04 JULY 2019

D24 SPORTS
Thursday, 4 July 2019
Daily Tribune
NEW ORDER FROM IOC, OCA
No room for error
We all agree that these issues must be addressed and resolved quickly, but not in a hurry as due process still has to
be followed
By Julius Manicad
Making sure that there will be no room for error, the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic
Council of Asia (OCA) issued fresh directives to help
the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) resolve its
leadership conflict.
In a two-page letter dated 2 July, IOC director for Olympic
Solidarity and National Olympic Committee (NOC) Relations
James Macleod and OCA director general Hussain Al-Musallam
tasked the POC to carefully proceed to the next step after they
have confirmed and recognized the resignations of Ricky Vargas
as POC president, Abraham Tolentino as POC chairman and
Clint Aranas and Cynthia Carrion as POC board members.
We accept these directives with an open heart
and rest assured that we will faithfully comply
to help the POC get back on its feet.
The IOC and OCA said the POC executive council
should convene in a special board meeting immediately,
or within five days, to review the IOC directives, create
an independent elections commission and formally call
for an extraordinary general assembly within 10 days.
The IOC and OCA expect the POC to hold a special
board meeting on 8 July and set the first extraordinary
general assembly on 18 July.
In the first extraordinary general assembly, the
IOC and OCA expect the members to formally approve
the assembly of an independent elections commission
proposed by the executive board, clarify any issues that
may arise and call for a second extraordinary general
assembly within 10 days — or not later than 28 July — to
hold the special elections.
The IOC and OCA will send a representative to
ensure the orderly conduct of both extraordinary general
assembly meetings.
The fresh IOC and OCA directives rebuked
Tolentino’s call for an election on date not later than 18
July and placed the resolution of this leadership crisis
on the hands of the POC executive council.
Tolentino, the cycling chief who is eyeing the POC
presidency against the Aranas, said there is an urgent
need to hold special polls as it is in accordance to the
POC constitution and by-laws that state that vacant
positions in the POC executive board should be filled
out within 30 days.
Tolentino reportedly reached out to both the IOC and
OCA to clarify the content of their first letter, where he
stressed that that he is amenable to moving his proposed
to no later than 18 July based on the POC constitution
and by-laws.
But the IOC and OCA said holding elections is not easy
so the POC has to do it carefully and with due process.
“We all agree that these issues must be addressed
and resolved quickly, but not in a hurry as due process
The young Filipino dribblers
hardly put up a fight as Russia,
ranked No. 19 in the world, was
totally dominating from the get
go
By Joel Orellana
Gilas Pilipinas Youth bowed to the
mighty Russian team, 64-92, in the
still has to be followed,” Macleod and Al-Musallam said
in a joint statement obtained by Daily Tribune.
“It must be noted that that the POC has had many
opportunities to resolve these issues internally and
peacefully, however, has not managed to do so until
now. Under these circumstances, the IOC and OCA have
the duty to offer guidance and assistance to resolve the
situation in the interest of the Olympic movement.”
POC first vice president Joey Romasanta
expressed gratitude to the IOC and OCA for being
patient in extending guidance and support to the
local Olympic council.
Romasanta, who assumed the role as acting
president following the resignation of Vargas, said
the POC executive board accepts the directives with
an open heart and they would follow these to the
letter to skirt possible suspension from the IOC’s
roll of NOC.
“We thank the IOC and OCA for providing us very
clear directives on how we can solve the leadership
crisis that was created by the resignation of Mr. Ricky
Vargas as POC president,” said Romasanta.
“We accept these directives with an open heart
and rest assured that we will faithfully comply to
help the POC get back on its feet.”
Romasanta said this is the perfect time for
them to unite and show that they can overcome
the stormy turn of events that sparked when
they discovered the involvement of Vargas in the
Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing
Committee Foundation Inc., a body that aims to
organize the 30th SEA Games without blessing
from the POC board.
“We enjoin all POC members to help us in
complying and look after the welfare of the POC
as an institution and not get affected by partisan
interests. Elections are always divisive. But I hope
we can prove we can unite as one,” Romasanta
said.
“The whole country is looking at us.”
Gilas Youth remains winless
FIBA Basketball U19 World Cup 2019 on
Wednesday at the Heraklion University
Sports Hall in Greece.
It was the worst loss of the squad of
head coach Sandy Arespacochaga to end
its Group C campaign with 0-3 mark and
face Group D topnotcher Serbia at 4:15
a.m. Thursday (Manila time).
Unlike in their first two matches
against host nation Greece and
Argentina, the young Filipino dribblers
hardly put up a fight as Russia,
ranked No. 19 in the world, was totally
dominating from the get go and even
led by as many as 30 points, 85-59, late
in the final quarter.
Dave Ildefonso led the Filipinos
with 14 points, six rebounds and five
assists while Kai Sotto also tallied 14
points, seven rebounds and six blocks.
Carl Tamayo chipped in 12 points and
five rebounds.
Russia, which grabbed the No. 2
spot in Group C following the loss of
DAVE Ildefonso of Gilas
Pilipinas Youth tests the mettle
of a Russian defender during
their group stage match in the
FIBA U19 Basketball World
Cup at the Heraklion University
Hall in Heraklion, Greece.
MANNY Pacquiao works on the mitts with trainer
Freddie Roach in preparation for his World
Boxing Association welterweight title fight with
Keith Thurman on 20 July at the MGM Grand in
Las Vegas, Nevada.
WENDELL ALINEA
Greece to Argentina, 68-73, quickly
erected a 28-15 advantage after the
first period and never looked back
to put itself in a better position to
advance to the quarterfinal stage.
With the win, Russia will face Group
D No. 3 China in the Round of 16 Stage.
The Chinese nailed their first win in
the tournament after shocking Puerto
Rico, 99-94.
Aleksander Ershov led Russia with
21 points and six rebounds while the
hot-shooting Nikita Mihailovskii hit
four three-pointers to end up with 16
points and 10 boards.
The Russians entered the break
with a commanding 49-30 advantage
and they continued to pounce on the
undermanned Batang Gilas squad,
which earlier lost its big man AJ Edu
due to anterior cruciate ligament
injury.
Now, the 30th ranked Philippines
needs to play its best game against
the No. 4 ranked Serbia in their
Round of 16 encounter to stand a
chance of advancing to the knockout
quarterfinals.
Serbia finished Group D undefeated,
demolishing China 106-57. It pulled off
a 75-74 escape over Puerto Rico, 75-74,
then beat France, 85-76, to close out
its campaign in the group.
The Philippines lost steam to
Greece, 69-85, in its opening game and
gave Argentina a tough fight before
yielding a 77-72 decision.
Roach mocks
Thurman
Freddie Roach unleashed a saucy tirade that was
meant to belittle the ability of Keith Thurman to prevail
over Manny Pacquiao in their World Boxing Association
welterweight battle on 20 July at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas.
In a photo posted by Steve Angeles of ABS-CBN’s
Balitang America on Twitter, it shows Roach inscribing
on a white board that Thurman is slower than Heinz
ketchup.
The taunt was made after Pacquiao came from
a 10-round sparring session at the Wildcard Gym in
Hollywood, where he displayed his deadly form three
weeks ahead of his title clash with the outspoken
American.
Although the Filipino ring icon, doesn’t like to engage
in war of words, his long-time trainer did it for him.
“Thurman is slower than Heinz ketchup,” writes Roach,
poking fun on Thurman’s speed.
“Manny will beat him 57 ways on July 20th.”
Although still undefeated, Thurman is known for
telegraphing wide punches, something that Pacquiao
can easily exploit.
After all, speed is Pacquiao’s greatest asset.
F2 to
stretch
streak
SILAY CITY — Powerhouse F2 Logistics
seeks to sustain its blazing streak when it
tackles struggling Sta. Lucia in the Philippine
Superliga All-Filipino Conference Thursday at
the Natalio Velez Sports and Cultural Center.
It’s still a long way to go.
Action erupts at 4:15 p.m. with the Cargo
Movers looking for their sixth straight victory in
this prestigious women’s tourney.
Meanwhile, Cignal aims to bounce back when
it faces Generika-Ayala in the second match at
7 p.m.
Since claiming Filipino-Spiker Kalei Mau
from the disbanded United VC, the Cargo
Movers were never the same again as they
won their first five matches, including big
wins over reigning champion Petron and
heavy contender Cignal.
Against the HD Spikers, the Cargo Movers
showed that they are capable of regaining the
crown.
Mau fired only 10 points, but it didn’t matter
as other stars like Ara Galang, Aby Marano and
Majoy Baron shone to tow F2 Logistics to an
easy 25-22, 25-19, 25-14 victory.
Still, F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus is
far from satisfied.
“It’s not about the record. Yes, we have a
perfect card so far, but we’re still playing in
the eliminations. It’s still a long way to go,”
said de Jesus, who led the Cargo Movers to the
Al-Filipino title in 2017.
Wright makes Phoenix right
The Phoenix top gun was the only player who garnered votes out of
the seven others who vied for the weekly citation
Thanks to Matthew Wright, Phoenix
has suddenly righted its campaign in the
Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)
Commissioner’s Cup.
With the 28-year-old Wright producing
import-like numbers, the Fuel Masters
have won back-to-back games to climb at
the .500 mark and stay in contention for a
berth in the eight-team playoffs.
Wright averaged 30.0 points, 4.0
rebounds, and 6.0 assists in the team’s
victories over top teams NorthPort
and Barangay Ginebra to emerge the
unanimous choice as the PBA Press
Corps-Cignal Player of the Week for the
period 24 June to 1 July.
The Phoenix top gun was the only player
who garnered votes out of the seven others
who vied for the weekly citation.
The other candidates for the honor were
Mark Barroca and Paul Lee of Magnolia,
Jericho Cruz of NLEX, Columbian Dyip
rookie CJ Perez, and the Barangay Ginebra
trio of Stanley Pringle, LA Tenorio and Japeth
Aguilar.
Wright had 28 points, five rebounds,
and six assists as the Fuel Masters
toppled erstwhile leader NorthPort, 97-87.
But Wright reserved his best against
Ginebra, erupting for 32 points to rally back
Phoenix from a 14-point deficit to eke out a
111-103 victory.
The Filipino-Canadian gunner scored five
points in the final five minutes of the game,
none more clutch than the fadeaway jumper
he buried with 1:44 left and gave Phoenix a
106-102 lead.
KALEI Mau of F2 Logistics scores on a joust with Alohi Robins-Hardy of Cignal during
their Philippine Superliga All-Filipino Conference game late Tuesday at the Cadiz City
Arena in Cadiz City.
ROMAN PROSPERO