's +100kg division.

He will be competing in the Men's 81kg division. He will be flying to Rio as the only judoka and will be 1 of only 2 martial arts athletes, the other one is Kristine Alora of taekwondo.

He will be arriving there by Friday, August 5 - the same day as the opening ceremonies. He will compete starting August 9.

Good Luck Kodo! Laban Pilipinas!

Image is from Kodo Nakano's profile in JudoInside.com website

2016 RIO OLYMPICS - GOOD LUCK TO THE FILIPINO ATHLETES

As the games officially start today and the games officially open in a few days, I would like to extend my good luck to the 12 hero Filipino Olympians this year who braved the risk of Zika virus and will carry our flag in this year's competition.

LOOK: Here are the 12 Filipino athletes going for gold at the Olympic games in Rio https://t.co/toRCuyScDk #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/8TNR0pND8C

— CNN Philippines (@cnnphilippines) August 3, 2016

Hope this is the year we end our 20 year medal drought. Do your best and may you take home a medal, what ever color it is.

Laban Pilipinas!

2016 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : CES MOLINA AND MIKA REYES GETS LAST TWO GOLDEN TICKETS

Petron volleybelle Ces Molina and F2 Logistics and former Green Archer middle blocker Mika Reyes received the last 2 golden tickets and completes the line up of 7 local Pilipinas Super Liga players that will be included in the Philippine Team in the upcoming 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship.

Molina was a surprise addition to the team as her name was not as commomnly included in some of the sportswriters and fans wish list. This spiker from Nueva Ecija and a former San Beda Red Lion from NCAA is a reliable attacker of Petron. She will definitely contribute to the team in this aspect but we still need to see how her skills measure up with much taller blockers that are playing in the tournament. She is also part of the Petron team that competed in the Asian Club championship earlier this year. Her inclusion to the team was announced last July 24.

The sixth player to get the golden ticket is Ces Molina. @spinph @SuperLigaPH #PSLBlockbusterRematch pic.twitter.com/xzRSmkvJDo

— Mei-Lin Lozada (@meilinspin) July 24, 2016

The last golden ticket recipient was announced last July 28 when the league was in Batangas. The includion of Reyes, who is a reliable middle blocker and has been a consistent block points provider to her team, is no surprise to many. She was also named as the league's ambassador, replacing her F2 Logistics teammate Cha Cruz.

Mika Reyes gets the last Golden Ticket! @SuperLigaPH @PhilippineStar pic.twitter.com/0htBTEtmrU

— Joey Villar (@JoeySVillar) July 28, 2016

The local players are now complete - Rachel Ann Daquiz, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Kim Fajardo, Jen Reyes, Jaja Santiago, Molina and Reyes. They will be joined by 7 other imports who are still to be named.

The tournament will be held here in the Philippines on October 18 to 23, 2016 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Congrats Ces and Mika!

AMAZING RACE ASIA SEASON 5 : RACERS REVEALED

The 11 new teams that will be racing in the fifth season of the reality show Amazing Race Asia has been revealed, simultaneous with the show's press conference in Indonesia.

The new season was revealed earlier this year and auditions both on ground and online has been done over the past few months. The last season was already 6 years ago so it is just high time that the new season airs.

The 11 new teams are as follows:

    > Rachel and Vicky, travel hosts from Indonesia
    > Louisa and Treasuri, childhood friends from Indonesia
    > Alex and Will, brothers from Malaysia
    > Brandon and Alphaeus, old schoolmates from Malaysia
    > Chloe and Yvonne, beauty queens from Malaysia
    > Eric and Rona, married couple from the Philippines
    > Parul and Maggie, beauty queens from the Philippines
    > JK and Mike, radio DJ's from Singapore
    > Rei and Kenji, siblings from Singapore
    > Tom and Anita, dating couple from Thailand
    > Lisa and Nicole, life partners from Vietnam

Looking at the teams, this is an exciting group of racers. We have siblings, friends, colleagues and couples in the mix. I was hoping for a parent and child team, after a strong showing from Malaysia's Hussein and Natasha from Season 5. It is also good to note that we have the first team from Vietnam to compete in the show.

I also think that 3 teams from the same country is too much. There are other countries in the region - India, Sri Lanka and Japan has been represented before. We still have Myanmar or Mongolia as well. So picking 3 teams from one country is I think too much.

Let me focus now on the teams from the defending champions - after the Season 4 victory of Richard and Richard - the Philippines.

The first team in the list is married couple Eric Tai and Rona Samson Tai. Eric, more commonly known as Eruption, is not new to the television scene. He was a former host of the noontime show "It's Showtime" in ABS-CBN. He is also a player of the Philippine national rugby team - the Philippine Volcanoes. He has also endorsed several brands, most notably is Kitkat as the lead endorser in the Have A Break campaign in the past few years. He is married to model Rona Samson, whom he married 3 times. Here is Eric and Rona's online audition for the show as posted in Rona's YouTube account :

The second team from the Philippines is the team of the Beauty Queens Parul Shah and Maggie Wilson. Parul is an Indian - Filipino beauty, who won Binibining Pilipinas Tourism 2014 but was not able to compete in Miss Tourism 2014 as the pageant was not held during that year. She was handpicked in 2015 to represent the country in the Miss Grand International 2015 where she won as 3rd runner up. Her partner, Maggie Wilson-Consunji was crowned Binibining Pilipinas World in 2007. She competed in the Miss World 2007 pageant where she was one of the top 16 semi-finalist. Maggie was already in showbiz even before she won the crown, and continued in that line after the pageant. She married in 2010 and now has a son.

I am really looking forward to the show and the race. I hope to get a glimpse of the race live if it passes here in the Philippines - I really hope it does.

Good luck to the Philippine teams and hope you can retain the title with the Philippines!

2016 FIVB VOLLEYBALL WOMEN'S CLUB WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : JAJA SANTIAGO EARNS FIFTH GOLDEN TICKET

National University stand out Jaja Santiago has earned the 5th golden ticket to participate and represent the Philippines in the 2016 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship to be held here in Manila.

This was announced during the press conference introducing the team of Foton Philippines that will participate in the AVC Asian Women's Club Championship in Laguna on September.

Santiago is currently playing under Foton club team in Pilipinas Super Liga and is still playing for National University in the UAAP. She is a reliable middle blocker but has been seen training and playing as a spiker in the past few games. She previously turned down the offer of UCLA and choose to play her collegiate games locally with NU.

It is also rumored that several scouts are in town to watch Jaja in her games and possibly invite her to their foreign clubs. Jaja has also represented the Philippines in the 2014 Asian U23 Championship in Manila and the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in Singapore.

Here is a post from the Twitter account of Sports5 regarding the announcement :

We have a very special announcement! Jaja Santiago receives the 5th Golden Ticket! pic.twitter.com/yKTJDp1pkP

— Sports5 (@Sports5PH) July 22, 2016

She now joins Rachel Ann Daquiz, Jovelyn Gonzaga, Kim Fajardo and Jen Reyes in the PSL All Star Team. We are just waiting for 2 more names of local players whch will play together with 7 imports during the FIVB tournament.

Congratulations Jaja!

GILAS PILIPINAS : FINAL 12 TO BE REVEALED ON JUNE 26

In this post in the Facebook page of Sports5, the final 12 who will make it to the roster for the FIBA Olympic Qualifier will be revealed live on June 26 at 6pm!

As of now, the team is in (or is still travelling to) Italy for a pocket tournament as part of the preparation for the OQT. There is still 14 players in the pool and the last 2 players will be cut by Saturday. Who ever makes it, Gilas 4.0 will definitely be a good team and will give the other teams a run for that slot for the Rio Olympics.

TEAM PHILIPPINES : MARY JOY TABAL IS REINSTATED AS A NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER BY PATAFA

Marathoner Mary Joy Tabal is now reinstated as a national team member for track and field. In a letter posted in the Twitter account of PH Sports Live Scores , PATAFA sent already the letter to Tabal, which was signed by PATAFA president Philip Ella Juico.

Here is the tweet:

Here is the letter from PATAFA. @olminleyba first tweeted this photo. pic.twitter.com/rIKyfGgvn0

— PHSports LiveScores (@LiveScoresPH) June 14, 2016

This is the first step in her formal entry to the Rio Olympics. PATAFA will now endorse her since she already qualified by beating the qualifying time in a race in Canada.

See you in Rio Mary Joy and make us proud!

GILAS PILIPINAS : NEW SONG FOR THE GILAS PILIPINAS ROAD TO RIO RELEASED

The new song intended as the new theme song for the Road to Rio quest of Gilas Pilipinas, and the quest for medals for the Philippines at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games has been released by Sports 5 and Melmac Sports.

Entitled "Sabay Tayo", the song is a collaboration between husband and wife tandem Yael Yuzon of Spongecola and singer Karylle. The song also features the King of Rap Francis Magalona's son Frankie.

Here is the video from the Sports 5 Facebook page :

2016 AFC U-14 GIRLS REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP : PHILIPPINES U14 GIRLS WINS SILVER

The young Filipina U14 girls won the silver medal in the recently concluded 2016 AFC U-14 Girls Regional Championship in Vientiane, Laos. They were able to match the second place finish of the 2014 Philippines team.

The team is composed of a good mix of Fil-foreign and local players.

In the group stage, the Philippines was drawn into Group A, together with defending champion Thailand, Cambodia and host Laos.

The team's first game was against the host team, which they won, 3-1. On the second day, the Filipinas was able to survive the defending champions and get a 2-2 draw against Thailand. Their last group stage game ended with a 1-0 win over Cambodia. Advancing to the semis as 2nd place in Group A due to higher goals scored by Thailand, the team was able to show a great performance against Myanmar, winning with a wide margin of 5-1.

In the finals, it was a rematch between the defending champions Thailand and the 2nd place Philippines. But in the end, the Filipinas were not able to get an equalizer for the 1st half goal scored by Thailand. The cmapion team Thailand beat the Philippines with a score of 1-0.

Image is from the official Twitter page of the Philippine Women's Football Team.

FIBA 3X3 U18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP : TEAM PHILIPPINES FINISHES AT 17TH PLACE

Team Philippines maintained its standing of 17th place at the recently concluded 2016 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan. Bannered by the Batang Gilas standout Joshua Sinclair, the other team members are John Clemente, Theo Josh Flores and Kyle Tan.

The team was drawn in Pool D and managed only to win once. The team first lost to defending champion New Zealand (11-21) and then to Brazil (14-20) on the 2nd day of the competition. Games of the team on the 4th day were both cancelled due to the weather. The games were rescheduled early the next day.

The Filipino teens was able to get into the Win column by beating Hungary (18-17). Unfortunately, the team did not qualify to the knockout stage after the last game loss to Spain (14-16).

Here is the video of the team's win over Hungary from the FIBA 3x3 official YouTube channel:

Image is from FIBA 3x3 Official Facebook page

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:

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!