By Agence France-Presse

Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas said on Tuesday the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown has given him a chance to brush up on his French.

World No. 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece (MB Photo / Ali Vicoy)

The 21-year-old ranked sixth in the world has returned home with the global season on hold due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“It’s an opportunity to stay a little longer with my family and do things I didn’t have time to do before,” he said during an online chat with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

“Specifically, right now on a daily basis I’m trying to learn a little bit of French, it’s something I’ve always wanted but I didn’t have time to deal with and it’s an opportunity now,” Tsitsipas said.

Mitsotakis had a teleconference with outstanding Greek athletes such as Tsitsipas to thank them for their contributions in encouraging people to exercise at home while observing the measures.

“We do have the opportunity to change habits and come out of this trial stronger. People will understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and might even discover exercise again, even if at home, and even light jogging, things that are allowed under the circumstances,” Mitsotakis said.

The premier said if April goes smoothly with measures against the illness, the gradual return to normalcy may begin in May, “which will include an increase in sports activities.”

Greece’s world number 20 Maria Sakkari thanked and congratulated Mitsotakis and his government for the positive results in the fight against the virus.

“We all understand that it is not easy, it is something very difficult, we are all grateful. I think I am speaking on behalf of everyone, it is something admirable that you have achieved,” 24-year-old Sakkari said.

Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi, 30, said things are very difficult and “the more we sit, the more it will take us to return to the normality of things for us.”

“We are in a difficult time from now on, but I think everyone is doing what they can at home, on the street, a little on the beach,” Stefanidi added.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Nick Giongco

Top Filipino middleweight Eumir Felix Marcial assured the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) that winning the gold medal in the Tokyo Olympics remains his main priority.

Boxer Eumir Marcial, who booked a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, finishes his 14-day home quarantine following his arrival from Amman, Jordan. (MB File Photo)

As several promotional outfits scamper to sign him to a contract in the professional ranks, Marcial talked with ABAP president Ricky Vargas in a video call and reiterated his desire to compete for flag and country next year in Tokyo.

Marcial and Vargas were also joined during the conversation by the ABAP’s resident psychologist Marcus Jarwin Manalo, who has knowledge of the ongoing talks to recruit the hard-hitting southpaw.

“Actually clarifications lang and information kung ano ang present situation. Marcial reiterated that No. 1 on his agenda is still to fight and win in the Olympics,” said ABAP secretary-general Ed Picson.

Still, Vargas guaranteed that another round of talks—with everyone involved meeting face-to-face—will take place once the lockdown is lifted.

Marcial is being lured by several groups from the US and England to turn pro with hefty bonuses on the table to help convince the 24-year-old southpaw sign his name above the dotted line.

Last month, Marcial topped the Asia-Oceania Olympic Tournament in Amman, Jordan.

The 2019 world championships silver medalist, Marcial is being wooed by Hall of Fame manager Shelly Finkel, who used to handle Pacquiao back in the mid-2000s.

Manny Pacquiao has also expressed interest in his fellow lefty, assuring Marcial of MP Promotions’ all-out support to his Olympic dreams and wish to win a world title in the pros.

MP Promotions represents all three of the Philippines’ reigning world champions other than the fighting lawmaker.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

La Salle secured the services of Fil-American Jade Fuentes a week after the UAAP Season 82 women’s volleyball was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Hello everyone, I’m Jade, and I just committed to De La Salle University!! As I am officially committed, I will no longer be using this account since it was my recruiting account, so if you would like please follow my main account @jadeefuentes Thank you and Go Archers!!

A post shared by Jade Fuentes Volleyball (@jadefuentesvb) on Apr 13, 2020 at 5:44pm PDT

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Fuentes announced her commitment to play for the Lady Spikers next season from Los Angeles where she played for Eagle Rock High School.

“So stoked and incredibly blessed to be able to announce that I will be joining the La Salle family in the Philippines! Go Archers,” Fuentes said on her Instagram account.

The 17-year-old Fuentes, who stands at 5-foot-11, helped Eagle Rock win the California Interscholastic Federation L.A. City Section Open Division title last November, defeating Palisades in the Final.

Her addition gives La Salle something to look forward in Season 83 after the pandemic forced UAAP officials to cancel all events, including the volleyball tilt which lasted just four playdates.

La Salle played just one game in the aborted women’s volleyball competition, beating defending champion Ateneo 25-17, 17-25, 25-17, 25-15 last March 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Former NBA guard Jeremy Lin, the first Asian-American to win an NBA title, pledged up to $1 million to coronavirus (COVID-19) relief efforts on Monday.

Jeremy Lin (AFP Photo/RONALD MARTINEZ)

The 31-year-old, whose 2012 heroics for the New York Knicks were dubbed “Linsanity”, will donate $500,000 and said he would also match all donations up to an additional $500,000.

Lin, who now plays for Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) after winning the 2019 NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors, last month tore into US President Donald Trump for “empowering” racism by calling coronavirus a Chinese disease.

Coronavirus emerged in central China in December before spreading across the world as a pandemic, with the United States increasingly hard hit.

Lin on Monday returned to the same theme on The Players’ Tribune website in a first-person piece titled “The Darkness Has Not Overcome It”.

“One simple way to be the light is to support organisations doing crucial work during the crisis,” Lin wrote in making his pledge.

“You know, my whole life, I’ve been treated a certain way because I’m Asian,” Lin added, mentioning some of the racial stereotypes he has been subjected to.

“I’ve even been asked if I can see. I’ve been told to go back to where I came from.

“During the height of ‘Linsanity’ I was still the butt of many Asian jokes.”

Lin, in Beijing awaiting the restart of the CBA season after the health emergency eased in China, urged people all over the world, irrespective of race or country, to pull together.

“No one knows how devastating the impact of this crisis will be, but the projections aren’t good,” Lin wrote.

“We’re going to be recovering from this for a long time.

“But in the process, there will be so, so many opportunities to choose light.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Houston Rockets star guard Russell Westbrook has donated 650 computers to children who need the devices with schools shut down because of COVID-19.

Russell Westbrook #0 of the Houston Rockets (Noah Graham / NBAE via Getty Images / AFP)

Westbrook’s Why Not? Foundation teamed with non-profit Comp-U-Dopt to provide computers to children who might other not have access to them.

“The generous gift from the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation will allow us to significantly increase our inventory and ensure we can to continue to close the gap for Houston families most in need,” Colin Dempsey of Comp-U-Dopt said.

“One in 3 economically disadvantaged students in the Houston area lack access to a computer at home. With the outbreak of COVID19, and the closure of schools, there is an immediate need to get more computers to students and families without access at home.”

Comp-U-Dopt has given almost 1,000 computers to families in Houston since March 18 through a computer drive-through.

Families register for a lottery for a chance to get one of the machines.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s office said that 83 percent of students given computers live in households earning less than $35,000 a year.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

The anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s 60-point NBA finale was recalled by his widow, Vanessa, on Monday in an Instagram post remembering the late Los Angeles Lakers legend.

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant smiles watching a video played before his final NBA game on April 13, 2016 (AFP Photo/Harry How)

“My husband worked his ass off for 20 years,” Vanessa Bryant wrote of her superstar husband, who died in a January 26 helicopter crash with daughter Gianna and seven others.

“Gave it his all. All he wanted was to spend time with our girls and me to make up for lost time. He wanted to be there for every single milestone and special moment in our girls lives.”

The post included a video featuring highlights from the Lakers’ 101-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on April 13, 2016.

Bryant scored 60 points in that, his final game in a 20-year NBA career that included five championships.

The video includes a moment showing Bryant with his family at courtside, hugging Vanessa and kissing daughters Natalia and Gianna.

The couple’s third daughter, Bianka was born in December of 2016 and their fourth, Capri, was born last June.

“He only got to enjoy 3 years and 9 months of retirement,” Vanessa Bryant wrote. “We had 2 more daughters, he won an Oscar, he opened Granity studios, he became a 5x best selling author and coached Gianna’s basketball team in that time. She worked hard and gave her all 7 days a week just like her daddy … This is just senseless.”

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Agence France-Presse

Jacqueline Towns, mother of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, died Monday of complications of the coronavirus, the NBA team announced.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns hugs his parents, Karl and Jackie Towns after an NBA victory in 2018. Jackie Towns has died from complications of COVID-19 (AFP Photo/Hannah Foslien)

“Jackie, as she was affectionately known among family and friends, had been battling the virus for more than a month when she succumbed on April 13th,” the Timberwolves said in a statement released on Monday.

“Jackie was many things to many people — a wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. The matriarch of the Towns family, she was an incredible source of strength; a fiery, caring, and extremely loving person, who touched everyone she met.”

Karl-Anthony Towns had posted an emotional Instagram video on March 25 describing his mother’s battle with suspected COVID-19 that eventually saw her sedated and put on a ventilator.

Towns, 24, urged his social media followers to take the issue seriously and follow social distancing guidelines.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Jonas Terrado

Ranidel de Ocampo on Monday revealed his plans to retire after 15 seasons in the PBA and memorable stints representing the country as a member of Gilas Pilipinas.

Ranidel de Ocampo tries to get past Argentina’s Luis Scola during his stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain. (Photo from FIBA)

De Ocampo made the announcement during a podcast hosted by commentators Magoo Marjon and Carlo Pamintuan, citing injuries suffered over the past few seasons.

“Marupok na e. Wala na e,” De Ocampo said in the podcast that saw him and former Gilas teammate Marc Pingris as guests.

“Although di ko pa na-aannounce, dun na ako papunta e,” added De Ocampo, who plans to make things official through social media.

The 38-year-old is currently a free agent after his two-year contract with Meralco expired at the end of the team’s PBA Governors’ Cup Finals loss to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last January.

He had played just 30 of the possible 86 games over the past two seasons due to problems on his calf muscle, Achilles and back.

Considered as one of the best talents outside the UAAP and NCAA, De Ocampo was selected as the fourth overall pick of FedEx in the 2004 PBA Draft following a decorated career at St. Francis of Assisi.

De Ocampo played 4 1/2 seasons for the FedEx/Air21 franchise before being shipped to Talk ’N Text in the 2008-09 Philippine Cup, subsequently winning his first PBA title.

The multi-time All-Star would win five more championships for TNT before being dealt to Meralco in 2017.

De Ocampo posted career PBA averages of 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 646 games while his 809 triples are currently ranked 14th all-time.

But he is best remembered as part of Gilas Pilipinas’ successful runs in the past decade that included a victory in the 2012 William Jones Cup in Taiwan and runner-up finishes in the 2013 and 2015 FIBA Asia Championship.

His inclusion in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain was a capper to a national team career that ended after the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Kristel Satumbaga

Mental toughness is as important as staying in top physical shape for Paralympic swimmer Ernie Gawilan, whose participation in the ASEAN Para Games and the Tokyo Paralympics has been halted due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Para-swimmer Ernie Gawilan

Gawilan was among the many differently-abled athletes who have been training since mid last year for the ASEAN Para Games, only for the event to get postponed due to technical reasons and a second time on account of the global health crisis.

The second postponement was indefinite, becoming one of the many sporting events around the globe affected by the outbreak.

Even the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics has been pushed to next year, two months after Gawilan earned a berth.

The 28-year-old Davao native didn’t mind the postponement, though, but admitted it has been months since he last trained at the pool.

“Sa ngayon po hinahanap na po talaga ng katawan ko yung tubig pero tinitiis ko lang para na rin sa kaligtasan ko,” said Gawilan, a 2014 Asian Para Games medalist.

“Pero kailangan din pong hindi tayo panghinaan ng loob, lahat naman po kasi ng araw may kanya-kanyang kalagayan. Malayo pa po magkaroon ng gamot sa COVID-19 kaya para po sa akin, malaki po ang ginagampanan ng utak at puso ng tao.”

Gawilan, who competed in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, said he underwent quarantine as a precaution after arriving from Manila to Samal Island last month. He has been doing dry training in his house since then, especially now that Samal Island has been on lockdown.

Born with underdeveloped extremities on both legs and left limb, Gawilan focuses on strengthening his core and muscles.

He does not think much about the postponed competitions or the lack of training in the pool, saying that those are things not under his control.

“Nakakapanghinayang pero positive lang po. Marami pa naman pong pagkakataon at medyo mahaba pa naman po yung time para makapag-ensayo,” Gawilan said.

“Bawi na lang po kapag okay na ang lahat.”

Apart from monitoring their physical health, the Philippine Sports Commission is also concerned of the athletes’ mental well-being by posting the contact numbers of its sports psychologists on their social media accounts for their easy access.

Source: Manila Bulletin

By Waylon Galvez

Just like the Ninoy Aquino Stadium and Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila, the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City in Pasig will also be converted into a facility for patients with mild cases of COVID-19.

But unlike the two venues inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, PhilSports still has 33 athletes housed.

Officials from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) inspect the PhilSports Complex in Pasig City, which will be converted into a temporary shelter for patients showing mild symptoms of the COVID-19. (PSC Images)

Philippine Sports Commission national training director Marc Velasco assisted officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways Monday during an ocular inspection, and allayed fears of athletes regarding their proximity to the would-be shelter.

“It’s between 200 to 300 meters yung layo from the quarters, and may pagitan naman na mataas na wall,” said Velasco. “Ang sabi din ng Department of Health ‘nothing to worry.’”

“Of course may worry, naka-usap namin yung ibang athletes and employees, but we’re assured na walang magiging problema with regards sa health and safety nila.”

Majority of the athletes staying at the PhilSports quarters are from the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled who failed to get airplane tickets to go back to their provinces.

Velasco said there are also five members of the junior’s boxing national team who were stranded at the airport following the Luzon-wide lockdown implemented by the government.

“Inabutan na kasi sila ng lockdown so hindi na sila mga naka-uwi sa kani-kanilang probinsya. Kaya sa quarters natin sa PhilSports sila nag-stay muna and we’re taking good care of them,” said Velasco.

Since last week, health officials have been using the Ninoy Aquino Stadium for patients’ treatment, while the Rizal Memorial Coliseum is being considered as a backup for Person Under Investigation or PUI with COVID-19.

Source: Manila Bulletin