3 Benilde Films Compete at CineMapúa to Defend Title

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Three short films from the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Digital Filmmaking program will attempt to duplicate last year's success of their fellow Benildeans when the annual CineMapúa student film festival kicks off this week at Mapúa University in Intramuros, Manila.

Karla Urquiaga's Healing, Jaig de Guzman's Amy and Regina Aceron's and C.J. Villa's Binihag are among the ten finalists of the CineMapúa 2018 Intercollegiate category.

Last year, Benilde film graduate Michael Pagaduan's Kaming Mga Nakakulong won Best Director and Best Film while Martin Mayuga's Babuyan, another Benilde entry, brought home Best Actress for Cataleya Surio, Best Supporting Actor for Jomari Angeles and three other minor awards.

Healing takes on the reality of a traumatized girl who tries to find her psyche. The film features Larissa Louise Alivio, Fe Saligumba, Erick Samonte and Matthew Seaver Choy.

Amy tells the story of Mark, a college student from Tacloban who can’t help but see his girlfriend Amy who presumably died in the devastating typhoon Yolanda. He reaches out to a person who lives exclusively in his mind. Choy topbills the film, this time opposite Chloe Tabanda.

Binihag is about a hitman who finds his way to redemption as he interrogates a captive. Tracy Quila, Tere Gonzales, Dino Mercado, Lian Gonzales and Bongjon Jose star in this action-drama.

Important Considerations in Deciding Whether Debt Consolidation Will Help To Eliminate Debt

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Among the many suggestions for getting rid of debt is debt consolidation. Many people think that aggregating all outstanding debts into one makes debt management easier. You can lower the interest rate as well as monthly payments by structuring the loan appropriately. However, there are quite a few things to consider before embarking upon a plan to consolidate your debt and make life easier.


Debt Consolidation Fundamentals

With a debt consolidation loan, you can pay off all the dues on your credit cards as well as other retail loans that you might have taken earlier and are finding it difficult to manage and stay afloat. Essentially, while the total amount of the debt does not get reduced, you are left with one only loan to repay in monthly installments for an agreed upon period. This can be a major relief to those who are disorganized and end up missing payments on one or the other loan every month.


Affordability Can Come At a Cost

The lowering of the interest rate as compared to the rates you were paying on the credit card dues will come as a welcome relief to those struggling to make the monthly payments. However, it may happen that even the new monthly payment may be stretching your budget thin. When you take a debt consolidation loan, you can structure the loan according to your convenience and opt for a longer period for the loan repayment for effective debt relief. While this will bring down the monthly payments, you will end up paying more interest over the full term. Extending the loan is not a good strategy for saving money so you should attempt to pay off the loan in the shortest possible time.



Think Before You Convert Unsecured Loans to Secured Debts

You can get a debt consolidation loan that is secured by a second mortgage on your home or even by accessing a home equity line, but it is more common for people to take the loan without offering any security. While by doing this, you do not endanger your assets, it should be appreciated that unsecured loans carry interest rates that are high, though lower than the typical credit card. As usual, it is a tradeoff between risk and return. If you convert your unsecured debt into a secured consolidation loan, you can save substantially on the interest but you need to be aware that you are putting your assets on the line and if you default you will lose them.


Conclusion
Many people undertake debt consolidation only to rack up further balances on their credit cards within just two to three years. You need to keep in mind that consolidating debt is just a solution to a specific situation, and unless you stop spending more than what you earn, you will continue to get bogged down in debt. The only way is to maintain strict financial discipline and live within your means and save the maximum possible to wind down your debt as fast as possible.

Xiong Jing Nan Crowned Inaugural One Women's Strawweight World Champion with TKO of Tiffany Teo

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The largest global sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship (ONE), electrified the Jakarta Convention Center once again last Saturday night at ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE. The first ONE Championship live event in 2018 kicked the year off in style, as the absolute best in local and international martial arts talent took to the ONE Championship cage. In the main event, “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan of China was crowned the inaugural ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion with a technical knockout victory over Singapore’s Tiffany Teo.


Visit the official ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE photo gallery by clicking: http://bit.ly/onephotos

In the main event of the evening, a riveting striking battle took place between two outstanding female martial artists. “The Panda” Xiong Jing Nan etched her name in the pages of history as the first ever ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion, defeating Singaporean martial arts ace Tiffany Teo by referee stoppage in the fourth round. Relying on her accurate striking, Xiong tagged Teo repeatedly with her patented overhand rights and stinging left hooks that presented a difficult problem to solve for the tough Singaporean. Through sheer power and determination, Xiong overwhelmed her opponent and secured the finish by dropping Teo with a volley of crisp punches, prompting veteran referee Olivier Coste to call a halt to the contest.

Xiong Jing Nan, newly-crowned ONE Women’s Strawweight World Champion, stated: “I want to thank ONE Championship for this chance to show what China, and what women can do. I am happy to represent China and take a lot of pride in that. I feel great and I’m overwhelmed. This is a message to all the women across the world, you can achieve anything. This win is dedicated to my grandmother and grandfather who passed away recently.”

In the co-main event of the evening, Indonesian flyweight prodigy Stefer Rahardian drew the loudest cheers from the hometown crowd at the packed Jakarta Convention Center as he turned in another stellar performance, dominating Pakistan’s Muhammad Imran over three rounds to keep his unblemished professional record intact. Rahardian fully utilized his grinding ground-and-pound to pummel Imran repeatedly while threatening to end matters with various submission attempts. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Rahardian, who had his arm raised via unanimous decision.

In an entertaining display of grappling mastery between two submission wizards, former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki emerged triumphant against former ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat “Cobra Gafurov in the card’s highly-anticipated Grappling Super-Match. Tearing a page out of his opponent’s playbook, Aoki took Gafurov’s back and submitted the Russian with a tight rear-naked choke to earn a much-needed victory.

Indonesian martial arts standout “The Terminator” Sunoto returned to action, needing only two rounds to pull off a crafty submission finish against Cambodia’s Rin Saroth. Facing an opponent who has extensive experience in the striking discipline of khun khmer, Sunoto turned the bout to his advantage by taking Saroth down to the canvas and wearing him out with stifling ground strikes. On the mat, Sunoto caught his Cambodian counterpart with a deep americana to force the tap, claiming the third submission win of his professional career.

32-year-old Russian bantamweight standout Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev spoiled the ONE Championship return of Japanese veteran martial artist Masakazu Imanari, stifling his opponent with his high-level grappling game. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt kept the action focused primarily on the mat, where he controlled the pace in various dominant positions while constantly threatening with submission attempts. All three judges scored in favor of Saadulaev to win by unanimous decision.

36-year-old Indonesian martial arts proponent Victorio Senduk made a successful return to the ONE Championship cage after a four-year break to defeat countryman Yohan Mulia Legowo via thrilling technical knockout. After overcoming Legowo’s offensive advances early in the bout, Senduk came back with a dramatic display of willpower to turn the tables on Legowo, blasting him with a devastating combination against the fence just moments into the second round.

Filipino martial arts veteran Rene Catalan of Manila, Philippines turned in one of his most dominant performances to date against China’s Peng Xue Wen, winning by technical knockout to score his fourth straight victory inside the ONE Championship cage. Catalan, 18 years Peng’s senior, dominated the striking exchanges and matched Peng, a Greco Roman wrestling champion, in the grappling department. In the second round, Catalan dropped Peng with a liver shot and swarmed him on the ground.

Local female martial artist Priscilla Hertati Lumbangaol made easy work of Malaysia’s Audreylaura Boniface with a spectacular showcase of offense. A wushu and sanda practitioner, Lumbangaol peppered Boniface with strikes for the duration of the bout, ending matters against the cage with a torrent of impactful combinations.

In a rousing one-round striking affair to kick off ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE, Riska Umar of Indonesia overcame a spirited effort from countryman Egi Rozten to win via technical knockout. Rozten came out of the gates looking to end matters early with a relentless barrage of strikes, but Umar kept his composure and weathered the storm to win with ground-and-pound at the 4:20 mark of round one.


Official results for ONE: KINGS OF COURAGE

ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship bout: Xiong Jing Nan defeats Tiffany Teo by TKO (Strikes) at 2:17 minutes of round 4

Flyweight bout: Stefer Rahardian defeats Muhammad Imran by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Grappling Super-Match: Shinya Aoki defeats Marat Gafurov by Submission (Rear Naked Choke) at 12:22 minutes

Bantamweight bout: Sunoto defeats Rin Saroth by Submission (Americana) at 2:07 minutes of round 2

Bantamweight bout: Yusup Saadulaev defeats Masakazu Imanari by Unanimous Decision (UD) after 3 rounds

Catchweight bout: Victorio Senduk defeats Yohan Mulia Legowo by TKO (Strikes) at 0:57 minutes of round 2

Strawweight bout: Rene Catalan defeats Peng Xue Wen by TKO (Strikes) at 4:22 minutes of round 2

Atomweight bout: Priscilla Hertati Lumbangaol defeats Audreylaura Boniface by TKO (Strikes) at 3:23 minutes of round 1

Flyweight bout: Riski Umar defeats Egi Rozten by TKO (Strikes) at 4:20 minutes of round 1



In case you missed the action log on to www.onefc.com/livestream for the full replay of the fights at only US $9.99.


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