Olsim rooting for Zamboanga in ONE: Empower

A tweak in the card forced Team Lakay fighter Jenelyn Olsim out of the historic all-female ONE Championship mixed martial arts event: ONE: Empower this week.

"The Graceful" had been slated to face off against Grace Cleveland as one of two alternate bouts planned for the event on Friday night, but the American fighter had to bow out due to injury.

Even if it was arranged as an alternate bout, Olsim saw that matchup against the "Thai Kitten" as a golden opportunity for the world to witness what she can do at the atomweight division, especially with the centerpiece of ONE: Empower being the Women's Atomweight World Grand Prix.

The 24-year old was understandably devastated upon learning the news of the cancellation of her fight. She says, "It's just so sad. I, together with my team, were really preparing hard for this match."

Olsim was fresh from securing an impressive victory over Bi Nguyen at ONE: Battleground III, which had been shown on August 27, a performance that earned her a spot on the card as an alternate. Unfortunately, her American opponent had to bow out due to a potential case of vertigo. Cleveland went on social media platform to share her perspective.

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Amidst that disappointment, Olsim and her camp shared their concerns about their opponent's condition and wished for her speedy recovery.

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao shares, "The whole team is praying for the fast and complete recovery of Grace Cleveland. Nobody wants to see these things happening, especially if it's a medical issue. So we can only pray that she can recover and that's really the most important thing for us at this time." He adds, "Yes, it's unfortunate because we were all looking forward to this fight and Jenelyn has really been training hard for this. But we fully understand the situation and all we're after is everyone's health and well being."

Even if her fight remains cancelled, Olsim remains fully prepared in case she gets the call to take someone's place in the Grand Prix. She says, "I'm staying positive despite what happened. I know that I am still an eligible alternate for the Grand Prix, and I know that there's still a lot of opportunities awaiting me, so I just have to be prepared every time."

Both Olsim and Sangiao also showed their support and wished the best of luck towards Denice Zamboanga, who is participating in the Grand Prix as one of the eight hopefuls. The so-called "Lycan Queen" will face the fifth-ranked atomweight contender Seo Hee Ham.

When asked about that particular matchup, Sangiao says, "Denice and Seo Hee Ham are both driven to win the Grand Prix, but I have to side with Denice. I believe that Denice has really prepared so much for this match and I can see that she will do everything just to win this match and the Grand Prix. So as fellow Filipinos, we're here to support her and looking forward to her next matches."

ONE: Empower is ONE Championship’s historic, all-female fight card featuring only women -- the first for a major global martial arts organization. In the main event, reigning ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan defends her World Title against #2-ranked strawweight contender, Michelle Nicolini. The card will be shown locally through One Sports starting at 730pm.

Manila Chooks TM off to Montreal for 3x3 World Tour

 

Manila Chooks TM cleared to depart

Manila Chooks TM cleared its latest hurdle on Tuesday, as the entire delegation secured negative results on their RT-PCR testing.

With that out of the way, they are set for a Wednesday afternoon departure from Manila to kickstart their journey to Montreal.

Arrving in Tokyo at 8pm, they will then head to Vancouver after an almost-two-hour layover. After touching down there on Thursday, they will hop on another plane to Montreal.

Upon arrival, they will need to go through another round of testing as they undergo isolation at their hotel. Clear that and they can proceed with in-person practices, something they have yet to do due to pandemic conditions in the Philippines.

Mark Yee expressed excitement about making his debut in the international 3x3 circuit. "Sobrang blessed. Hindi naman natin maitatago na may edad na tayo para maimbitahan tayo sa ganito kalaking tournament. Talagang, kumbaga, lagi ko lang iniisip na sobrang blessed talaga. Sa pagkakataon na ito, hindi ko naisip na mare-represent ko pa ‘yung bansa natin sa FIBA sa tanda ko na ito," shares the 39-year-old.

Yee will be joined in the event by Mac Tallo, Zachary Huang, and Dennis Santos, with Chico Lanete serving as an alternate.

Tough sledding looms for the side as they are placed in Pool D alongside Antwerp and Edmonton.

The former is ranked 8th in the world with three players ranked in the top 50 individually. The latter is led by Steve Sir and is hoping to win the leg hosted in their home country.

Manila Chooks' matchup against Antwerp is slated at 1245am Manila time on September 5, with their matchup against Edmonton takes place six hours later at 650am.

Finish in the top two of the pool will move them into the knockout rounds, where Pool B awaits. Either Ub, Lausanne, or Old Montreal beckons, which takes place on the early morning of September 6.

"Gustong-gusto naming bumawi kasi nabitin kami noong Doha Masters," said Lanete. "Every win and every point counts for us para makakuha tayo ng points para sa Olympics."

The Montreal Masters and the entire 3x3 World Tour is shown on the social media platforms of FIBA 3x3.

Manila Chooks set for Montreal Masters participation

The Philippines get another crack to be on the 3x3 stage, with the return of Manila Chooks TM onto the 3x3 pro circuit.

FIBA 3x3 has invited the squad to participate in the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Montreal Masters, which takes place from September 4-5.

This is the second tournament they are participating after the Doha Masters back in March. They were supposed to be in the Lipik Challenger back in May, but they were unable to participate due to visa-related matters.

Chooks-to-Go President Ronald Mascariñas shares, "The team is hungry to redeem themselves. They have been ready since May but unfortunately their Croatian visas did not make it in time for the FIBA 3×3 Lipik Challenger. There have been a lot of challenges faced by the team brought about by the current pandemic but we are confident that frequent participation in the FIBA 3x3 pro circuit will only make the team stronger."

The squad is composed of Mac Tallo, Zach Huang, Dennis Santos, and Mark Yee, with Chico Lanete serving as an alternate. Aldin Ayo remains as the head trainer. Their RT-PCR tests are slated for Tuesday, with a planned departure date the next day.

Pandemic-related conditions have forced preparations to be restricted to online training. Ayo adds, "With regards to conditioning, there will be no problem as we made sure that the players figured in high-intensity workouts. The chemistry will also be there since the team has been together for three months already. But the tournament itself is a different beast. With the limitations that we have, we studied a lot of films on our possible opponents and we are hoping that the preparations translate to winning games."

Twelve teams are set to participate, led by 2nd-ranked Riga and 4th-ranked Ub. Three more top-ten sides also present in 7th-ranked Amsterdam, 8th-ranked Antwerp, and tenth-ranked Edmonton.

The other teams in the field are Princeton, Lausanne, Raudondyaris, Omaha, home side Old Montreal, and a yet-to-be-identified team who will be topping a Quest event.

$40,000 awaits the champion in this leg, with a total prize pool of $110,000.

Mascariñas adds, "We are hoping for a good result in Montreal as this tournament will be the starting point for our domestic season."

Alapag joins Stockton Kings

Jimmy Alapag

The Mighty Mouse has landed a new gig.

Jimmy Alapag is set to join the Stockton Kings for the upcoming NBA G League season. Fresh from helping the Sacramento Kings win the 2021 NBA Summer League title in Las Vegas as an assistant coach, he reunites with Kings Summer League head coach Bobby Jackson to do the same duties.

After an iconic playing career that lasted fourteen seasons for both club and country, Alapag moved into coaching, serving as the head coach of Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League. He helped Alab claim the ABL title in 2018, and helped shepherd the side to a then second-best 10-6 record before the coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement and eventual cancellation of the season.

The other Kings hirings are as follows:

Serving as Associate Head Coach is Will Scott, who was the Head Video Coordinator and Player Development Coach in Sacramento the last couple of seasons. Scott was part of Luke Walton's staff with the Los Angeles Lakers as the Head Video Coordinator during Walton's head coaching tenure with the Lakers from 2016-19. Before that, he served in various capacities with the Lakers and their G League counterparts South Bay Lakers since the 2011-12 season.

Alongside Alapag as an Assistant Coach is Akachi Okugo, who spent last season with the Sacramento Kings as its Player Development Manager. Okugo is about to spend his fifth season with the franchise after an outstanding playing career at California State University - San Marcos, where he is second all-time in three-pointers made and was an Honorable Mention All-Conference as a senior.

Sydney Haydel has been tapped as Stockton's Director of Basketball Operations, whilst also serving as Player Development Coordinator for Sacramento. She is coming off a five-year stint with the NBA league office in the Basketball Strategy and Analytics department, playing a key role in the completion of the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season at the NBA campus inside Walt Disney World in Florida. She will assist current Kings Vice President of Player Development and Stockton Kings General Manager Paul Johnson. A University of Hawaii alumna, Sydney has had grassroots coaching experience teaching the sport with the Jr. NBA program in India and China, while also playing a part in the Leading Youth Sports and Development (LYSD) while in West Africa.

Kaiti Jones will serve as Stockton's Performance Coach and Sport Scientist. Jones is coming off a five-year stint at the University of Louisville, spending four of those with the women's basketball program as its strength and conditioning coach. With the Cardinals, Jones led the development, implementation, and analysis of sport-specific preparation, training, assessment, testing, screening and monitoring for its student-athletes. Kaiti will report to Katie Babcock, who is starting her fourth season as the Kings' Head Athletic Trainer.

NBA releases Opening Week, Christmas schedule

Just as one major event closes with the conclusion of Summer League, the National Basketball Association gets us closer to its milestone season.

The league on Wednesday revealed thirteen matchups, all of which will be shown nationally in the United States, with the remaining portion of the schedule to be known this weekend. This includes games that are to celebrate the NBA's 75th season.

Eight of the matchups are part of the Kia NBA Tip-Off 2021 that involve twelve teams, with three rematches from last season's playoffs as well as the last eight Most Valuable Player awardees.

On October 19 (20 in Manila), the league will kick off its historic campaign with the freshly-minted champions Milwaukee Bucks hosting the Brooklyn Nets. The Bucks outlasted the Nets in seven games for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals, and are very eager to showcase their first championship banner in fifty years against one of perceived favorites for the upcoming season.

That game will be followed by the Golden State Warriors visiting the Los Angeles Lakers, a rematch of one of the games in the inaugural edition of the Play-In Tournament. The hosts managed to defeat the visitors, 103-100 to earn the seventh seed, but succumbed to the Phoenix Suns in six games in the first round.

On October 20 (21 in Manila), the aforementioned Suns will host the Denver Nuggets in a rematch of their Conference Semifinal matchup, while Ime Udoka will make his head coaching debut with the Boston Celtics at Madison Square Garden versus the New York Knicks.

October 21 (22 in Manila) will feature the Atlanta Hawks hosting the Dallas Mavericks, in the latest chapter of the intertwined history between Trae Young and Luka Doncic. Also. the Los Angeles Clippers are headed to the Chase Center to face the Warriors.The final set of confirmed Kia Tip-Off matches as of now is slated for October 22, the Nets travel to Philadelphia to face the 76ers, while Suns and Lakers revisit their matchup at Staples Center.

For Christmas (December 26 in Manila), the NBA is once again setting up a five-game slate.

Opening things up on their 74th edition of the holiday games is the Hawks visiting the Knicks, a first round meeting last postseason that got some notoriety with Trae Young against the raucous fans at MSG. It also marks the first time Atlanta is playing on this day since 1989, ending a drought that had been the longest among all the thirty NBA teams.

The Celtics will head to Milwaukee to face the Bucks, followed by the Suns hosting the Warriors. The much-anticipated star-studded matchup between the Lakers and Nets will take place in Los Angeles, whilst the Utah Jazz get to stay home and face the Mavericks.

The NBA also reiterated key dates on its 2021-22 season, with the league holding its 2022 All-Star Game in Cleveland on February 20 (21 in Manila). The regular season ends on April 10 (11 in Manila), with the Play-In Tournament taking place on April 12-15 (13-16 in Manila), followed by the postseason kick-off on April 16 (17 in Manila).

Pacquiao vs. Ugas: The Legend vs. The Olympian' set for GMA broadcast

The change in opponents will not alter GMA's plans to show Manny Pacquiao's upcoming fight in Las Vegas.

All things remain as scheduled for the Senator's showdown against current WBA welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas, after the latter stepped up to replace Errol Spence Jr. The American had to bow out due to a detached retina.

GMA Network, is still set to show the free TV broadcast of the boxing event on Sunday, August 22, in partnership with TAP Digital Media Ventures Corp, at 11am, with a same-day replay at 1030pm. Those who prefer a live blow-by-blow coverage can head on to GMA's flagship AM radio station Super Radyo DZBB 594 and its sister stations nationwide starting at 9am.

The Cuban is set to defend the title for the first time after defeating Abel Ramos last year. This is the same title Pacquiao claimed in defeating Keith Thurman in his last fight back in 2019. Ugas had been set to face Fabian Maidana as part of the undercard for Pacquiao-Spence before all the changes were made.

Sky to offer Pacquiao vs Ugas on SKY PPV

Manny Pacquiao's tweaked next fight will be on pay-per-view.

With Errol Spence Jr sidelined due to a detached retina, Yordenis Ugas steps up to the plate to secure the event on August 22, starting at 9am Manila time, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ugas is defending the WBA super welterweight title in this matchup, the same title Manny Pacquiao claimed in his previous fight against Keith Thurman. The Cuban totes a 26-4 record (with 12 wins coming via KO) and claimed that belt after defeating Abel Ramos last year.

Fans in the country can check out the fight commercial-free and in HD through SKY Pay-Per-View at PhP 750. There will also be same-day replays at 3pm and 7pm, as well as a telecast the next day at 7pm.

As an additional perk, fight fans can also check out a loop of Pacquiao's greatest fights in the run-up to "Pacquiao vs Ugas," Matches against Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Shane Mosley, and his first duel with Juan Manuel Marquez will be broadcast until August 21.

Interested SKY subscribers can check out mysky.com.ph/skyppv or text SKY PPV <Account Number> to 23662. For more details, follow SKY on Facebook (fb.com/myskyupdates), Twitter, and Instagram (@myskyupdates).