This afternoon was certainly a time for celebration between the folks from the Philippine Olympic Committee, SportsP|us and Smart Communications Inc. as they sign a historic Memorandum of Agreement to support national athletes and teams with unparalleled connectivity, more online engagement and visibility in different sports events that they will be in this year and in the future.
The event was graced by James da Costa the head of SportsPlus partnerships, Bambol Tolentino the President of Philippine Olympic Committee, Jude Turcati the First Vice President for PLDT- Smart's Sports. There were also several athletes in the event including Carlos Baylon Jr. Gold Medalist in Wushu in the recent World Games (in China).
SportsP|us' James da Costa says "Standing beside athletes and equipping them with their needs is what we do. From grassroots development, we want to be part of our athletes efforts."
Jude Turcati from Smart says "The MVP has been beyond business to support the dreams of our athletes. The support has given us moments of pride on the world stage. Inspiring the youth, teamwork and resilience, and through this partnership we will get them connected especially when they compete abroad. We will be there every step of the way. We thank the POC and SportsP|us, the best is yet to come, para sa bayan, para sa Pilipino."
POC President Bambol Tolentino says "This is not for me, for POC, but all for our athletes. We put importance in preparations for the SEA Games, Asian Games, and the Olympics. Smart and SportsPlus has always been a big help ever since, and this may produce more medals. We are glad companies still support us, we thank them for their help with the government."
This starts a multi year support for funding the athletes training and preparation for the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Olympics. This will certainly benefit them in their goals to bring honor to the country. The endless pursuit to make sure they do their best in their respective sports and the support of the private sector will surely be a welcome development with various sports organizations that this will benefit. They will also help in the grassroots programs, plus a few local ones which the POC encourages they do in the next few years.
Gymnast Carlos Yulo brought home 2 Olympic Gold Medals for the country and a worthy heroes welcome was made for our golden boy, 2 of our bronze boxer medalists Nesthy Petecio, Aira Villegas, and our hard working Olympians this week.
While the whole country celebrates, part of the media noise that was hounding Yulo's win was about his family, his Mom's press conference and previous statements on social media. Mogul and former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson recently pronounced his offer of over 5 Million pesos, to be accepted by Carlos' family, and his partner, together.
The former governor expressed that this reward is not solely about his recent medals but an offer for the unity of the Yulo family. He says "This reward I hope would be a message for the people that stand by them, those that offer love, their guidance and support."
He also wants this to be an inspiration for Filipino families to do the same, to become the needed support if they're overcoming challenges or winning in life.
Carlos Yulo just made the impossible, possible as he makes a Gold Medal feat out of Gymnastics Floor Exercise and Vault events at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Truly, he's an athlete to be inspired from because this wasn't something that was achieved overnight, but something that he has worked hard for over decades.
It was so nostalgic seeing him as a kid training for his dream of getting a gold medal for the Southeast Asian Games, and I'm sure he's gotten a ton of that already. We were all getting little to no sleep just to get a glimpse of what he was doing at the Bercy Arena. Needless to say, he has made history!
DigiPlus and ArenaPlus had him as a brand ambassador. Prior to him leaving the country, they got him a proper send off where he said "Thank you for the recognition and your eagerness to support me. I promise to do my best, and I am truly grateful for your support and need your prayers for all participating Filipino athletes in the Olympics!"
DigiPlus Chairman Eusebio Tanco wished Carlos to continue to have that "astig" Filipino spirit. He also added how proud he is of Caloy's feat to represent the country and DigiPlus. They also wanted to express their huge congratulations to the Filipino Golden Boy and would want to celebrate it by giving him Php 5 Million for his hard work and dedication to the sport.
They wish this would help fund his future training, to hone not just his skills but his fellow gymnasts, and countrymen whom he has inspired by doing the impossible, possible!
He surely will have tons of people waiting for him once he lands on the airport. Congratulations Carlos Yulo! Your DigiPlus, ArenaPlus family, and the whole Philippines is proud of you!
Hearing Maxine Esteban's achievements during a small talk a few weeks ago made much of us feel like we didn't do much in school. She was that smart, talented and crazy good. She's a breath of fresh air, who didn't want to dwell on issues. She's mighty proud of what she's accomplished as an Olympian, a severely brilliant Fencer, and Filipino.
She's taking Management Engineering in Ateneo, one of the most difficult courses to boot but she manages to still attend regular classes despite training schedules and tournaments. She tells us "I used to be an Ice Skater but the skating rink in Megamall closed. The one in Mall of Asia was too far from where I lived, so I tried to find a sport that would pique my interest. I tried Taekwondo, Swimming, tried almost all the sports, but ended up not liking it except Fencing. I really loved it because it was really fun and taught me how to mix having a grace of a woman and the strength of a man. That's what I really liked about it."
With a very strong academic background, she didn't feel pressured to do all these things. Her parents encouraged her to master musical instruments and a sport, but didn't forget to let her excel in academics. She had only wished to make her parents proud which is why she's gotten to achieve much even at a young age. There's so much sacrifice she had to endure in Fencing, after getting surgery, she had to bounce back and wanted to represented the country. Now with Ivory Coast, she won't be wasting her exceptional talent and younger years as the sport requires that much skill in winning competitions and games.
Maxine with her supportive parents, with her Dad as her DOTA coach at home
She's currently still preparing for the PARIS 2024 Olympics slated to start this July 26 which is almost a month from now. She's in Germany and plans to stay there for training and a few competitions in Europe until the day comes. She is also set to join the African championships on June 6th in Morocco. Then will go to training camps in Poland, Hungary, then train with the Japanese and French national teams til the games commence.
Ivory Coast reminds her much of Filipinos. She laments "They were all so welcoming and sweet because when I arrived at the airport, all of my teammates were there carrying flowers. They remind me so much of my mates in the Philippine national team whom I'm very close with. Personality wise, it wasn't a hard adjustment. There's always going to be the Filipino inside of me, I'm the one that complains to organizers if I don't see the country's flag. When I win competitions in the past, my eyes light up seeing them raise it, doing the country proud! Those simple things, you can't remove that from me. I now have the support from Ivory Coast and the Philippines, and it really means a lot to me."
As for battling a Filipino Fencer, she thinks there wouldn't be an instance to do that. She knows how talented the Philippine team is, but if it happens she's going to do her best too. Her current coach is Andrea Magro, a prolific former coach of the Italian Fencing Team, and already produced 10 Olympic Gold Medalists on his roster. He's now training Maxine Esteban with the best ones in the world and he's raring to see her do the same in Paris. Andrea dubbed Maxine as like an agile Tiger, we couldn't agree more!
Maxine laughed when I asked her for plans to join show business because she looks so pretty. She's a what you see is what you get kind of girl. She's open for sports related sponsorships though and would prefer that instead. She's now affiliated with Anta, and wearing them with confidence too.
Here's our interview with her a few days ago:
She adds "Going to the Olympics, I just want to enjoy the moment because this is my first one. I just want to make my parents and everyone who believes in me proud. There's not much pressure in me, and I think that's a good thing. My parents have been my biggest supporters ever since, even before Fencing. In every sport that I try to do, they would also encourage me. They would never really put pressure and always ask that I just do my best. That's already enough for them, my Dad had a video on ABSCBN when I lost a match and he told me not to worry about it, because they will always love me no matter what."
Her story is truly inspiring. As of now, she is ready for the PARIS 2024 Olympics, and hope YOU are just as proud of her as a Filipino! Make sure you root for her on social media, in person (if you can), because at the end of the day, she is Filipino and proud!
What's common between Olympic Gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz, Olympic Pole Vaulter Ernest John Obiena and the powerful Philippine Women's National Football Team (called Filipinas)? Do you know? Neither do I. Well don't fret as they've figured it out last April 26th when they and water brand Summit Natural Drinking Water forged a partnership for one common goal, to support athletes going to the SEA Games together with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). This is their #ThirstForGold
Hidilyn is currently working hard as she makes the impossible happen and take that next Olympic gold in Paris, France. She's done that in Tokyo, so for sure, there will be challenges when other countries try to step it up in the next Olympiad. Same with EJ Obiena as he's planning to conquer the podium finish after missing a couple tournaments because of his COVID-19 sickness a few weeks ago. He's won several of them and it would be a cherry on top if he gets strikes Gold in the Olympics, as he's done remarkable job in the SEA Games in Vietnam, winning Gold for the country. Our football stars the Filipinas on the other hand fell short for the gold, but got Myanmar beat by scoring twice in the last 3 minutes, a feat to get us in the podium with a Bronze after 37 long years. Now, they're back in the country busy preparing for the Women's World Cup that the country will be hosting together with Australia on 2023. Exciting? Yeap! The future certainly looks bright when support comes in Philippine sports.
Summit also partnered with social fitness app Liv3ly to further support Filipino athletes and sports enthusiasts. It'll keep you interested in different sports activities, give you goals and some prizes you wouldn't have in others. Sounds fun? Try it out on the Google Play store as it's free for download today.
She surprised a lot of people when she stepped up to the plate and won an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. 2021 is the year she set a new Olympic Record in historic fashion, after years of hard work, tough training and dedication to a sport she loves, she's brought the country insurmountable pride.
The country's favorite fast food champ Jollibee knows that her story needs to be told in order to inspire a lot of people, hence this shortfilm called "GINTO" was done together with its partner agency McCann Worldgroup Philippines. They hope this would bring joy and inspiration not only for aspiring athletes, but to every Filipino who's got dreams.
Hidilyn once trained with water jugs and sacks of sands from construction sites. She almost gave up on her dreams, but she kept on going. In 2016, she got the silver medal in her weight class at the Rio Olympics, which has inspired even more athletes. It made her work even harder to get the gold medal in the next meet. When she saw the short film, she cried seeing the front-liners and kids cheering for her. She admits feeling the joy, the hardships, the things that have strengthened her during the toughest times. She also got the chance to act in the short film, which she feels was very rewarding because she's seeing it from another perspective.
Hidilyn is now trying to finish her studies (in DLS CSB) and prioritize training for the next Olympics. She wants to put up a training facility /schools so she could help aspiring athletes, like what she had experience when she was a budding weightlifer. The #KwentongJollibee Ginto was also done by award winning director Pepe Diokno. Hidilyn wishes she would share her passion and perhaps do outreach activities in the next few months.
If you want to see it, it's now up on the Jollibee Studios YouTube channel. Go react on social media and see how you like #KwentongJollibeeGinto and how she triumphed over adversities.
It looks like a lot like Christmas at SM Mall of Asia as they don't let down in more developments within the mall. They just opened a new Olympic sized Ice Skating Rink at the mall's third floor which has been in construction for such a long time now. It's about 1,800 square meters which would definitely be the literal coolest place to hang out and do different disciplines of ice sports.
It's got it's own digital score boards, player boxes, a hige lobby, a snack area, and it's own locker room and will be the home of the country's Ice Sports athletes. From Hockey, to Speed Skating, to Figure Skating and other events, it would now be easy to host
COO of SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. Herman Medina Cue says "Mr. Henry Sy Sr. was a fan of this sport and fast forward today we are producing top notch ice athletes including ones that join the Winter Olympics. We are now producing world class facilities to be a venue of international tourneys, and a place to be with family. Athletes, welcome to your new home!"
This October will surely be fun so if you want to dash towards your goals, visit them today at the SM Mall of Asia, because they believe the Filipino is world class!
I am still trying to get over those olympic qualifiers where the Philippines proved to be at par with the world's best and I just learned that it's only 5 days to go before the actual Summer Olympics start at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The most awaited part will happen on August 6 the open ceremonies wherein these olympians will march down the grand stadium so they could wave to the crowd and represent their country in the most awesome sports event that only happens every 4 years.
TV5 has been able to get the biggest sports events covered, not to mention the last FIBA Olympics Qualifying Tournament just last month and they've done a spectacular job doing that. This RIO2016 won't be different as they will show some of the most exciting matches and events that our own 12 Filipino athletes will compete in. The rest of us at home should cheer because once they step into the ring or run on that track, we need to give them the support they deserve so we could win that elusive gold medal.
Catch the LIVE RIO OLYMPICS broadcast that will happen 7AM on August 6 at TV5 or you can stream it on www.SPORTS5.ph and all other affiliated channels on cable and UHF TV. The RIO2016 coverage is of course presented and powered by PLDT and SMART, the country's biggest network! Let's all get that Filipino heart pumping when it starts on August 6 and end on August 22, 2016!
This is it! I can't wait! We've already won the rights to host the FIBA Olympi Qualifying Tournament this 2016 and we're raring to go where no Filipino has gone before (well we did in 1936 and the years thereafter) but it's been a while since we've actually had a basketball team on the world map. We've done the legwork, we've conquered huge teams and placed 1st Runner Up in FIBA Asia Qualifiers. We've beaten world ranked countries and taken Gilas Pilipinas out there, impressing even the best people in the industry... and this is our chance to bring back that glory we've been longing for.
They've already announced the final 12 players, and we've seen the exhibition games happen in other countries. As they all come home and be joined by the rest of the country, Gilas Pilipinas will attempt to win that single slot and overcome a lot of other countries to make it there.
Our first touch of eurasian country Turkey will happen on July 1 at 7PM. This is just a tune up game yet a great venue to gauge how we'll fare with other countries when it comes to the real thing on July 5-10, 2016. The other qualifiers will happen in cities like Turin, Italy and Belgrade, Serbia. The Philippines will be pit against France, New Zealand and whoever is going to rank top in those dates. Games will be at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City and it will be shown live on the happiest network in the country, TV5 with updates from Sports 5 PH too.
Gilas Pilipinas' Final 12 is composed of Jayson Castro, Ranidel de Ocampo, Troy Rosario, Ryan Reyes, Gabe Norwood Jeff Chan, June Mar Fajardo, Marc Pingris, Japeth Aguilar, Terrence Romeo, Andray Blatche and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. Unfortunately L.A. Tenorio and Calvin Abueva are out. This was announced by Tab Baldwin before their tune up game with China in Italy. The coach was adamant declaring it was because of numbers that they decided to choose the roster but I'm sure they were NOT short of HEART. Make sure you'll be there and purchase tickets at SM Tickets (https://smtickets.com/). Ticket prices go as much as Php 14,945 for VIP, Php 12,810 for Patron, Php 10,675 for Lower Box, Php 430 for Upper Box and Php 215 for General Admission (as seen on site).
Bring your hearts, let's all cheer behind Gilas Pilipinas and say "Laban Pilipinas! Puso!" (Fight Philippines! With all your heart!).
This was the only medal the 2008 USA Dream Team and the whole USA wanted.
The US team won the Gold medal in this year's 2008 Summer Olympics. They only gave the mightiest men that the NBA has so it is quite obvious that they will win.
USA 118 (Dwyane Wade 27, Kobe Bryant 20, LeBron James 14, Chris Paul 13, Carmelo Anthony 13, )
Spain 107 (Rudy Fernandez 22, Pau Gasol 21, Juan Carlos Navarro 18, Carlos Jiminez 12, Marc Gasol 11, Felipe Reyes 10).
In the end, USA prevailed 118-107. Gripping the Gold medal in the games!
Scores shows that this is a highly defensive match between the two countires. US Team while on play were complaining heavy fouls and bombardment from the Spaniards. This meant a lot of course so they all did their very best. ^_^
A superb game-high 27 points from Dwyane Wade (21 of them in the first half) and 20 from Kobe Bryant the US took the best shots from the Spanish. They led 69-61 at the half, but saw Spain close to within four in the third quarter and two in the final period. Then Bryant nailed a four-point play and the momentum was with the Americans, try as the Spanish might.
And they tried plenty, right till the bitter end. The electric Rudy Fernandez and the towering Pau Gasol were huge for the gallant silver medalists. Repeatedly, the likes of Bryant, Wade and LeBron James had repeated the mantra that this was bigger than anything they'd done in the NBA. This was for their country, they said, and that made it so. After six long years, the USA finally rules the basketball world again. Argentina, even without injured star Manu Ginobili, were too good for Lithuania in the bronze playoff with an 87-85 victory giving them their second straight Games medal after they had won gold in Athens.
Well, the Philippines won a Gold Medal in Wushu but since it is not a recognized Olympic sport its not going to count in the Medal Standings. Good job though! I am disappointed however because we did not win a single medal that can be counted there.
Willy Wang from the Philippines wins WUSHU gold and lone medal of the Philippines Wushu is considered as an Olympic demonstration only and not counted in the Medal Tally
Kobe part of the success in the win of the US team vs Australia. The US won in the August 20 game and will vie for the Gold medal in the Olympics' Quarterfinals.
Photo by AFP/Getty Images
Japan bashed the United States' 22-game Olympic winning streak Thursday to win its first gold medal in softball. This wasn't the finale the U.S. had in mind. Japan upset the Americans with a whopping 3-1 to win GOLD in the sport.
Casualty Tsohmlee Go bows out of medal contention Photo by Flickr
Tshomlee Go lost 1-0 to Ryan Carneli of Australia. Go was in the round of 16 of the men’s 58kg category in Olympic Taek Won Do Wednesday at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium.
Click image please to see clearer ^_^
China now has 45 Gold medals and ties with US at 79 for number of medals won.
Beijing Olympics: USA 'Dream Team' proved too strong for Yao Ming and China
The mighty efforts of the tallest man in the competition proved insufficient against the combined power of Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Jason Kidd and the rest of the US Dream Team, who prevailed 101-70 in an impressive show of strength and power that ruthlessly ended the pre-game expectations of the hosts.
US 2008 Dream Team Celebrates after a 101-70 win against favored CHINA Photo by telegraph.co.uk
U.S. also Defeats favored Spain, 119-82 making this dream closer to the top of the podium Photo by NY Times
Phelps won his record 8th gold medal in the Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay. It was held on Sunday. The US team of Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, Jason Lezak and Michael Phelps won at the CUBE (National Aquatics Center). They timed in at 3:29.34 which also broke the world record by 1.34 seconds. The US Swimming team lead from the very beginning. Congratulations! ^_^
US Men's 4 x 100m Medley Relay Team
Phelps smiles with the American flag wearing his eighth gold (Photo credit: Adam Pretty of Beijing 2008's website)
Michael Phelps wins 7 Gold Medals in Beijing Olympics. Milo Cavic, the Serbian who grew up in Tustin almost stole this dream of a 7th Gold Medal from Phelps landing a Silver Medal in the said event. Cavic almost pulled it off. He'll swim in the 400 medley relay Sunday (Saturday night in Pacific). If he wins, that will give him eight gold medals for Beijing and 14 for his remarkable career.
Phelps rejoicing his 7th GOLD MEDAL
Cavic by the way is filing a protest because time stands at an Olympic record of 50.58. Cavic was second in 50.59 ^_^ and some even say Cavic won it as shown on TV.
China continues to dominate the Medal Standings. This morning, their gymnastics team composed of young and fresh kids won over favored USA. The U.S. women's gymnastics team finished second to China in the overall competition. Alicia Sacramone stumbled on the balance beam, allowing China to pick up its first ever gold medal in the event.Romania settled for the Bronze.
Chinese Team wins gold!
Alicia Sacramone stumbled on the balance beam
Michael Phelps has claimed two more gold medals in the 200-meter and the U.S. 800-meter freestyle relay. This is his 11th Gold Medal which is already a world record for most number of medals won in Olympic history. He is gunning for a record eight golds in a single Olympics.
Michael Phelps tries a record 8 Gold Medals in the Beijing Olympics
