By Waylon Galvez

Alumni of Xavier School have combined efforts to raise P1 million that will be donated to hospital needs and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for health workers fighting COVID-19.

NLEX guard Kyles Lao, who belongs to the 2013 batch of Xavier School that joined hands for a cause, said that alumni officials composed of different class presidents and member decided to step up and contribute.

“Our batch of 2013, we’re about 300 students. After the graduation, our batch elected officials of our alumni, and it’s them who had this idea to donate,” said Lao, a member of the Golden Stallions that won the prestigious Tiong Lian tournament back in 2011, in a phone interview with Manila Bulletin.

“If we can help – even in our own little way – why not?”

“It’s just very fulfilling that we’re able contribute, especially now that the country, our government needs all the help and provide for the frontliners treating the sick people,” Lao, a pick of the Road Warriors  during the 2018 PBA Rookie Draft, added.

Lao said that in this health crisis, every Filipino must contribute – either through financial assistance, or by simply following the rules as the government extends the Enhanced Community Quarantine until April 30.

“It doesn’t matter how much you give, what’s important is that you made a contribution. Each one of us can actually make a difference, example is following the ECQ – that’s already a big contribution,” said Lao.

Lao, who suited up for Xavier School from 2010 to 2013 before he played for University of the Philippines in the UAAP, said that alumni officials would use the donations to purchase respiratory machines and PPEs to be given to various hospitals.

“Things are still being finalized with regards to the hospitals, but one thing is certain, we’ll donate respiratory machines because it’s kind of expensive. With the budget our 2013 batch gathered, we’ll be able to buy several of that plus PPEs for the heath force,” added Lao.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The Tour de France will be raced from August 29 to September 20, organizers announced on Wednesday, postponing cycling’s flagship event originally slated to start on June 27 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

The new dates follow French President Emmanuel Macron’s extension of a ban on large public gatherings until mid-July.

The news comes as a relief to professional cycling teams and fans with four-times Tour winner Chris Froome welcoming “light at the end of the tunnel” for those suffering under COVID-19 lockdown.

The decision moves the three-week race out of its traditional slot in the summer holidays where roadside crowds of around 12 million would be expected to gather in festive spirit.

It will now finish on the same day the postponed French Open championships starts, September 20, giving a worrying indication of a potential autumn fixture pile-up as more sports seek to reschedule suspended events.

Tour director Christian Prudhomme told AFP the new start was based on a double rationale.

“We wanted to be as far away from the pandemic as possible,” he said.

“The president put a July 14 date on public gatherings, but it seemed more reasonable to us to allow the riders time to get into peak condition.”

While the dates have changed the original route remains intact, starting in Nice and finishing in Paris.

“The Tour is still the Tour. All the challenges we set remain intact,” he said of the hotly anticipated climb-laden route that rarely strays far from the mountains.

Britain’s Froome said the news came as a boost for all lovers of the sport.

“It’s the news we have all been waiting for, some light at the end of the tunnel,” said the Ineos rider.

“I’m seeing a lot of negativity and despondency on my timeline, I know this period has been tough on all of us, and bike racing is not important in the greater scheme of things.

“But let’s take hope in that we may return to some sort of normality in the near future.”

The new date solves a series of problems after organisers faced up to the reality that the race could never take place on the original dates.

Rescheduling means top cycling teams will survive economically, social distancing will be easier without massive crowds, and the 4,500 strong Tour de France rolling caravan can be more easily put up in hotels outside August.

With the Tokyo Games and football’s Euro 2020 both delayed by a year, the Tour is the last major event remaining on the summer sports calendar.

Elite cycling will breathe a huge sigh of relief as the Tour accounts for most of its earnings.

“The Tour represents around 60 percent of earnings in a season,” French team AG2R boss Vincent Lavenu said last week.

The Tour will provide a daily fix for deprived sports addicts the world over, with millions of armchair fans able to tune in daily, including those still working from home.

The new date gives the ASO time to stage the warm-up Criterium du Dauphine — held annually ahead of the Tour but postponed this year as the spring cycling season was swept aside by the coronavirus.

Cycling’s governing body the UCI has said that May’s postponed Giro d’Italia would be raced after the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a espana after that, with dates to be announced in May.

Health comes first

With the Giro and the Tokyo Olympic road race in late July on Mount Fuji both postponed, the Tour de France will be more competitive than ever as the whole spectrum of elite cyclists focus on the one race.

“The Tour de France is 3,000km of smiles,” race director Christian Prudhomme has repeated many times in the past in reference to the Tour and its fans.

But he has also stressed that health comes first as France battles the coronavirus crisis.

France has been under lockdown since March 17 in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus which has claimed the lives of over 15,700 people in the country.

The epic race will now embark from Nice on the Mediterranean coast on August 29 and culminate over three weeks later on Paris’s celebrated Champs Elysees on September 20, where the traditional yellow jersey is awarded to the winner beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Maxine Louise Lagman

A group of athletes from University of the Philippines organized an online training program for the benefit of frontline workers.

Dubbed as “Frontline Fitness,” the Sports Science and Physical Education students of UP College of Human Kinetics invite everyone to join and enroll in the online classes that aim to build strength and fitness now that the enhanced community quarantine has been extended until April 30 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Not only that, all proceeds will be given to Kaya Natin Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership, which works with the Office of the Vice President Leni Robredo. Joining a class sponsors one PPE, and weekly and monthly training programs may also be availed for two and six PPEs, respectively.

“It was Coach Rham Ybiernas’ idea,” Nina Alvia, former UP courtside reporter and UP track and field athlete, told Manila Bulletin in an online interview.

“He wanted to help in a way that we Sports Science/BPE graduates can. We all know that so many people are trying to stay fit during this time, so by doing this, we’re able to help both frontliners and those at home.”

Along with Alvia, Rham Ybiernas and Paul Ericta are former Nike Run Club-Diliman coaches. They are joined by another former track and field athlete Bianca Ramos and former UP badminton athlete and National Team athlete Vinci Manuel.

Those who are interested can avail three kinds of programs: an open group class and private group class is P350 per person, and personal training costs P500 per day, P700 per week and P2000 per month. Alvia said the group classes is for general fitness and strengthening, while personal training classes are client-adjusted and has a specific goal to attain.

“It was just our initiative and this is what our founder, Coach Rham Ybiernas said, ‘Kahit hindi ito proyekto ng unibersidad, tinuruan po kami ng UP na gamitin ang aming pinagaralan para sa ikabubuti ng bayan,’” said Alvia.

Other athletes have joined in the initiative. Former UP track and field athlete and the lone UP athlete to have won gold in the women’s 100m, Jeremiah Alonzo, has enrolled in their classes. JB Borlongan from the UP Football Team and National Team also availed the classes, but Alvia said they hope other people, athlete or not, can join too.

“We don’t only train athletes, we want to be able to help everyone and anyone,” she said.

Their target goal is at least P35,000 to provide at least 100 PPEs. So far they have earned P14,900. If you have any questions or wish to avail any of their classes to support the cause, you can contact any of the coaches online or email them at frontlinefitnessph@gmail.com.

Other athletes have been taking the initiative too in helping provide necessary equipment for frontliners. Former Ateneo volleyball player Jia Morado organized “Every Little Thing Counts,” where she, along with other volleyball players like Alyssa Valdez, Bea De Leon and Ejay Laure, put their jerseys up for bidding to raise funds.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Field Level Media-Reuters

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert downplayed that he and teammate Donovan Mitchell are feuding after a report last week that said the relationship between the two All-Stars was not “salvageable.”

“It’s true that we didn’t speak for a while after this, but we spoke a few days ago,” Gobert said Sunday night on Instagram Live. “We’re both ready to go out there and try to win a championship for this team.”

Gobert was the first pro athlete in the United States to be revealed to have the coronavirus, forcing commissioner Adam Silver to suspend the NBA season on March 11. The following day, news broke that Mitchell also tested positive.

Gobert admitted in the days after his coronavirus diagnosis that he hadn’t taken the threat of the virus seriously enough. He was criticized for touching media members’ electronics in a joking manner, making fun of the social distancing rules between the media and players.

“You know, everyone has got different relationships — it’s never perfect,” Gobert said. “People that are married, it’s never perfect. So, you know, me and my teammates, it’s far from perfect. But at the end of the day, we both want the same thing — and it’s winning. We’re both grown men, and we both are going to do what it takes to win.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

The recently-retired Ranidel de Ocampo is one of the living proofs that a PBA player can still have a great career despite not being a product of a UAAP or NCAA school.

De Ocampo used his stint at St. Francis of Assisi College in Las Pinas City as a stepping stone to produce a decorated 15-year career that ended Monday when he announced his retirement.

Magnolia’s Marc Pingris and Gary David, De Ocampo’s former teammates at Gilas Pilipinas, also came from outside the two prestigious collegiate leagues.

Pingris played at Philippine School of Business Administration while David came from Lyceum, back when the Intramuros campus was still attempting to make its foray into the NCAA.

His blue-collar mentality allowed Pingris to become the backbone of numerous championships of the Purefoods franchise and Gilas runs in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and 2014 FIBA World Championship while David became a renowned scorer, particularly during his stint with Powerade in the 2012 season.

Another PSBA alumnus has slowly become one of the PBA’s best big man in Alaska’s Vic Manuel while Nelson Asaytono of University of Manila established a memorable career, most notably with Purefoods, Sunkist and San Miguel Beer.

Stars outside of the UAAP and NCAA are not limited in schools in Metro Manila.

June Mar Fajardo is now considered as one of the PBA’s best ever, winning six Most Valuable Player awards and eight championships. He first got noticed playing for University of Cebu and matching up with University of the Visayas’ Greg Slaughter.

Fellow UC alumnus Dondon Hontiveros became one of the best shooters ever, first with the Cebu Gems of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association before playing 17 seasons with Tanduay, San Miguel and Alaska.

Cebu also produced University of San Carlos’ Ramon Fernandez, the PBA’s first four-time MVP, and University of San Jose-Recoletos’ Abet Guidaben and Bernie Fabiosa, to name a few.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

Manny Pacquiao is dangling a mouth-watering offer to Filipino middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial, who has been besieged with feelers from overseas for him to turn professional.

“I can give him a world title shot after just three (pro) fights,” Pacquiao, the World Boxing Association welterweight king, told the Manila Bulletin late Tuesday night during a video call.

Pacquiao said he is aware of groups interested in recruiting Marcial, the 2019 world championships silver medalist and Asia-Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament champion in Amman, Jordan.

Marcial, 24, is being lured into signing by Hall of Fame manager Shelly Finkel and another US boxing figure as well as an entity from the United Kingdom, a testament to Marcial’s bright future in the

pros.

Pacquiao owns MP Promotions, which has under its wings world champions: Jerwin Ancajas, John Riel Casimero and Pedro Taduran.

Pacquiao said Marcial stands to “save a lot of his earnings” if he signs with MP Promotions and will not stand in his way of carrying the flag during the Tokyo Olympics next year.

“I am with him all the way in his Olympic quest,” added Pacquiao.

Pacquiao believes a world title crack can be expedited since he has close ties with all the major sanctioning bodies provided, of course, that Marcial keeps on winning.

A quick crack at a world title is not bizarre in the world of pro boxing, although it is not usually the norm.

But as recent as 2014, there was an incident when a highly-decorated amateur went on to fight for a world title in his second pro bout although Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine lost on a split decision to Mexican veteran Orlando Salido.

In his third fight, however, Lomachenko succeeded and won the World Boxing Organization featherweight crown, tying Saensak Muangsurin of Thailand in the process.

Muangsurin also captured a world title in only his third pro fight and he did this in 1975, stopping Perico Fernandez of Spain in eight rounds for the World Boxing Council super-lightweight diadem in Bangkok.

Under Olympic rules, Marcial can still fight in the Olympics even if he decides to enter the pro ranks.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is hankering for a return of live sports action, but US league supremos are taking a cautious approach to competition amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“We have to get our sports back,” Trump said Tuesday. “I’m tired of watching baseball games that are 14 years old.”

Sports in America, like the rest of the world, have been brought to a virtual standstill by COVID-19.

The NBA shut down on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus, and the NHL, Major League Soccer and the US PGA Tour quickly followed suit.

Major League Baseball’s 2020 season, due to start March 26, is on hold, as is the LPGA tour and motor racing, while the NFL is just hoping it will be able to start its season on time in September.

The dearth of sports has led to a wealth of speculation as to when and how competition could resume.

The NBA and NHL are wrestling with how they might fashion credible ends to campaigns that were heading into their final stages.

Baseball, meanwhile, was reported to be considering sequestering 30 teams in Arizona — or perhaps Arizona and Florida — to open the season playing games in empty ballparks.

One ESPN reporter said he’d even heard it suggested that MLB might try to launch its season in Japan. The NHL was reportedly mulling a single-venue re-start in North Dakota, while Dana White, head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, indicated he was considering holding mixed martial arts cards on a private island.

“From our perspective we don’t have a plan, we have lots of ideas,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a television interview on Tuesday. “What ideas come to fruition will depend on what the restrictions are, what the public health situation is.”

His comments echoed those of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who have both said that the uncertainties surrounding the spread of coronavirus make it impossible to make firm plans.

The refrain of all sports leaders has therefore been they are considering “all options,” including playing without fans in attendance.

That could get live sports back on television, at least, although Trump indicated that he’s keen for more.

“We want people actually sitting next to each other at ball games, eventually,” he said.

“We’re not going to rip out every other seat in baseball stadiums and football stadiums.”

In the United States, however, the return of thousands of fans to sports venues could depend on the greenlight from state authorities.

‘Not in the cards’

California governor Gavin Newsom said Tuesday that the prospect of mass gatherings in the state is “negligible at best” until a vaccine is available.

In a state that is home to nearly 20 major pro franchises, Newsom said that “large-scale events that bring in hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of strangers altogether across every conceivable difference, health and otherwise, is not in the cards based upon our current guidelines and current expectations.”

That may be just as well, since a poll conducted by Seton Hall University this month showed that 72 percent of the 762 responding, including 61 percent who identified as sports fans, would not feel safe attending sports events until a coronavirus vaccine is found.

Some inroads may be possible however, as Florida governor Ron DeSantis — a staunch Trump ally — showed in issuing an executive order specifying that “employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience” counted among “essential services” not subject to stay at home orders in his state.

That opened the door for World Wrestling Entertainment — run by another Trump friend Vince McMahon — to resume live broadcasts of events on Monday from an Orlando studio facility.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

Rio Olympics silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz said her team is weighing all options as to when they will return to the country if and when the lockdown in the Philippines and Malaysia is lifted by the end of April.

Diaz and her team composed of Chinese mentor Kaiwen Gao, strength/condition coach Julius Naranjo and massage therapist Belen Bañas are in Kuala Lumpur since mid-February.

When the government of Malaysia announced its own lockdown in mid-March, Diaz was forced to vacate the Bukit Posa Training Camp and stay in an AirBnB in the capital city.

Diaz said that although the extended Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia would end on April 28, they still don’t know if they’ll be able to return to the country or extend their stay in KL.

“We don’t know yet,” said Diaz in a message to Manila Bulletin.

“Parehas naman na option (if to return home or stay) pero depende na din po sa situation siguro,” added the 28-year-old Diaz.

Though she is not in a training facility, Diaz said her two coaches are improvising for her to continue her lifting drills and exercises to keep her in shape.

“So far OK naman po dito basta nakakapag-training, kahit anong exercise pwede naman,” who posted several days ago on her Instagram her using two 6 gallons of water bottles as weights.

“Pero sana makabalik lang sa regular training,” she added.

Having been in KL for two months already, Diaz also aches to return home in Zamboanga City.

“Miss ko na ang family ko and also miss ko na si Hiro,” Diaz said, referring to her French bulldog.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Power couple Kiefer Ravena and Alyssa Valdez joined the drive to raise funds for the frontliners battling the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by raffling off shoes along with several athletes.

Ravena and Valdez recently announced on their social media accounts that they will be donating their couple Nike Airmax shoes as part of the Volleyball Community Gives Back (VCGB) campaign.

VCGB is an organization composed of volleyball players in the country who holds fundraising activities for Filipinos in need. They have been doing so since 2013 in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda.

Proceeds of the fundraiser will be used to buy raw materials in making personal protective equipment (PPEs).

Apart from shoes, Valdez is also pledging her blue-colored national team jersey which she wore during the 30th Southeast Asian Games last year.

“This is my way of serving the frontliners,” Valdez said in a video posted on Twitter.

“This is very memorable for me kasi andami ring nagyari noong 2019 SEAG and ito rin yung suot namin nung final game against Indonesia.”

To win the memorabilia, fans must buy raffle tickets pegged at P300 each.

Also joining the cause are the national men’s volleyball team members who won silver in last year’s SEAG.

Marck Espejo and Josh Retamar are donating their PH team jerseys, Bryan Bagunas is pledging his National University jersey, and Johnvic De Guzman is raffling off his PH team jacket.

De La Salle veterans, who steered the squad to a UAAP championship in Season 71, are also giving away their jerseys. Among them are Jacq Alarca, Celine Hernandez, Reg Diego, Manilla Santos, Mitch Datuin, Kaye Martinez, Camille Cerveza, Mel Gohing, Cha Cruz and Paneng Mercado.

Santos is also raffling off a signed ball.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Tour de France organizers are working to find a new start date for cycling’s biggest race after large public gatherings were banned until mid-July in the latest extension of the French coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

Originally slated to start from Nice on June 27 and finish in Paris on July 19, there is no chance the event can go ahead as planned and organizers face a mammoth logistical task of rescheduling.

A report in the Dauphine newspaper on Tuesday said that the Tour will instead begin on August 27, with the race to finish in the capital on September 20.

Organisers ASO were unavailable for comment to confirm the new dates, but several mayors of the French towns along the planned route say they have been consulted regarding the new dates.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address Monday that a strict lockdown in France would continue until at least May 11, as public gatherings were banned until mid-July.

Tour general director Christian Prudhomme has said riders will need two months after the lockdown ends to prepare for the race.

France’s Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner said on Tuesday that ASO had to reschedule or cancel the Tour.

“It is up to the organiser to analyse their ability to organise it and reschedule it,” Castaner told French radio.

The race’s route is over 3,000km long, with roughly 500,000 fans lining the roads each day.

“Social distancing on the roadside wouldn’t be a problem, but in the start towns, at the finish line and in the VIP tents it certainly would,” Belgian virologist Marc Van Ranst told Flemish TV channel Sporza on Saturday.

Suggestions the Tour could be held without supporters have been ruled out.

“The Tour de France is 3000km of smiles,” Prudhomme said regarding roadside gatherings. “We won’t run a Tour de France without the fans.”

Between a rock and a hard place

Macron’s announcement may have caught the organisers short.

A late July start for the Tour could have been considered too close to the ban on large public gatherings, while the riders would also need to be in peak condition.

ASO also organises the Criterium du Dauphine eight-day race, and had been hoping to run that ride through the Alps in late June or early July, but the traditional Tour warm-up has been postponed.

The reported late-August start would see the race clash with the Vuelta a Espana, which is scheduled to run from August 14-September 6.

There are only 176 riders on a Tour, but the whole event involves around 4,500 people, with team staff, police and media all moving every day.

The “Grande Boucle”, as the Tour is known in France, is the central economic pillar which supports the sports’ 22 professional teams.

Source: Manila Bulletin