SportsP|us, Smart, POC Sign Pact for PH Athletes

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. 

SIBOL: The Philippines’ Official ESports Team

The egames industry in the Philippines has done a lot as far as representing the country in ESports tournaments internationally. Games require hand eye coordination, teamwork, skill and is just about important as any sport there is, so during the Southeast Asian Games this coming November, we’re putting ourselves in contention with other Southeast Asian countries and developed our own national team for E Sports which we’ll properly call Sibol. (Growth in english) 

The team will be managed by the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Esports Union (PSEU) which is a group under the Philippine Olympic Committee. They would have to be good in Dota2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Tekken 7 in order to beat other teams which makes this even difficult. The 30th Southeast Asian Games will also be held here in the country so that adds to the pressure these men or women will actually have to go through. Pro players will be invited and tryouts will also be done to complete the pool. This will happen on August 1-11, pretty close already. For more updates please check out sibolesports.ph and their social media pages (FB, IG, and Twitter) via the @SIBOLesports official account. 

Go support your own team and make the country proud! 

Rise On Ice: Welcome Ice Athletes of Team Philippines

I have followed their quest during the Southeast Asian Games quite closely because I've met some of them during the press conference and send off party a couple of weeks ago. The Philippine Hockey team had me on the edge of my seat as they got so many issues that hindered them to be on top of their form, but in the end they did beat heavy favorite Thailand. Then Olympian Michael Martinez got the Silver Medal, which still made us all proud of his accomplishments heading to the next Winter Olympics. Aside from that, Filipina Ice Princess Alisson Petricheto also snatched a Bronze medal, made us completely ballistic at the bleachers, even at home. These medal hauls just proved we have a bright future on ice games and we were there also to welcome them home in SM Mega Fashion Hall.

Michael Martinez says "I am pretty happy about the program that I did during the SEA Games and I have also seen people feel good about it as well, so no regrets. The next thing I'll be concentrating on is a podium finish during the Olympics and hopefully the SEA Games will be easy after that. I also can't wait for the Philippines' hosting on 2019, that's where we're sure the medals will come in. I'll be flying to LA in the next couple of weeks so I can join in the next Olympic Qualifiers, hopefully win it as well. We have very difficult elements and choreography to perform and I'll try and make sure they'd be executed well."

Mr Edgar Tejerero SM LEI's President adds "We all know how these athletes prepared for hours in order to get gold for ice hockey, and a silver and bronze for figure skating. Mr. Sy dreamt of these to be the home of ice sports in the country, and now it's bearing fruit. Nobody believed a tropical country could produce athletes like these, your victory is not only ours but the whole country. Congratulations and welcome home!"

Congratulations to all our Ice Athletes and cheers for more acheivements in the next coming years! You did a good job and continue to inspire more people with what you're doing. You are our champions!

Thank you SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. for continuing to support them in and out of ice!

KUMAGCOW

Fresh Blogs Fast!

AirAsia Says #DareToDream This 2017 SEA Games

Are you proud of your country? We all are right? In some way or form.

The dates are finally approaching and the league of Southeast Asian nations will converge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Southeast Asian Games 2017. The SEAGames as you may all know is where countries from this region battle out for sports supremacy and pride for country. It's why AirAsia Philippines is forging a few more web video series telling the stories of our very own SEA Games athletes. They properly call it #DareToDream, a sports initiative to motivate and inspire future athletes and the Filipino public to rally behind them. 

During this time, you'll see the stories of phenom volleyball player Alyssa Valdez, swimmer Jessie Lacuna, long jump athlete Marestella Torres-Sunang. You will bare witness to all the hard work they put in training for every sport, the blood, sweat and tears, how they overcome challenges, and champion them. It will be hosted by equally talented volleyball player and my favorite Lady Archer, the feisty Michelle Gumabao.

If you want to watch the videos, make sure you like the Air Asia Philippines Facebook page at www.facebook.com/AirAsiaPH and follow the hashtags #DareToDream on all social media channels. Or check this video below, enjoy!

KUMAGCOW

Fresh Blogs Fast!

PH Ice Athletes Promise GOLD in Upcoming SEA Games

Spent the afternoon over at the Ice Skating Rink at the SM Megamall Fashion Hall for the promising partnership of SM Lifestyle and Entertainment Inc. and our athletes who are preparing to represent the country in the Southeast Asian Games. During the opening remarks, their executives said "We are delighted and honored to join Ice games in the SEA Games and we are gearing to winning Gold Medals for the country."

During the press conference, Kathryn Magno (for Short Track Speed Skating), Jules Alpe (for Figure Skating), LR Lancero, Julius Santiago, Miguel Relampagos, BJ Imperial, Jorell Crisostomo and Francis Gautier for Hockey wanted to rally for the Philippines. They fervently hope that it won't be just the organizations supporting them, but the whole country. 

Kathryn says "I am the first speed skater and I want to promote the sport even after the games. I hope a lot of people get to see the potential of Filipinos in this sport and hopefully win more medals for the country soon. I started as a figure skater but did it in 2008, to be motivated no matter what age you are is adamant to success. This is a nice place to train, we are able to do this with SM SKATING to perform in well in Southeast Asia." 

Francois adds "We have been preparing and practicing this for a long time. We are also planning to have a short bonding session a few weeks before the games. Some have been playing for a long time but we have new ones so we need to bond so we won't be awkward on ice. There are private companies like SM LEI and some government agencies that help. Our toughest opponent would probably be Division 1 Gold Medalists Thailand but that doesn't mean we can't play toe to toe with them or with any team in the world. We had the liberty of choosing athletes based on the role they play on ice. We practice countless hours and prepare to play for a longer time, we do this three times a week and practice even more with conditioning on our off days. You'll see us perform more in the SEA Games and hopefully win the Gold for the pride of our country. We are not just representing ourselves as individuals here, especially in the SEA Games."

Here's to hoping they bring more Gold medals for the country and hopefully their best performance against our fellow Southeast Asian countries. 

KUMAGCOW
Fresh Blogs Fast!

NUVALI's Dirt Weekend Invitational!

I'm so excited to hear news about Nuvali. This was just announced last Saturday and boy oh boy people are flocking all the way to the south just to get a load of this!

Well, if it was fun on this Dirtbike Weekend that I witnessed last year... it's even going to be MORE serious this year as they will have a Dirt Week Invitational where competitors from all over the Philippines, our national teams and even our neighbors from the Southeast Asian region will compete and vie for recognition by the UCI; because as you register, it will include the membership to Philcycling (the national federation).Upon securing the license, you can join the sanctioned race in this cycling spectacle!

All the tracks, registration and the other events this year have been organized by these individuals in coordination with national sports agencies as this will be also observed by Union Cycliste Internationale. This event in November will comprise of Cross Country (XCO/XCR) and Four Cross events. In the meantime, from April 26 to 28, they will still hold a local Dirt Weekend. You should get your gears and sample the almost 2000 hectares of land that Nuvali has and enjoy what true evo living is all about courtesy of Ayala Land.

Invited local squads like Bikeworkx, Sabak, Potato Corner, Yellow Cab, KTM, John Wilkie, EXO, Cycleine of Mindanao and Prima/Isuzu D-Max will be there to give the rest of the competitors a run for their posts. Even some slots will be actually given to lucky ones if they get to beat members from the national team according to their Chairman. So this means if there are going to be remarkable cyclists that can beat the ones from the pool, they can be fully sponsored by the government after this. Who wouldn't be challenged by that? =) It's an official SEA Games qualifier!

For more outdoor fun, make NUVALI your next destination and make sure you will be there on November and this weekend for more action down south!

Check out their Facebook Page for more information

Nuvali