By Field Level Media-Reuters

The sports world is almost entirely shut down due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, but the Olympic Games are still due to go on as scheduled from July 24-Aug. 9 in Tokyo.

At this point, the U.S. men’s basketball team is still planning to be in Japan for the competition this summer, according to assistant coach Steve Kerr.

Kerr, the Golden State Warriors’ head coach, spoke with reporters on a conference call Tuesday, and he referenced discussions with U.S. head coach Gregg Popovich.

“Pop and I have spoken a couple of times over the last week or so, and everything’s just up in the air,” Kerr said. “There’s no sense of whether things are going to be delayed or anything.

“We’re all kind of sitting here wondering what’s going to happen, and so is the rest of the world. We’re just going to plan as if this is going to happen, and we’re going to try and put together a roster, and that’s all we can do.”

As for his current team, Kerr took note of the fact that his Golden State Warriors were scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets in San Francisco on Thursday before the NBA halted play Wednesday night. Had the game gone on, it would have been played behind closed doors due to virus-fighting measures that already were in place in San Francisco.

On Tuesday, the Nets revealed that four players have tested positive for coronavirus — including injured former Warriors star Kevin Durant. The Nets, but not Durant, were in San Francisco on Wednesday.

“I’m hoping none of our players went and hung out with them the night before our (scheduled) game,” Kerr said Tuesday. “I don’t know if that is the case or not.”

The San Francisco Bay Area is now under “shelter in place” orders due to the pandemic.

Although at least seven NBA players have tested positive for coronavirus, and the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly are asking all of their players to undergo testing, the Warriors will not follow the Lakers’ lead. All of Golden State’s players are currently healthy, according to general manager Bob Myers.

“I’ve been told by our doctors that we shouldn’t be testing asymptomatic people in California,” Myers said on a conference call. “We’ve been told there’s not enough tests to do that. And if we’re not interacting with each other, we’re not doing that right now.

“If somebody potentially became exposed and was tested, I think we’d act like anybody, which is that, if somebody you know was exposed or had it, then I think you can get tested.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

With the NBA season suspended because of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the league is making financial preparations after being advised that the earliest play may be able to resume is June, ESPN reported Tuesday night.

Sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski that former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who joined the league’s board of governors in a Tuesday conference call, shared his view that America’s recovery from the pandemic was far from over and may not be for some time.

Accordingly, the NBA is working through plans to increase its credit line by an additional $550 million up to $1.2 billion as a means to assist with expenses for what may be a prolonged shutdown.

Murthy apparently was a bit more optimistic in recent days about a more limited spread of the virus, although sources told Wojnarowski, “No one left that call thinking we could be playing anytime soon.”

Per the report, teams are hoping the NBA can give them planned dates to possibly resume the season — whether or not it’s the regular season and postseason, or playoffs only. But Wojnarowski said the league is remaining patient as owners wait for more tangible estimates on potential lost revenues before committing to any revised calendar.

Wojnarowski reported that the NBA is plotting options involving ending the season completely, tipping it off again but without fans, or waiting until the playoffs to allow spectators in arenas. Changes also reportedly could include a reduction in the length of playoff series.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Reuters

Roger Mayweather, trainer to nephew and champion boxer Floyd Mayweather, has died at 58 after a long battle with diabetes, his camp said on Tuesday.

Before becoming a legendary cornerman, the Grand Rapids, Michigan native was a champion in his own right.

He had a celebrated 20-year career, becoming a two-division world champion with notable fights against Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker.

“The Black Mamba” held the WBA and lineal super featherweight titles in the mid-1980s and the WBC light welterweight title later that same decade.

He held the IBO light welterweight title and IBO welterweight titles in the mid-1990s and finished with a 59-13 professional record.

He first began working with Floyd in the late 1990s and over 12 years helped shape him into one of the best pound-for-pound boxers of all time, amassing an unblemished 50-0 record.

“My uncle was one of the most important people in my life inside and outside of the ring,” Floyd Mayweather said in a statement.

“Roger was a great champion and one of the best trainers in boxing. Unfortunately, his health was failing him for several years and now he can finally rest in peace.

“Roger meant the world to me, my father Floyd Sr., my uncle Jeff, our whole family, everyone in and around the Mayweather Boxing Gym and the entire boxing world. It is a terrible loss for all of us.”

The loss of Roger is the second major blow to Floyd this month.

Last week his ex-girlfriend and the mother of three of his children, Josie Harris, was found dead inside a car in her driveway in Valencia, California.

Floyd responded by posting a series of photos of the couple on Instagram as a tribute to her. (Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Kevin Durant is reportedly among four Brooklyn Nets players who have tested positive for the new coronavirus and are in isolation.

The injured Durant, who has yet to play for the Nets since signing for the club last year, confirmed to The Athletic website he had tested positive for the virus.

“Everyone be careful, take care of yourself and quarantine. We’re going to get through this,” Durant was quoted as saying.

News that the two-time NBA Finals MVP was among those who had contracted the virus came soon after the Nets confirmed four players had tested positive for COVID-19.

“Four Brooklyn Nets players have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus,” the team said in a statement. “Of the four, one player is exhibiting symptoms while three are asymptomatic.

“All four players are presently isolated and under the care of team physicians.”

The Nets said they were notifying known contacts of the players including those from teams who played against the Nets shortly before the NBA shut down its season indefinitely on March 12.

The last team to play the Nets was the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers, who were stunned 104-102 by Brooklyn on March 10.

“All players and members of the Nets travel party are being asked to remain isolated, closely monitor their health and maintain constant communication with team medical staff,” the Nets said.

The four cases more than double the known number of cases of COVID-19 among NBA players.

Utah Jazz defensive standout Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive — his illness triggering the NBA’s current closure.

Teammate Donovan Mitchell and Christian Wood of the Detroit Pistons have also tested positive for the virus.

Woods was tested after reporting flu-like symptoms to the Pistons medical staff.

Mitchell was tested after Gobert’s positive test, but had not experienced symptoms.

“I don’t have any symptoms,” Mitchell said in an interview broadcast by ABC television on Monday. “I could walk down the street (and) if it wasn’t public knowledge that I was sick, you wouldn’t know it. I think that’s the scariest part about this virus.

“You may seem fine, be fine. And you never know who you may be talking to, who they’re going home to.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Tom Brady announced his departure from the New England Patriots on Tuesday, ending a glittering 20-year run with the team which saw him become the most successful quarterback in NFL history.

Brady confirmed his departure in a series of posts on social media but did not divulge where he will play next season.

“Although my football journey will take place elsewhere, I appreciate everything that we have achieved and am grateful for our incredible TEAM accomplishments,” Brady wrote.

FOREVER A PATRIOT pic.twitter.com/QSBOJBs4uy

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 17, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

LOVE YOU PATS NATION pic.twitter.com/lxSQZmnjPL

— Tom Brady (@TomBrady) March 17, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Japan Olympic Committee deputy chief Kozo Tashima said Tuesday he had contracted coronavirus (COVID-19), as doubts increase over whether Tokyo can safely host the Summer Games.

“Today, my test result showed positive for the new coronavirus,” Tashima said in a statement, issued via the Japan Football Association, which he also heads.

“I have a mild fever. Examinations showed a symptom of pneumonia, but I’m fine. I will concentrate on treatment following doctors’ advice,” he said.

Japanese officials insist that the summer Games — due to start in July — will take place as scheduled despite rising speculation that it might be postponed or even cancelled due to the virus.

Tashima said he had been on a business trip since February 28, first heading to Belfast to attend the annual general meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

From March 2, he visited Amsterdam for a Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) meeting to give a presentation on Japan’s bid for the 2023 women’s World Cup.

And On March 3, he attended a general meeting of the same body.

“In Amsterdam and in Europe in early March, the level of nervousness against the novel coronavirus was not the same as now,” he said in the statement.

“Everyone was still doing hugs, handshakes and bises (cheek kissing).”

He then travelled to the United States to watch the Japanese women’s team in action and to lobby for the women’s World Cup, before returning home on March 8.

“In the United States, too, the sense of crisis about the novel coronavirus was not as serious as now,” he said.

Staff at the Japan FA have been working from home as a precaution against the virus, but Tashima said he went to the association building several times last week and attended meetings.

He began feeling chills and experienced a mild fever from Sunday. He went to a local public health centre on Monday and told them about his travel history.

During the UEFA gatherings, Tashima said he saw Swiss and Serbian football chiefs, who have tested positive for the virus, although he added it was not clear how he contracted the infection.

His positive test came out on Tuesday.

“I have chosen to face the illness as so many people are doing in Japan and around the world,” he said, adding that he hoped his decision would help eradicate the stigma attached to the infection.

His announcement came as the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee said it would scale down festivities related to the Olympic torch relay to prevent further spread of the virus.

The flame, which has already been lit in Greece, will arrive in northern Japan on Friday, with the torch relay slated to start on March 26 from Fukushima.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s Japeth Aguilar and his wife have taken initiatives to provide surgical masks for health workers serving as frontliners in the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Aguilar and better half Cassandra Naidas will donate 40 boxers of surgical masks to hospitals in need while also setting up an account for those willing to help the couple provide more.

“We’ve found a supplier of face masks and will be donating to hospitals,” Aguilar said through his Twitter account @japethaguilar35.

“If you would like to help as well, please check the Facebook page we made for more details.”

Hi guys!
We’ve found a supplier of face masks and will be donating to hospitals.
If you would like to help as well, please check the Facebook page we made for more details.https://t.co/ySXEoo5HBP https://t.co/seDyqzQbrN

— Japeth Aguilar (@japethaguilar35) March 17, 2020

The couple has since collected more than P80,000 as of posting time, including one donation of 600 N95 masks.

Naidas said the initiative came amid problems regarding the lack of medical supplies most doctors and nurses deal while trying to combat the infectious disease.

“Most hospitals have no more masks and alcohol and are encouraged to bring their own masks or use makeshift masks,” she said. “As we are sitting in the comfort of our own homes, frontliners are risking their lives to save ours. Lets help them in any way we can.

“If you have any amount you can spare, this will go a long way. We need to step up and help each other in times like this.” added Naidas.

Aguilar has also retweeted other efforts, like the fundraising campaign for the local test kits made by scientists from the University of the Philippines.

“For those who have a little extra and are looking to help… Tayo tayo lang din po ang magtutulungan sa ganitong panahon,” said Aguilar.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is one of many awaiting for a decision by the International Weightlifting Federation as the board is set to meet March 18 and 19 in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The federation is expected to tackle the cancelation of various Olympic Qualifying Tournaments or OQTs in different parts of the world like the Asian Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diaz was originally set to compete in the Asian Championship, but after its cancelation opted to compete in the South American-Ibero American and Open Senior’s Championship slated March 18-25 in Cali, Colombia only to be turned away by organizers.

A travel ban imposed by the Colombian government on Asians and Europeans forced Diaz to skip the important tournament which would have been her sixth and final OQT to formalize her entry to this year’s Tokyo Olympics.

All she can do now is wait.

“We don’t know yet, hihintayin pa namin ang decision ng IWF,” said Diaz in a message to The Bulletin. “There are things we can’t control and we can’t do anything.”

The magnitude of the health crisis staggers Diaz.

“The effects of N-Covid19 is something unimaginable. Most of my Olympic Qualification events are postponed or cancelled, travel ban, city lockdown and country lockdown,” she said.

“Panic, fear and frustration is controlling us right now.”

Despite this, Diaz said she will continue to train, stressing: “As an athlete, we don’t stop when we fail once, even twice, the most important thing is we do our best and at the end of the day we won’t regret anything.

“I will remain focused and determined to improve every single day together with #TeamHD who prepared me and sacrificed a lot to so I can represent God and the Philippines well in Olympics.”

Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas (SWP) chief Monico Puentevella said he has proposed to the IWF to accept five OQTs instead of the original six because of the current health crisis.

At the moment, Diaz is at No. 5 in the 55kg women’s category with 3,717.0982 points, behind Chinese weightlifters in Jiang Huihua (4,667.8878), Liao Qiuyun (4,288.9622), Zhang Wangqiong (4,212.6639) and Li Yajun (4,099.0223). Only one athlete per country, however, will get an Olympic spot.

Other local weightlifters needing to compete for their sixth OQT but whose tournaments were called off are Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Kristel Macrohon, Rio Olympic veteran Nestor Colonia, as well as Eileen Ando, John Ceniza and Mary Flor Diaz.

Diaz is currently training in Malaysia and she has been in the Kuala Lumpur for a month now with the rest of her team, which include Chinese head coach Kaiwen Gao and strength and conditioning mentor Julius Naranjo.

She posted a video on her Instagram from a previous competition in the Roma World Cup where she bagged the gold medal in the 55kg women’s category, and it also included a lengthy caption of the struggles everybody is facing and hope of bouncing back from this malaise.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA

 

Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez assured Monday the agency will continue the allowances of national athletes and coaches in light of the continued lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ramirez said they are looking at the athletes’ welfare with the current situation after trainings and competitions were halted following the global health crisis.

“If the contagion continues, we have to act positively. I remember one leadership principle is to be alert with the present environment and move forward,” Ramirez told the Bulletin.

The PSC chief also said salaries of the government sports agency’s employees will also continue despite closing its facilities due to the outbreak.

“Our athletes, coaches and employees understand the situation and I hope that they will react positively,” he said.

Some of its officials, though, are doing the extra work of providing assistance to athletes and coaches billeted at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City who were unable to return home particularly to their respective provinces.

There are 28 athletes, four Filipino coaches and two Korean coaches being assisted at the said complex.

“These are extraordinary times which call for extraordinary commitment and service from all of us,” Ramirez said in an earlier interview, adding that they will be provided with food, recreation facilities and medical monitoring.

The agency is also ensuring the sanitation activities on both venues.

As early as last weekend, the PSC has asked its athletes to return home until the quarantine is lifted.

In previous announcements, the agency locked down its two major facilities in Manila: the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Vito Cruz and the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.

Meanwhile, Philippine Olympic Committee president Bambol Tolentino urged athletes and coaches to be extra cautious if they plan on training at home.

“We should follow the government’s order,” he said.

The coronavirus outbreak, which had claimed thousands of lives and infected more across the globe, has put international sporting events on a standstill including the NBA, ATP, WTA, Masters and other football leagues.

Organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are still on continuous meetings if they should push through or delay the Games.

Source: Manila Bulletin

Source: Manila Bulletin