Filipinas resume World Cup preparations

c/o Philippine Football Federation

The Senior Women's National Team of the Philippines is taking full advantage of its opportunities to prepare for its debut in the 2023 iteration of the FIFA Women's World Cup.

In their first camp since clinching the AFF Women's Championship at Rizal Memorial Stadium, the Filipinas established their base in Irvine, California, alongside their coaching staff led by Alen Stajcic. A total of 27 players have been called up, including some newcomers

He shares, "We’ve been looking forward to this camp after a memorable and unforgettable AFF campaign."

The Australian also adds, "We have five new players set to come in as we look to further strengthen the team and increase depth leading into 2023."

The camp includes a confirmed friendly against Women's World Cup co-hosts New Zealand on September 7 (Manila time), which will take place at Titan Stadium inside the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

Stajcic believes that the friendly will achieve much needed benefits for the Filipinas. "The match against New Zealand ranked No. 22 in the world will provide stern competition and build on the experience we have in the team," he says.

With the team working on their chemistry and cohesion, team manager Jefferson Cheng believes that they are on the right track with their preparations. "We know there is plenty of work ahead of us if we want to be competitive in the World Cup. Overseas camps and arranging matches are always challenging. But this is something that needs to be done for the team’s improvement. Our journey requires sacrifice from the players and the staff and the cooperation of everyone involved in our organization."

Philippine Football Federation president Mariano "Nonong" Araneta has commended the Filipinas' dedication and commitment to the cause, and has shown his appreciation for Cheng's support to the side.

PFF general secretary Atty. Edwin Gastanes adds, "We are all very excited for next year’s World Cup."

Iran secures 7th in AVC Cup for Women

c/o AVC

Iran kicked off the final day of the AVC Cup for Women with a straight sets victory over Australia in the seventh-place game, 25-19 25-18 25-22, Monday at the Philsports Arena.

Aytak Salamatgharamaleki led the Persians with fifteen points, while Mahsa Saberi added twelve markers, including three aces, as they ended their campaign with their second win.

Alessandra Kampedelli reflected on the team's performance in the tournament. "I think for us, it was a very very very great experience for us. Now we have to work more."

After a tough five-set defeat to hosts Philippines yesterday, the Volleyroos struggled against their opposition in the match, which lasted 93 minutes.

Reflecting on the previous night, skipper Kelly Lean says, "Mad respect for the Philippines on the way they played their defense and their power hitting was super impressive. We couldn't hang on."

She adds, "We were bit disappointed with today. We probably played a little bit better than that.  We played a big game yesterday and we played a tough opponent in Iran, they really played very well so it's hard to match after a tough loss."

Stef Wieler and Kara Inskip each netted ten points for Australia, which will finish eighth in the competition. Annelies Jones and Caitlin Tipping added eight markers each.

AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup draw set for August 30

c/o AFF

The much-anticipated top tier regional competition for football reaches another notch with the draw for the 2022 edition of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup set to take place on August 30 in Bangkok.

Said draw will determine the fate of ten teams, nine of them already earning their spots in the final phase, which will return to the home and away format that was in place pre-pandemic.

The ten will be split into two groups of five, with each team playing a single round robin comprised of two games each at home and on the road. The top two teams of each group will advance into the semifinals, with the winner of that matchup earning a slot into the finals. The knockout phase will have each team playing at home and on the road.

Already earning a spot into the final phase are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, with Brunei Darussalam and Timor Leste set to play a two-legged playoff to determine the last team in.

AFF President, Major General Khiev Sameth notes that the draw "marks a significant step forward in the preparations for the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022." He shares, "We believe the fans and the national teams share our excitement, and the draw will kickstart the build-up to the region’s biggest football showpiece taking place at the end of the year."

SPORTFIVE SE Asia Managing Director Malcolm Thorpe shares, "With about four months until the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022 kicks off in December, anticipation is set to grow among fans who have been eager to see their favourite teams back in action again." He also looks forward "to working together with AFF and its member associations to deliver another successful edition of the tournament."

The draw will be streamed on the tournament's social media platforms, as well as on the platforms of its official media partners.

PBad reveals Inter-Collegiate competition

Jude Turcuato (SMART/MVPSF), Christopher Quimpo (PBad), Imee Moreno, and Melvin Nubla (SMART)

The Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) is organizing a tournament to help collegiate teams with preparations for their respective leagues.

Called the Philippine Intercollegiate Badminton Championships, co-presented by SMART and supported by the MVP Sports Foundation, it will take place on September 10-11 at the courts of Centro Atletico in Quezon City.

Unveiled on Wednesday at the Greenhills branch of Gloria Maris in San Juan, the announcement was graced by the presence of federation officials, led by Secretary-General Christopher Quimpo and Vice President Jude Turcuato, who also is the PLDT/SMART Head of Sports and the MVP Sports Foundation Executive Director. SMART Communications FVP for Go-to-Market Melvin Nubla was also present.

PIBC Project Director Imee Moreno shares, "The main objective of this tournament is to give another avenue for our athletes at our collegiate level." The councilor from Cagayan de Oro adds, "As we all know here in the Philippines there are very few avenues... that can serve as their training ground."

Nubla shares, "SMART is here to support the initiatives of PBAD especially since we started already with Badminton Asia a few months ago."

He also notes, "With the opening of the classes also happening, we decided to really work with PBAD to have a preseason badminton tournament."

Eight schools are expected to participate, with the team format to be applied within five divisions: men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles, and mixed doubles. The champion receives PhP 50,000, with the runner-up netting PhP 20,000. The losing semifinalists will receive PhP 10,000.

To encourage participation for the inaugural edition of this potentially annual event, the federation has waived fees.

Holding the PIBC will kickstart PBAD's activities to boost competition in the sport back to pre-pandemic levels, especially after the recent Badminton Asia Championships this past April. In addition, Turcuato is looking at this event to establish the national badminton rankings, as a means to get to help get our local players the necessary points to play in major competitions with the end goal of Olympic participation.

SBP reveals Gilas squad versus Lebanon

Para sa Bayan

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas officially revealed the team it will field against Lebanon on Friday morning (Manila time), the first of its two games scheduled in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

From the the thirteen that flew to Beirut, Roosevelt Adams was the odd man out as Chot Reyes opts for a team led by Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson and Adelaide 36ers big man Kai Sotto.

B-League players Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, as well as Bobby Ray Parks and Dwight Ramos join in, with Carl Tamayo of the University of the Philippines being the lone non-professional representative.

Completing the team are the players from the PBA in Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra, Calvin Oftana of NLEX, Chris Newsome of Meralco, and Jamie Malonzo of NorthPort.

The latter two are making their national team debut after getting clearance from FIBA to be designated as locals.

Executive Director and spokesperson Sonny Barrios shares, "Our GILAS PILIPINAS Men's National Basketball Team is raring to go all out for flag and country." He adds, "Each one, to the last man, is fully committed to give his very best, inspired by the support and prayers of his countrymen. Let us continue to wish them well and cheer them on as they play for all of us away from home.  LABAN PILIPINAS!  PUSO!"

Gilas is currently carrying a 2-2 record into the fourth window, going up against a Lebanese side that is fresh from a runner-up finish at the FIBA Asia Cup last month, a road which included a 95-80 victory for Lebanon.

Wael Arakji scored twenty points for the Cedars in that victory, with Hark Gyokchyan and Jonathan Arledge each netting nineteen markers and combined for fourteen rebounds.

The Philippines is hoping the addition of Clarkson and Sotto would provide a much-needed boost, with the former's offensive capabilities and the latter's rim protection.

Team assistant Tim Cone shared about Sotto during one of the practices, "Kai has been very, very impressive. Maybe in the NBA level, it’s a different thing. But at this level, he’s a real deal. Having Kai protecting the rim for us, it’s making a big, big difference."

As for Clarkson, Cone adds, "JC knows the offense already. He runs dribble-drive in Utah, he’s done it before. He’s very comfortable with it so I don’t think that’s going to be an issue for us. He already understands the principles, so he’s stepping in really easy."

The team will be back in Manila on August 27, in time for their second game in the fourth window against Saudi Arabia on August 29 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

SBP honors Gilas Women

c/o Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas

In a recent courtesy call to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and its president Al Panlilio, the federation rewarded the Gilas Women program with cash incentives.

Under the auspices of head coach Patrick Aquino, the senior ladies bucked the absence of Jack Animam due to injury to successfully defend their gold at the Southeast Asian Games with a 4-1 record.

In addition, the program finished 14th in the division of the 2022 edition of the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup, as well as a third place finish in the 2022 edition of the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship Division B.

Panlilio shares, "We at the SBP are very proud of the achievements of our Gilas Pilipinas Women. It’s one of our pillars and we’re very happy with the direction under Program Director Patrick Aquino." He adds, "The SBP is doing its very best to provide Gilas Pilipinas Women to be at their best and we laud the hard work of the coaching staff, who do a tremendous job of scouting for the best talents and helping all our players achieve their full potential."

Thailand locks in QF spot in AVC Cup for Women

 

c/o AVC

Thailand dispatch Chinese-Taipei in straight sets, 25-20 25-18 25-16, in AVC Cup for Women action on Tuesday afternoon at the Philsports Arena.

The Southeast Asian powerhourse rode on Chatchu-on Moksri and Pimpichaya Kokram in the victory, with the two netting sixteen and eleven kills, respectively.

Team captain Pornpun Guedpard shared post-match with their aspirations to end a decade-long title drought, "We have to do our best. We have to play the game within our system."

Back-to-back victories following their setback in the opener against Japan ensures a second place finish in Pool A, with the likelihood of facing the Philippines in the quarterfinals, provided the hosts hold their own in their remaining prelims schedule.

Kan Ko-Hui and Wu Fang-Yu led Chinese-Taipei with eight points each, with skipper Chang Li-Wen and Liu Shuang-Ling each adding seven markers.

The East Asians stumbled to a 1-2 record and will face the second-best team in Pool A in the quarterfinals on Saturday.