4 Rio Olympic hopefuls picked

TWO Southeast Asian Games gold winners and two other international medalists have been named by the Philippine Taekwondo Association to compete in the Asian qualifying event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games scheduled on April 16-17 at the Marriott Convention Center Grand Ballroom, New Port Complex in Pasay City.

These are Samuel Thomas Morrison and Pauline Louise Lopez, both 2015 SEAG champions, Francis Aaron Agojo, 2015 SEAG silver winner and Levita Ronna Ilao, bronze medalist in the 2015 SEAG and the Asian Games.

Kyorugi (free sparring) fighters from 40 other countries eye Olympic participation thru the Asian qualifying event hosted by the Philippines and sanctioned by the World Taekwondo Federation.

“It is an honor for our country to stage this important qualifying competition,” says Sung Chon Hong, PTA chief executive officer.  “It will also boost the spirit of our jins, since they will be performing before their countrymen.”

The PTA has also been chosen to stage the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Championships (senior kyorugi) and the 4th Asian Poomsae championships right after the qualifying competition.

Members of the Philippine teams in the Asian qualifying, Asian championships and Asian Poomsae are expected to do well in the coming events because of their long training and preparation.

Among the Filipino poomsae participants are 2015 SEAG gold medalists Dustin Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella and Rodolfo Reyes Jr.

Source: Manila Standard Today

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Sri Lanka and Philippines Break into the Final Qualifying of ITF WJT Girls – Bangkok

The ITF World Junior Tennis Competition of Asia/Oceania Pre-Qualifying Zone commenced on Friday, 4th March in Colombo, Sri Lanka hosted by Sri Lanka Tennis Association.

Twelve boys’ and Eight girls’ teams, from a total of 17 countries, will fight their way through tough regional pre-qualifying competition in order to make a place for their nations in the Final Qualifying which will be held at Bangkok in the month of April.

WJT Girl’s event begins with the round-robin stage, where the nations are divided into two groups of four teams. Top 2 teams of each group qualify for the knock-out semifinals, while the remaining nations would go into play-offs to battle it out to decide the final positions.

In the Boy’s event, round-robin stage is divided into four groups of four teams. Top 2 teams of each group will line up for play off 1-8 and would compete for top 2 position of the event, while the remaining nations go into play-offs and battle it out to decide the final positions.

In the event, Sri Lankan girls’ recorded a convincing victory over Philippines in the finals with a score of 3-0 at the SLTA Courts yesterday.

Anjalika Kurera won the first singles against Carlos Isabela 4/6, 7/5, 6/2 while Anika Seneviratene bagged the second singles by beating Eala Alexandra 6/2, 6/1.

The doubles match also turned out to be an easy one for Sri Lankan Girls as Anika Seneviratene and Anjalika defeated Eala Alexandra and Vitaliano, Miles Alexandra 6/0, 6/0.

Both the finalist teams, Sri Lanka and Philippines have been promoted to the WJT final qualifying event of 2016 which will be held in Bangkok next month.

On other hand, Seeded No. 1 Kazak boys beat Sri Lankan counter parts 2-1 and Kuwait defeated number 2 seeded Syria 3-0 in the semifinals and secure their places in the World Junior Tennis Competition, Final Qualifying of Asian Oceania zone.

Kazakhstan and Kuwait will meet today in the finals to establish the Top team of this event.

Source: Asian Tennis Federation

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Patrombon, Gonzales kick off PH Davis Cup bid vs Kuwait

The Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippine Davis Cup team has no room for complacency against Kuwait as itstarts its Asia/Oceania Group 2 tie Friday with Jeson Patrombon and Ruben Gonzales kicking off the campaign for the hosts.

Patrombon, PH No. 1, was drawn to play opening singles against Kuwait’s No 2 player Abdulrahman Alawadhi in the first match at 3 p.m., while Gonzales takes on dangerous top gun Mohammed Ghareeb in the second match.

Yet it was team leader, Treat Huey, who sounded the alarm, saying Kuwait packs a surprise package in 35-year-old Ghareeb and his young, inexperienced teammates.

“Their No. 1 player is a tough player, he once gave Roger Federer a tough fight before losing 7-6, 6-4 a couple of years ago. So yeah, we can’t take them lightly,” said Huey, who made a historic semifinal stint in this year’s Australian Open mixed doubles.

Huey and Alcantara will play doubles against Ghareeb and Abdulhamin Mubarak tomorrow at 6 p.m. Reverse singles will be on Sunday starting at 2 p.m.

Team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier said the team is upbeat following the draw yesterday that was presided by International Tennis Federation supervisor Ali Katebi, Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) vice president Randy Villanueva and secretary general Romeo Magat.

“This is the strongest Davis Cup team we have assembled in years. I strongly believe Jeson and Ruben will deliver as they are fresh from having strong results in Asia and South America, respectively,” said Lhuillier, who is also Philta chair.

Lhuillier said the goal is to sweep the opening singles and then finish off the tie with a doubles victory on Saturday.

“Both of them (Patrombon and Gonzales) are prepared to play first. Jeson is mentally pumped up for this and we are confident of him kicking off the campaign for the Philippines,” said newly appointed non-playing captain Karl Sanataria.

The Philippines beat Kuwait twice in Davis Cup tie, the last in 2007 held away which the Filipinos swept, 5-0.

Source: Marc Anthony Reyes of Inquirer.net

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Doctors fear June Mar Fajardo suffered partially torn ACL, out for PBA Finals and Olympic qualifiers

DOCTORS fear two-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo is out not only for the Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska but also Gilas Pilipinas' coming campaign in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July.

Sources from the San Miguel Corp. camp bared that an MRI scan done on Fajardo's left knee at the St. Luke's Hospital on Friday night revealed a partial tear on his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). 

“May partial tear eh. Kaya malabo na siya maglaro sa finals. Pati yung (Olympic) wildcard (qualifiers) damay," a source told Spin.ph. "Kasi hindi talaga siya makalakad.”

Fajardo's left knee has been put on an immobilizer, the source added, and the 6-10 national player can’t walk without the aid of crutches when he left the hospital early Saturday morning.

San Miguel has yet to make an official announcement at posting time.

The real extent of the damage - and the time Fajardo will have to sit out - will be known in a second check up with famed orthopedic surgeon Raul Canlas on Monday, the source added.

While Fajardo is almost certainly out of the PBA Finals, his stint with Gilas will largely depend on the nunber of fibers torn in the ACL - and the time it will take for him to recover.

“Hindi pa alam ng mga therapist kung ilang fiber ang napunit, 'yun ang aalamin ni Doc Canlas sa Monday,” said the source. “But definitely, malabo na siya sa finals kasi hindi talaga siya makalakad."

The injury happened at the 7:22 mark of the third quarter of Game Six, which saw a Fajardo-less San Miguel complete a 90-82 victory over Rain or Shine to clinch a place in the best-of-seven finals.

Here's the sequence:

In the sequence, Fajardo apparently hyperextended his left knee when he came into contact with the legs of Rain or Shine guard Jireh Ybanes, who tried to box him out in a rebound battle.

Former Red Bull Thunder team doctor John Lim shook his head upon hearing about the extent of Fajardo’s injury.

“Depende kasi sa damage 'yan at dami ng napunit na fiber. Pero hindi siya makakalaro kaagad definitely. Depende kasi sa gravity ng injury 'yan,” said Lim, who stressed that the ACL is the most sensitive part of an athlete’s knee.

“Normally kasi, pag partial tear at walang gaanong punit, three to six weeks 'yan. Mamamaga yan at sasakit pa ng matagal-tagal. Pag 50 percent ng fiber napunit, mga atleast two months 'yun. Full ACL tear kasi six months recovery and therapy yun,” he added.

Source: Snow Badua of Spin.ph

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Impressive Asian Tour finish moves Miguel Tabuena into qualifying places for Rio Olympics

PICTURE multiple major winners led by Jordan Spieth gunning for birdies and a gold medal on the same course as Miguel Tabuena.

If the Rio Games tournament teed off now, the world No. 1 Spieth and Philippine No. 1 Tabuena would be walking the same fairways on the controversial Reserva de Marapendi, competing for the first Olympic golf medals to be staked in 112 years.

Tabuena has risen to 210th in the world rankings and 48th on the Olympic eligibility list after ruling the Asian Tour’s season-ending Philippine Open.

Asian Tour veteran Angelo Que is also still in the running at 50th.

The Filipino golfers, however, still need to play well in tournaments offering world ranking points because the cutoff is still a few months away on July 11.

The Olympic field is limited to 60 players, including the top-15 world-ranked players with a limit of four players from a given country.

Tony Lascuna got into the list in the middle of last year but struggled in the latter part of the season and has slipped to 379th in the world.

That list of qualifiers now has American players Spieth, No. 4 Bubba Watson, sixth-ranked Rickie Fowler and No. 8 Dustin Johnson.

Jennifer Rosales has also stayed in the list for the women’s tournament, although she has slipped to 58th from 57th last year.

Source: Spin.ph

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Ulboc, fellow middle-distance runners leave for Perth training in bid to make Olympics

TRACKSTERS Christopher Ulboc, Edgardo Alejan, and Mervin Guarte will leave for Perth this month to embark on a three-month training in the first leg of their buildup for major international competitions, including the 2016 Rio Olympics.

“It’s a long range plan. If they fail to make it to the Olympics, they will be good for the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2017, the Asian Games in Jakarta in 2018, and the SEA Games in Manila in 2019,” said Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico.

The three Pinoy distance runners will undergo intensive training in the capital city of Western Australia as they seek to improve on their impressive showing from last year, specifically during the 2015 Southeast Asian Games.

In the athletics competitions of the SEA Games held in Singapore last year, Ulboc won the 3,000m steeplechase event while Guarte bagged a silver in the 800m dash and Alejan the 4x400m silver and a bronze in the 400m run.

Source: Reuben Terrado of Spin.ph

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