UAAP badminton set for return

 

c/o UAAP

Badminton is set to resume for the UAAP with the league opening its campaign this weekend at the courts of Centro Atletico in Quezon City this weekend.

Six of the eight member schools will field a team in both the men's and women's divisions, with Far Eastern University and the University of the East sitting out the competition.

Fresh from holding the SMART Intercollegiate Tournament earlier this year, organizers are ready for its return after being in the freezer last season. Philippine Badminton Association Technical Committee chairman and deputy tournament director for this season Judith Brosula shares, "We are so glad na babalik na yung UAAP. But with the ongoing situation, we still need to follow the protocols. The Smart Intercollegiate Tournament last month was our test event and we will be following the same health and safety protocols from that tournament."

She adds, "We are also happy for the players na first time ulit sila magkikitakita sa collegiate setting. Sana mag-tuloy tuloy na."

The tournament will see all teams face off in a round-robin format, currently scheduled for October 29-30, November 5-6, and November 12. The two best teams will then advance to a winner-take-all final on November 13.

As for tweaks in the format, the only major rule change will see coaches are now not allowed to coach their players whilst a rally is ongoing. Play would be restarted and errant team will be issued a warning.

The opening set of match-ups for Saturday are as follows:

8am Men's: National University vs Adamson, Ateneo vs UST, and DLSU vs UP.

1pm Women's: Ateneo vs UST, Adamson vs UP, and DLSU vs NU.

Ateneo keeps UE winless in Season 85 Women's Basketball

c/o UAAP

Even without Kacey dela Rosa for the second straight game, Ateneo still emerged as winners on Sunday at the Ynares Center in women's basketball action.

The Blue Eagles defeated the University of the East, 73-62, to open Sunday's quadruple-header at the facility in Rizal.

Sarah Makanjuola stepped up once again in the absence of dela Rosa, netting a near-triple-double performance with seventeen points, 21 rebounds, and seven blocks. Jhazmin Joson also came close to a triple-double of her own with twenty points, ten assists, and seven rebounds, while also adding three steals and a block.

The Blue Eagles needed a strong final quarter to fend off the Lady Warriors, as an 18-5 run broke the game open from holding a 53-50 lead with 8:37 left to a 71-55 gap off a Joson assist to Sandra Villacruz with just over a couple of minutes in this one.

Villacruz would finish with thirteen points, whilst LJ Miranda added fourteen markers to help offset dela Rosa's absence offensively. Ylyssa Eufemiano contributed eleven rebounds to help Ateneo dominate the boards with a 68-49 advantage.

Head coach LA Mumar praised the opposition upon facing the media afterwards. He says, "I wanna give kudos to coach Ai (Lebornio). She really came up with a good game plan against us. I think this was (UE’s) best game in the UAAP. That team is well-coached so all kudos to them."

He adds, "Winless nga yung UE so we were in a rush. We were nanggigil. Finally, nung last five minutes, we were able to settle down and create some space."

The win allows Ateneo to be in fourth place with a 4-3 record after one round of play, while UE remains without a win after seven matches.

Joyce Terrinal led the Lady Warriors with fourteen points, followed by Pauline Anastacio and her eleven markers. Kamba Kone contributed a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds, with Jenkins Nama grabbing twelve rebounds.

The scores:

Ateneo (73) - Joson 20, Makanjuola 17, Miranda 14, Villacruz 13, Eufemiano 7, Calago 2, Nieves 0, Navarro 0, Penaranda 0, Fetalvero 0, Angala 0, Cruza 0, Perez 0.

UE (62) - Terrinal 14, Anastacio 11, Kone 10, Caraig 9, Lorena 7, Nama 5, Paule 5, Sajol 1, Zamudio 0, Silva 0, Gervacio 0.

Quarters: 20-14, 36-29, 51-45, 73-62.

Cebu defeats BGC to repeat as AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup champions

Cebu retains Kampeon Cup

Cebu successfully defended the AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup on Sunday, capping off their campaign with a 2-1 victory over BGC at the La Provincia Polo Field in Bacolod.

Smarting from a 3-1 defeat to them in the preliminary rounds, BGC tried to exact revenge by putting forth some pressure through their attack, but Leonard Tan proved to be a worthy adversary, preventing them from getting the ball to cross the line.

It wasn't until Tonaldo converting a 49th minute penalty that BGC broke through, but not before Cebu netting two goals in a span of nine minutes. Hayato Fukui opened things up in the 36th minute, with John Clyde Vitualla in the 45th minute.

BGC tried in vain to find an equalizer that would have sent the game into a shootout, but the tying goal never came to be.

Cebu finished undefeated in the 7-a-side competition, having also beaten Iloilo in the preliminaries on Saturday, 9-4. They then defeated Bacolod, 4-1 in the semifinals.

BGC bounced back from their opening match defeat with a 7-5 victory against Iloilo to book a semifinal matchup against San Carlos, whom they blasted 7-0 to set up the much-anticipated rematch on Sunday.

Tan was named as the Best Goalkeeper, with Vitualla named as the Most Valuable Player. BGC did not come empty-handed with Tonaldo named as the Best Scorer with his six goals in the competition.

NCAA, GMA set for All-Star Basketball

Action takes place on Saturday

The NCAA presses pause for their 98th season as they and broadcast partner GMA Network hold the "GMA NCAA All-Star Basketball Game on Saturday, October 15, at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.

The league once again subdivides itself between the Heroes and Saints, and like its previous iteration earlier this year, a sprinkling of the hottest Kapuso artists get in on the action.

Serving as an additional spice for this season and in line with its current theme "Achieve Greatness Every Day," a couple of basketball legends will be participating as well.

For Team Heroes, the squad is composed of:

Arellano University: Cade Flores and Axel Doromal

Emilio Aguinaldo College: Allen Liwag and Nat Cosejo

Jose Rizal University: JL Delos Santos and Agem Miranda

Lyceum: Renzo Navarro and Omar Larupay

Mapua: Warren Bonifacio and Rence Nocum

Kapuso celebrities: Pancho Magno, Kokoy de Santos, Migs Villasis, Raheel Bhyria

Legends: Jerry Codinera and Allan Caidic

Muse: Lianne Valentin

As for Team Saints, they are composed of:

Letran: Fran Yu and Mark Sangalang

College of Saint Benilde: Will Gozum and JC Cullar

San Beda: JB Bahio and James Canlas

San Sebastian: Ichie Altamirano and Jesse Sumoda

Perpetual: Jielo Razon and Kim Aurin

Kapuso celebrities: Jeric Gonzales, Prince Clemente, Kirst Viray, and the incumbent Celebrity MVP in Jose Sarasola

Legends: Marlou Aquino and Willie Miller

Muse: Shaira Diaz

GMA Regional TV and Synergy First Vice President and Head Oliver Victor Amoroso shares, "We hope the NCAA fans will enjoy this special treat we prepared for them."

On the league's end, Season 98 Management Committee Chairman Estefanio Boquiron, Jr. of host school EAC says, "NCAA, the Philippines’ first collegiate athletic league, remains grateful for GMA Network's support. Aside from the ongoing Men’s Basketball games, we are excited to have another All-Star Game between our selected NCAA star players and GMA’s talented artists. We would like to invite everyone to catch it this Saturday, October 15."

Serving as host for the event is Anton Roxas alongside the league's courtside reporters, with Martin Javier and the father-and-son duo of Benjie and Andre Paras calling the All-Star Game proper.

Providing additional on-court entertainment are Kapuso performers XOXO, Jon Lucas, Kim de Leon, and Rochelle Pangilinan.

The game will be shown on GTV starting at 230pm. It will also be shown on the social media platforms of both NCAA Philippines and GMA Sports. Fans overseas can watch the action through GMA Pinoy TV and GMA News TV.

For those interested to watch in person at the FilOil EcoOil Centre, one can buy tickets either at the gate or via Ticketmax.

Kampeon Cup set for Bacolod

Representatives from two of the teams participating in the Kampeon Cup, led by Anton del Rosario and Pau San Buenaventura of BGC, and Oliver Colina of Cebu. Also present are Ethan Lee of Palaro, and representatives from AIA: Kats Cajucom (Head of Health and Wellness) and Bernadette Chincuanco (Head of Branding & Comms)

The best seven-a-side footballers will be headed to Bacolod this weekend, as the second edition of the AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup takes place at the La Provincia Polo Field.

7s Football League founder and former Philippines international Anton del Rosario shares, "The AIA Vitality Kampeon Cup is a tournament that seeks to bring the best football players all over the country in a festival-type atmosphere where there are games for kids, a tournament for the youth, women’s, and men’s with the Kampeon Cup in between."

"We are happy the league has continued to make strides in the local football scene by expanding its scope from Pampanga, Manila and Palawan all the way to Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod, giving even more Filipinos a chance to showcase their skills on a nationwide scale," says Kats Cajucom, AIA Philippines’ Head of Health and Wellness. "We are excited for Kampeon’s kick off in Bacolod, and look forward to helping Filipinos—young and old alike—live healthier, longer, better lives through our continued support of football."

The six-team field brings back three teams from the inaugural event back in 2019 in defending champions Cebu, hosts Bacolod, and BGC, which was then represented as Manila.

Cebu head coach Oliver Colina bared that they will be fielding an all-new crew from the Queen City, with thrice-a-week practices getting themselves up to speed.

Hosts Bacolod will be bringing back Stephan Schroeck into the fold, whilst BGC is looking to bounce back after losing in the final last time out. Pau San Buenvatura revealed that aside from Del Rosario, they will be beefed up by Lawrence Baguio of Maharlika FC and Marco Cauyong of Mendiola FC, as well as the El-Habbib brothers best remembered in the UFL.

Joining them as debutants are Pampanga, Iloilo and San Carlos.

A draw was staged to determine the pool participants, with BGC, Iloilo and Cebu drawn in Group A and Pampanga, San Carlos, and Bacolod in Group B.

A single round robin within each group will take place, with the top two teams advancing into the crossover semifinals. Winners will face off in the final.

Del Rosario believes that this will be the start of something big for seven-a-side football in the upcoming months, capped off with an international version of the Kampeon Cup. He says, "The goal for the Kampeon Cup is to be an international tournament where teams from Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and others come over to participate. Now that will not only help the sport on a national level, but also foster better relations with our neighbors."

 He also adds that this is an opportunity to unearth untapped talent from across the country, "There’s a lot of talent outside of the city here which gets overlooked and we want to provide the opportunity to those talents across the country and put them on the pedestal where everybody can see them at the top level."

United City Football Club set for home games at New Clark City

From L-R: Alan Robertson (UCFC captain), Juan Esteva (UCFC Director of Football), Arrey Perez (BCDA SVP), Eric Gottschalk (UCFC president), Edwin Gastanes (PFF Sec-Gen), Alvin Yalung (CLFA president), Nikko David (MTD Philippines president), Mark Hartmann (UCFC captain)

United City Football Club is set to make another historic moment later this month, as the team is set to officially host matches at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium.

As of the moment, two matches have been confirmed to be held at the facility, the first coming this October 22 against the Azkals Development Team at 4pm. The other confirmed match will be against Stallion Laguna FC on November 5. These will be the first two football matches to be played at the facility since its construction in 2019, with potentially six more home matches in the coming year.

Team announced that tickets for these matches will be made available through their website.

Having these matches reaffirms the club's commitment to represent Central Luzon and elevate the region into the football scene.

Club president Eric Gottschalk says, "To represent Central Luzon and bring football to the local community is a major step in the development of professional football in the country. Football is all about belonging, therefore our matches need to be played within the community we are representing, which is now Clark in Central Luzon."

He adds, "We are proud to have access to the best sports venue in the Philippines when we host our home matches and we look forward to building our community and have our fans attending live matches at this beautiful stadium."

Bases Conversion and Development Authority President and CEO Aileen R. Zosa shares, "World-class sports facilities, safe environment, and stunning views–New Clark City can offer all of these and more. We are excited that UCFC chose New Clark City Athletics Stadium as the venue for its matches, and we hope to bring pride to players who will be coming to play here."

Representing Zosa at the ceremony is senior vice president Arrey Perez, with Philippine Football Federation General Secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes, Central Luzon Football Association president Alvin Yalung, and MTD Philippines president Nikko David acting as witnesses.

Also present at the event are captains Alan Robertson and Mark Hartmann, who both expressed excitement about the chance to have a true home game this season.

Aside from the matches, UCFC is also slated to set up its youth academy, which targets the PFL's break during December and January for activities at New Clark City.

The New Clark City Athletics Stadium has a seating capacity of 20,000, with a World Athletics-certified track surrounding a FIFA-certified natural grass pitch. It secured nomination to the Stadium of the Year Awards in 2020, as well as getting a Highly Commended recognition last year from the World Architecture Festival in the Completed Buildings - Sport category, as well as being shortlisted in the Engineering Prize.

New officers for Collegiate Press Corps elected

The SY 2022-23 Collegiate Press Corps Officers

A new school year means a new batch of officers.

The Collegiate Press Corps held its elections at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, with ten members of the media being selected.

Leading the way for its officers are Randolph Leongson of Spin.ph as President, with Bea Micaller of GMA News Online and John Bryan Ulanday of the Philippine Star as Vice Presidents for both the NCAA and UAAP, respectively.

Also named as VP for Internal Affairs is Mark Escarlote of The Daily Tribune, with Camille Naredo of ABS-CBN News Online as Secretary.

The election also named these scribes as the Board of Directors: Lui Morales (Philstar.com), Lance Agcaoili (INQ.net), JR Isaga (Rappler), Theodore Jurado (The People's Journal), and Peter Atencio (The Manila Standard).

Although their terms have concluded, outgoing heads Cedelf Tupas and Norman Riego will serve as advisors to the current batch of officers.

Ahead of these elections, the Collegiate Press Corps reorganized itself by merging the press corps of the NCAA and the UAAP, with the resumption of its traditional projects shelved due to the pandemic in almost two years.

Already set for resumption are the Player of the Week citations, with the NCAA already ongoing and the UAAP's soon to commence. These activities are with the support of the Philippine Sports Commission, as well as MNL Kingpin, Tinapayan Festival, and Jockey.

Down the line, the Press Corps is set to hold the annual Collegiate Awards for outstanding student-athletes, as well as a sportswriting clinic and contest for campus publications.