03 MARCH 2019

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18 SPORTS Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong> Daily Tribune ILONGGOS RULE BATANG PINOY Superb homestand This is good news for the city By Joel Orellana ILOILO CITY — The city known for its century-old churches and houses delivered a performance for the ages to claim its first overall crown in the Philippine Sports Commission’s Batang Pinoy Visayas leg here. With the Ilonggo athletes delivering in majority of the 20 events, the host city was declared the overall champion on Saturday of this weeklong event organized by PSC for the in-school and out-of-school children aged 15 and below. “This is good news for the city. We’ve been preparing for this since December and we’re happy with the response not only by the players and coaches but also the parents as well,” said Iloilo City Youth and Sports Development Office Head Moises Salomon Jr. This was the city’s first overall title since joining the Visayas leg in 2012 and Salomon admitted it was not easy to accomplish the feat. “We only have 300 athletes while Cebu City and Cebu Province have more than 300. It’s really hard and our beloved mayor (Jose Espinosa III) was really happy with the results,” Salomon added. With a handful gold medals yet to be awarded on Saturday afternoon, Iloilo City was the runaway overall champion with 57 golds, 49 silvers and 44 bronze medals to dethrone Cebu City, which settled for second position with a 42-55-63 haul. Making it to the top 10 were Cebu Province (38-38-52), Negros Occidental (30-18-17), Lapu Lapu City (28-14-25), Bacolod City (23-27-35), Mandaue City (22-21-31), Dumaguete City (19-23-15) , Ormoc City (12-15-14) and Aklan Province (12-8-7). Fifty-eight out of the 71 local government units that participated in the Visayas leg won at least a bronze medal with Dumaguete City archer Naina Dominique Tagle winning the most number of gold medals with seven. Capping Iloilo City’s impressive showing here was its gold-medal performance in girls basketball after beating Cebu Province in a thrilling finals, 78-72, at the Iloilo Sports Complex covered court. “We did not expect this because we faced really strong teams here and it’s our first time to compete in this event,” said head coach Sharina Jane Padilla, whose squad was composed of seven players from Molo National High School. Iloilo City had to dethrone defending champion Cebu City, which settled for bronze medal, in the semis and got a big break in the end when Cebu ABEL Galliguez of Alaska and RJ Jazul of Phoenix clash for the loose ball during their Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup game late Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Fuel Masters prevailed, 94-80, to gain outright playoff spot. ROMAN PROSPERO Province’s wonder girl Shan Andrea Señagan got injured in the final two minutes of the game. Señagan, a Grade 9 student at Samboan National High School and is already drawing interests from major colleges in Metro Manila like Adamson and Far Eastern University, almost singlehandedly carried her team to the gold but a collision with an Iloilo City player put her unconscious and did not return to the game. We only have 300 athletes while Cebu City and Cebu Province have more than 300. The host city also swept the three events in lawn tennis with golden performances in girls singles, doubles and team events while La Carlota won the same number events in the boys division. Iloilo City’s Alain Vincent Dominguez and Levee Marie Oliva pocketed the gold in the mixed doubles event of table tennis. Kimberly Colaste added one more gold for the host city after ruling the 12-under girls blitz chess event. The 11-year old Asean Youth campaigner earlier won the gold in the standard and rapid events. Cebu Province took the gold in boys baseball while Iloilo City and Dumaguete City settled for silver and bronze, respectively. Bacolod City won the softball girls gold, beating Cebu City which took the silver medal while Iloilo City had bronze. Kings gun 3rd straight We hope to ride on that winning streak against Alaska tonight By John Bryan Ulanday Ginebra seeks to stretch its winning streak to three games when it clashes with Alaska while quarterfinalist Rain or Shine zeroes in on a twice-to-beat playoff incentive versus Talk ‘N Text in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup tonight at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City. The main game is set at 6:45 p.m. with the streaking Kings looking to climb in the team standings against the Aces, who will be looking to bounce back from an 80-94 loss to Phoenix two days ago. Before that, playoff-bound Elasto Painters are out to move a step closer to securing one of the twice-to-beat advantages in the post-season against well-rested KaTropa in the first game at 4:30 p.m. Like other teams, Ginebra is coming off a long break since taking a huge 85-67 win over Blackwater last 9 February in Digos City, Davao del Sur for its second straight victory. Ginebra head coach Tim Cone is confident that rust would not be a factor for his wards, who spent extended time in Digos City for team building before plunging back to action in Manila for continuous training these past two weeks. “We stayed for a couple of days in Digos and we had a team building there. It’s what we needed to re-energize our guys,” said Cone. “We kept working even during the break and we’ll keep working all the way through. We won a couple of games before the break so we don’t want to lose our momentum. We hope to ride on that winning streak against Alaska tonight.” UP cagers make impact After Javi Gomez de Liaño made a free throw, Ljay Gonzales missed the game-tying two, allowing UP to escape University of the Philippines made an early statement in its men’s championship title aspirations when it advanced to the Univeristy Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 81 3x3 basketball tournament Saturday at the Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig. Behind a killer roster of FIBA 3x3 veterans Ricci Rivero and Juan Gomez de Liaño, together with Will Gozum and Javi Gomez de Liaño, the Fighting Maroons opened their campaign with a 13-8 romp of National University before nipping defending champion Far Eastern University, 13-11. After Javi Gomez de Liaño made a free throw, Ljay Gonzales missed the game-tying two, allowing UP to escape with its second win. Wendel Comboy’s two-pointer gave the Tamaraws their first win at the expense of University of Santo Tomas, 11-9, after the 10-minute contest ended in a 9-9 standoff. Comboy became the remaining member of last season’s champion team as Kenneth Tuffin was sidelined with an injury with Gonzales taking over his spot. Women’s titleholder National University, behind FIBA 3x3 campaigner Jack Danielle Aninam, Ria Nabalan, Monique del Carmen and Congolese Rhena Itesi, went undefeated in three starts. The Lady Bulldogs set in motion their back-to-back title bid with a 12-7 win over University of the East and needed a 5-0 finishing run to beat Ateneo de Manila University, 13-10. Then, NU scored a 14-8 win over De La Salle University to remain unscathed. The Bulldogs rebounded from their first loss with a 9-8 squeaker of the Growling Tigers to join their victims at 1-1. La Salle prevailed over Adamson University, 15-13, to chalk up its first win. Christine Cortizano’s late free throw gave University of the East a 7-6 win over UST to tie its victims at 1-1 in women’s play. The Tigresses nipped FEU, 9-8, in an earlier match. UP edged La Salle, 6-5, in the first women’s contest. Im, Mitchell share lead It’s just nice to kind of feel like you’re in contention and playing well PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida — Sungjae Im was in the first group to tee off on the first hole Friday at The Honda Classic. He’ll be in the final group Saturday. Im, the 20-year-old South Korean rookie who around this time last year was winning the first Web. com Tour start of his career, shot a 6-under 64 in the second round at PGA National. He shared the 36-hole lead at 6-under 134 with Keith Mitchell (66). It could be considered a surprise final pairing: Combined, Im and Mitchell have zero PGA Tour wins. “It’s just nice to kind of feel like you’re in contention and playing well,” Mitchell said. “You’re out there actually trying to make birdies instead of trying to salvage and trying to make a cut, trying to make a birdie and force it. Today we were just out there trying to hit good shots.” Mitchell had five birdies and bogey Friday; Im had seven birdies and a bogey to match the low round of the week so far. First-round leader Jhonattan Vegas shot a 64 on Thursday, and Adam Svensson had one Friday. Im got through the second round on only 25 putts. He was the leading money-winner on the Web.com Zverev soars in Mexico ACAPULCO, Mexico — Second-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany advanced to the Mexico Open final Friday, beating Britain’s Cameron Norrie 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the hardcourt event at The Princess Mundo Imperial. Ranked no. 3 in the world, Zverev will face the winner of the late semifinal between third-seeded John Isner of the United States and Nick Kyrgios of Australia. Zverev has 10 ATP Tour titles, winning five times in 2017 and four last year. Earlier, China’s Wang Yafan reached her first final WTA Tour final Friday, rallying to beat third-seeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. Wang will face fifth-seeded Sofia Kenin of the United States, a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 winner over 18-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu. AP Tour last year, was atop the money list for the entire season and played his way into two majors. “I was hitting the ball really well today, so all my putts were under 10 feet,” said Im, who had a 6:45 a.m. tee time. He’ll be able to sleep in much later Saturday, with his tee time scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Even though the Honda is played in an area of South Florida where a number of PGA Tour players live -- including Tiger Woods — the field includes only three of the top 20 players in the most recent world rankings. Im grew up watching Woods, staying up until the middle of the night in many cases to see him play on television. I was hitting the ball really well today, so all my putts were under 10 feet. “Just watching him makes me nervous,” Im said. He’s got a 36-hole lead to be nervous about now. Lucas Glover (69) was third at 5 under. Svensson and Brooks Koepka were among those in a group at 4 under, and 42 players were within five shots of the lead. “Can’t be too upset with 1 under around here, to be honest,” said Glover, the 2009 US Open champion who has three straight rounds in the 60s at PGA National going back to his final-round 66 last year. “Wind picked up a little towards the end. I didn’t hit it great, but got myself into the thing.” AP GREAT Britain’s Cameron Norrie makes a return during his Mexican Tennis Open semifinal match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev in Acapulco, Mexico. AP SUNGJAE Im of South Korea hits from the fairway of the 10th hole during the second round of the Honda Classic golf tournament in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. AP Luisita dethrones Canlubang Veteran Rolly Viray turned in 52 points for Canlubang while teammate Abe Avena did not count with 42 points CEBU CITY — Luisita dominated bitter rival Canlubang to clinch its 17th title in the Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub gold tournament at the Alta Vista Golf Club here. Luisita finished the four-day event with 569 points, three points clear of Canlubang which did not go down without a fight. Six points down before the start of the final round, Canlubang reduced the margin to just three after Abe Rosal edged Chino Raymundo, 49-46, in the first flight. Damasus Wong, the second man out, was cruising at one-over par through 15 holes, but finished disastrously with bogey, a pickup and double bogey to limp home with 47. Wong went out of bounds off the tee in the 17th and 18th after missing the green on the 16th for bogey. In contrast, Edmund Yee, his Luisita flightmate, breezed through the last three holes at one-under to salvage 49 points. That seven-point swing in the last three holes turned out to be what Luisita needed to dethrone Canlubang. Luisita also drew 50 points from Eddie Bagtas and 46 from Rafael Garcia. Veteran Rolly Viray turned in 52 points for Canlubang while teammate Abe Avena did not count with 42 points. Del Monte Golf Club finished third with 552 points, closing out with 144 points behind Ramon Velez (54), Erning Apas (46) and Florencio Badelic (44).
Sunday, 3 March <strong>2019</strong> Daily Tribune DESPITE JITTERS SPORTS Rookie Ruzol strikes gold 19 It was my first time to compete so I was very nervous By John Bryan Ulanday ILAGAN CITY, Isabela — Rookie Maria Khrizzie Clarisse Ruzol rescued the Philippines from an openingday shutout as she struck gold in the girls’ pole vault event of the 14th Southeast Asian Youth Games at the Ilagan City Sports Complex here. After a dry performance in the morning events, the home squad pinned its hopes on the 16-year-old University of Santo Tomas stalwart, who made heads turn with an impressive performance in her very first international tournament. Ruzol tallied 2.60 meters to clinch the country’s first gold medal while compatriot Jessa Marie Libres settled for silver with a mark of 2.32 meters in this prestigious tourney that serves as a warmup for the 30th Southeast Asian Games in November. “It was my first time to compete so I was very nervous,” said Ruzol, who trains under the tutelage of pole vault specialist Emerson Obiena, whose son is heavily favored to make it to the Olympics in Tokyo next year. “This is actually not my first sport. I just started playing this five months ago.” While Ruzol was basking in glory, the rest of the national contingent failed by the wayside, no thanks to the superior performance of bets from other Southeast Asian countries, especially powerhouse Thailand. Thai Nattchicha Sengna clocked 15.40 seconds to dominate Filipina Princess Jean Nalzaro, who settled for silver medal with 15.61 seconds in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles. Nalzaro said height played a major role in her setback to the taller, more aggressive Thai sprinter. “The Thai runner was just too good,” said the 4-foot-11 Cebu native who fell prey to her 5-foot-6 foe. “She’s too tall.” Patrick Shane Tolentino (boys high jump), middle distance runner Jeshrelvan Ombid (boys’ 800-meter) and Michael Alfred Adan (boys’ 2000-meter steeplechase) settled for bronze medals. Even the touted national youth athlete Tara Borlain bowed to the foreigners’ domination, finishing just at third place in her pet event, the girls’ 800-meter run, behind Vietnam’s pair of Thi Kim Phuong Le and Thu Quye Nguyen who secured a 1-2 finish. “It was very a tough race because of hot weather and of course, the competitors have more experience,” said the reigning Palarong Pambansa champion. The Thai runner was just too good. “It’s a whole different competition from the usual. I was challenged with different rivals and enjoyed the game.” Good thing for the 15-year old miler from St. Paul College-Pasig City, she still has a chance to test her mettle and seek vengeance in the girls’ 1,500-meter race on Sunday. Nalzaro also has a golden opportunity to deliver the country’s second gold medal with upcoming races in the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays today. Leading the medal tally so far was Southeast Asian powerhouse Thailand, which harvested six gold medals from Peerapat Insuwan (boys’ high jump), Sengna (girls’ 100-m hurldes), Bandit Singhatongkul (boys’ discus throw), Supisara Klinla-Or (girls’ javelin throw) and Athibodee Aointhongyai (boys’ long jump). Cignal back on track This win is a blessing for us MALOLOS CITY — Cignal flirted with disaster before overcoming Foton, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13, 21- 19, in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Saturday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center here. American Erica Wilson was solid down the stretch, leading the HD Spikers to the marathon match that lasted for two hours and 24 minutes with ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners. Wilson, who once played for Team USA in the FIVB Women’s U23 Word Championship, delivered 21 kills, three blocks and five of Cignal’s 10 aces for an impressive 29 points while Anastasia Artemeva and Rachel Anne Daquis chipped in 16 and nine markers, respectively. With the win, Cignal stepped back on winning track and improved to 4-2 in this prestigious women’s club tourney that has Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project as technical sponsors. “This win is a blessing for us,” said HD Spikers coach Edgar Barroga, who had to make adjustments to fill in the void left by middle blocker Ranya Musa and second setter Pauline Cardiente. MYLENE Paat and Jheck Dionela of Cignal take care of the reception during their match against Foton in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix match Saturday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center in Malolos City. The HD Spikers prevailed, 15-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-13, 21-19. ROMAN PROSPERO SBP eyes pocket tourneys Hosting pocket tournaments appears to be a more viable option since the Jones Cup runs smack with the schedule of the PBA in July Instead of competing in the annual William Jones Cup, Team Pilipinas will just compete in pocket tournaments in preparation for the FIBA World Cup in China this August. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said hosting pocket tournaments appears to be a more viable option since the Jones Cup runs smack with the schedule of the Philippine Basketball Association in July. Panlilio, who represents Meralco in the PBA board of governors, admitted that the league is already having a tough time adjusting its schedule and could run up to 2020 due to the staging of the World Cup and the Southeast Asian Games. “Hosting a pocket tournament and inviting teams for a couple of tuneup matches could be better options,” said Panlilio. “It would be hard to adjust the calendar for the Jones Cup alone because the tournament is that long. It’s nine days and that’s quite challenging.” The Philippines already hosted two pocket tournaments in the past dubbed as the MVP Cup Invitational Championships as part of the Nationals’ buildup for the Asian Games in 2010 and the FIBA Asia Championship in 2015. The SBP, however, would still have to wait for the FIBA World Cup Draw this 16 March to determine which teams are available to be invited here in the country. For sure, the Nationals will not be drawn with fellow Asia-Oceania countries so one of the countries the SBP is looking to invite is South Korea. JBU “It wasn’t easy, it was evident during the game, but we held on to finish the match and luckily we won.” Barroga converted team captain Rachel Anne Daquis to opposite spiker while Mumay Vivas became the second setter for the match. The move paid a handsome reward as the Tornadoes were left guessing, especially in the fifth set where the HD Spikers refused to give up. American Courtney Felinski delivered 23 points while Elaine Kasilag had 14 and Turkish import Selime Ilyasoglu chipped in 11 for Foton, which absorbed their fourth straight loss after an opening-day victory. FEU stops bleeding We still lacked maturity but the killer instinct is already there Far Eastern University snapped a two-game slide after turning back the hard fighting University of Santo Tomas, 19-25, 25-20, 25-19, 27-25, in Season 81 University Athletic Association of the Philippines women’s volleyball tournament on Saturday at the Araneta Coliseum. The Lady Tamaraws weathered the Golden Tigresses’ comeback in the fourth set and denied UST of sending the game into a deciding fifth set to book its second win in four games. Celine Domingo led FEU with 17 points, nine on attacks and six on blocks, while rookie Lycha Ebon had another solid showing for the George Pascua-mentored squad with 11. It was a tough loss for the Golden Tigresses, who appeared to have control of the game after pocketing the opening set but a knee injury by Filipino-Italian Milena Alessandrini late in the second set cost UST the match to fall to 2-2. “We still lacked maturity but the killer instinct is already there,” said Pascua, whose team blew a 2-0 set lead to Ateneo the last time out and lost the match. “I trust my players. We just have to be ready and lessen our unforced errors. We’re still working that aspect of our game,” Pascua added. Alessandrini, who is averaging 15.6 points prior the game, had a bad landing at center with the game tied at 18-all in the second set. She was rushed to the UST Hospital to undergo magnetic resonance imaging. Without Alessandrini, coach Kungfu Reyes lost a steady scorer and surrendered the next two sets but came out fighting in the fourth and was even leading 25-24 on Eya Laure’s attack. But Dimdim Pacres’ service error tied the game at 25-all and FEU blocked Laure in the next play and a crucial error by the UST rookie gave the Lady Tamaraws their second win of the season. Laure, who also hurt his shoulder after a collision with a teammate in the fourth set, led the Golden Tigresses with 20 attack points while Sisi Rondina added 16. MARIA Khrizzie Clarisse Ruzol of the Philippines competes in the girls’ pole vault event of the 14th Southeast Asian Youth Games at the Ilagan Sports Complex in Ilagan City Isabela. Volleyball’s great debate The argument whether to compete in Asian tournaments or just go to training camps will be never-ending On Friday, the Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. will formally introduce the composition of the national pool that will see action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games. It’s going to be a major press conference with the country’s brightest volleyball stars gathering to declare their readiness to win a SEA Games medal in their home turf. But, will this significant event wash away the disappointment of volleyball fans? Just two weeks ago, fans raised a howl over the federation’s decision to skip three major international competitions — the AVC Asian U23 Women’s Championship, the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Club Championship and the AVC Asian Senior’s Championship — so the team could train abroad and focus its full attention on winning a medal in the SEA Games. For them, it’s a blasphemy to think – or even consider — pulling out the country’s entries in these big-ticket Asian tournaments in exchange for mere foreign trainings. But LVPI president Peter Cayco bravely stood his ground. In one television interview, he said the greatest response to those who were questioning their decision to withdraw was just one word: Smile. And that’s what he did all throughout the thunderstorm of controversies. Well, Cayco has a point. With all the talents it has, the Philippines has a golden chance to emerge with a SEA Games medal of any color if the federation can do everything right. We have Filipino-foreign stalwarts like MJ Philips, Rebecca Rivera, Alohi Robbins- Hardy and Kalei Mau to provide offensive muscles while Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat would be coming back from a long stint in Japan. Of course, stars like Mika Reyes, Aby Marano, Jia Morado, Alyssa Valdez and Mylene Paat are a year older and more matured after becoming the first local team to see action in the Asian Games in 36 years. He said the greatest response to those who were questioning their decision to withdraw was just one word: Smile. Cayco was definitely on point when he said that competing in Asian tournaments would only expose our aces to the prying eyes of other Southeast Asian heavyweights like Thailand and Vietnam. Sure, their highlight reels are available all over social media, but seeing them live in action together with the national team will definitely give our regional neighbors a crystal-clear view on how to neutralize them. The alternatives are not bad, either. I believe that training in Asian volleyball hotspots like Japan, China and Korea will be a lot better than joining international meets. If they will see action in international tournaments, they will just play their usual game with Asian superpowers in three or four sets. Then, that’s it. They will have no chance to improve their weaknesses, to Hold My Beer Julius Manicad JOHN BRYAN ULANDAY correct their bad habits and get a clear view on how things are being done. In the next tournament, the SEA Games for that matter, they will just repeat those mistakes all over again. No progress. No improvement. On the contrary, establishing training camps abroad will give the Nationals access to the world’s best training facilities, best coaches and most disciplined training regimens. That’s two solid weeks of workouts and improvement. Yes, the LVPI’s decision to skip Asian tournaments is very unpopular. I was with the Nationals when they had their training camp in Japan in 2017 and I can say that I was greatly impressed. The squad did nothing but to play volleyball for 17 days and they were literally sleeping on the gym after sitting at the feet of Okayama Seagulls head coach Akiyoshi Kawamoto. Kawamoto, who used to train the Thai national team, was very precise in giving instructions both on offense and defense. He corrected the blocking form, sharpened the agility and floor defense techniques and improved the attack formation of the national team. Of course, the Nationals couldn’t put everything into their heads in just one trip, but at least it was a good start. The improvement was quite obvious as they were few good breaks away from winning the bronze medal in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017. Well, the argument whether to compete in Asian tournaments or just go to training camps will be never-ending. It surely depends on whom you ask, the availability of financial resources and the schedule of players, most of them playing in various clubs in the Philippine Superliga. It would go down as Philippine volleyball’s greatest debate. But for me, if we want to feel good and celebrate small success like a good block on Pleumjit Thinkaow, a great dig on the booming attack of Kim Yeon-koung or a successful spike off the Chinese Great Wall, let’s compete in Asian tournaments. But if we really want to improve and learn from the best coaches in Asia for the sake of the future of Philippine volleyball, there is no doubt that locking our players in some Spartan-like training camp somewhere in Japan, Korea or China is the perfect way to go. Yes, the LVPI’s decision to skip Asian tournaments is very unpopular. But Cayco’s strategy appears valid. And once the mission of claiming a SEA Games medal has been completed, he would surely flash a big smile at his detractors.
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