Olympic Swimmers Praise ONE Championship for Elevating Sports Landscape in Asia

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In partnership with Nielsen Sports, the leading source of sports measurement, analytics and insights around the world, ONE Championship held the inaugural “What’s Next in Global Sports” conference from May 17 to 18 May at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore.

Tackling the driving factors behind Asia’s rise on the global sports stage, the event featured an esteemed list of notable guests, including two of the most prominent Olympians in history.

Olympic swimmers Michael Phelps and Joseph Schooling attended the “What’s Next in Global Sports” conference, which brought together thought leaders that participated in dynamic discussions on the key technology, media and marketing trends shaping the future of the sports industry.

Phelps is the most decorated swimmer in history, capturing a total of 28 medals including a record-setting 23 gold medals, over the course of his illustrious career

“It’s an honor to grace this event with the who’s who of the industry. We are now living in the digital age. The sporting world is now going into that direction  as well. In order to grow, we have to adapt to it. We have to innovate and be available on all these digital platforms,” he said.

“Every single technological innovation in delivery of content advances sports to its potential. It benefits the athletes and the organizers. More opportunities are upon the sporting world. This is all good news for all of us,” Phelps added.

Meanwhile, Schooling became an Olympic gold medalist, defeating Phelps and setting a world record for the 100-meter butterfly event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2016.

Currently a final year student at the University of Texas at Austin and a prominent member of the Texas Longhorns swimming team, Schooling was recently appointed as exclusive Ambassador of ONE Championship.

“Partnering with ONE Championship represents exciting times. I have always identified with the values of ONE Championship, and I think that is an important factor to any partnership,” Schooling stated.

Schooling commended ONE Championship’s fruitful effort to change the landscape of sports and entertainment in Asia through martial arts.

“I have always had a great time at ONE Championship’s live events. Through careful and strategic developments, ONE Championship has grown immensely in just short span of time. They are offering their unique brand of authentic martial arts action to fans all across the globe,” Schooling shared.

The Asian region has come under the rule of ONE Championship in the span of nearly seven years and over 60 blockbuster events.

When Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong came up with the idea for ONE Championship, he envisioned the entire Asia comprised of over 4-billion people united under a single sport.

ONE Championship has achieved tremendous success since its inception in 2011, establishing itself as the world’s largest martial arts organization by hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Mixed Martial Arts, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more.

Although ONE Championship has completely revolutionized the martial arts landscape internationally, Sityodtong attributes the promotion’s success by adhering to the values that made the continent of 4.4 billion people the home of some of the best known martial arts stars like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Jet Li.

“The lessons of martial arts, the gifts of martial arts are so precious that I really believe it's the greatest platform to unleash human potential,” he said. “The DNA of ONE Championship is martial arts, the home of martial arts in Asia with Asian values run by a martial artist. “

“And the reality is since day one, ONE Championship has always been about that. We've always been about celebrating and uniting the continent with what we are best at - martial arts and their values,” Sityodtong explained further.

Sityodtong often refers to the values of integrity, humility, honor, respect, courage, and discipline as the foundation of martial arts in Asia.

Whereas its Western counterparts mostly focus on the competition aspect, highlighting showmanship and bravado above the core values that Sityodtong lives by, ONE Championship has chosen to focus on what resonates with its fan base.

“Sports superstars have a unique impact on society. They ignite hope, inspiring fans to be all that they can be through hard work and dedication. Much like the effect Michael Jordan has had on basketball, martial arts has its own superheroes,” he stated.

“ONE Championship focuses particularly on building local martial arts stars -- individuals who came from the same backyard, who experienced the same hardships and trials in everyday life as the very fans who idolize them. By concentrating on building these superheroes, ONE Championship has positioned a product that resonates with the Asian people,” Sityodtong expounded.

As the setting of sports media is experiencing a rapid shift towards online and streaming services, ONE Championship has adopted a digital-first strategy to keep with the trend.

Consumers continue to gravitate towards online mediums of entertainment, and ONE Championship is following suit, exploring a multitude of digital channels on which to offer its unique content.

ONE Championship recently launched its mobile app as it aims to provide millions of martial arts fans around the world with access to every ONE Championship live event, as well as the complete library of digital content -- all free.

All of the 11 bouts at its upcoming event in Singapore on Friday, May 18 will be streamed live and for free.

“This historic event will be seen around the globe as it will be aired by the biggest television networks across Asia and the world. It will also be available for free through the ONE Super App. Witnessing a great display of martial arts action is now at your fingertips,” Sityodtong stressed.

ONE: UNSTOPPABLE DREAMS is set to feature three world title clashes, including the headlining bout between reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight Champion Angela Lee and Mei Yamaguchi.

The co-main event will see Muay Thai legend Sam-A Gaiyanghadao going up  against Sergio Wielzen for the inaugural ONE Super Series Flyweight Muay Thai World Championship title.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Martin Nguyen will be making a bid to successfully defend his featherweight crown for the very first time against Christian Lee, the younger brother of Angela Lee.

Phelps, who called it a career almost two years ago and is now focusing on charity works, expressed his exuberance of being at cageside on Friday to witness the action firsthand.

“I am super excited. It’s going to be a treat. I am already looking forward to it, and good luck to all athletes competing on the card this Friday,” he ended.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

The Squaddies’ Shrew: Ian Maclennan’s Adaptation of William Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew Makes its Philippine Premiere on May 27 – 28

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Tanghalang Ateneo, the longest-running theater company of the Loyola Schools of the Ateneo de Manila University, presents The Squaddies’ Shrew, its 39th Season intersession production and entry to the third biennial conference of the Asian Shakespeare Association: “Shakespeare, Traffic, Tropics”. The play is Ian Maclennan’s adaptation and direction of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Ian Maclennan is Professor and current Chair of the Department of Theater and Motion Picture Arts of Thorneloe University in Laurentian, Canada where he teaches Theater History, Shakespeare in Performance, Acting, and Directing. He has written extensively on Shakespearean performance, several of them presented in various conferences across the world. Also an active theater practitioner, Ian has acted and directed in countless productions for the university and the professional stage, and has facilitated workshops on various aspects of performance, Shakespearean or otherwise, in various institutions in North America and the Asia-Pacific. The Squaddies’ Shrew, his adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew was first shown in Tasmania, Australia in 2006 and will have its Philippine debut during the 2018 ASA Conference.

In Shakespeare’s play, Signor Baptista won’t let his younger daughter, Bianca, get married until he has married off his elder daughter, Katherine. Problem is, Katherine has a reputation as a shrew, defined in the American Heritage Dictionary as a “woman with a violent, scolding, or nagging temperament” and no one wants to marry her. Along comes Petruccio who is looking for a wife, particularly one with some money behind her. He decides that Katherine will make a great wife and that he will work on her until he has “tamed” her. He challenges her, he embarrasses her, he scolds her, but she still doesn’t give in. In Shakespeare’s play, Petruccio finally wears her down until she lets him have his way and she becomes the obedient wife. In The Squaddies’ Shrew, Katherine never totally gives in. She recognizes what he is doing and decides to play his game to make him think he has her under his thumb. So, in the long run, Katherine beats Petruccio at his own game by making him think he has won and she is tamed.

In this adaptation, the squaddies (young soldier recruits) put on the play as part of a trick being played on one of their own, Sly, who is a drunken lout. They get him to believe that he is a general and that Bartholomew, one of the squaddies, is his wife. They then put up this play to entertain the general and get him to play Petruccio. Sly falls for it, hook, line, and sinker. These squaddies are not great actors but what they lack in talent, they make up in enthusiasm.

Tanghalang Ateneo’s Ervin Ocrisma plays the roles of Sly, a squaddie who is tricked by his comrades into believing he is a general, and Petruccio, a suitor to Katherine who is the only one who could tame her.

Serge Davide plays the role of Katherine, the shrew. No one dares court her except for Petruccio. He also plays the role of Bartholomew, a soldier who fakes being the wife of Sly.

Eldrick Yuji Los Baños plays the role of RSM, the leader of the squaddies who conceived the plan to trick Sly. His other roles are Baptista, father of Katherine and Bianca, and Vincentio, the father of Lucentio.

Maco Guibone plays the roles of Lucentio, Squaddie 1, and Grumio. Squaddie 1 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Lucentio is a suitor of Bianca while Grumio is a servant to Petruccio.

Tristan Ahorro plays the roles of Tranio, Gremio, Nathaniel, Squaddie 2, and Tailor. Tranio and Nathaniel play similar roles as servants, with Tranio serving Lucentio and Nathaniel serving Petruccio. Squaddie 2 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Gremio is a suitor to Bianca while the tailor is a character that makes clothes for Petruccio.

Francis Roy Genelsa plays Squaddie 3, Hortensio, Biondello, and Curtis. Squaddie 3 is part of the crew that plays a trick on Sly. Hortensio is a suitor to Bianca and a friend to Petruccio. He would later disguise himself as Licio, a schoolmaster to Bianca, in order to court her. Curtis is a servant under Petruccio.

The artistic team of The Squaddies’ Shrew is composed of Tanghalang Ateneo Artistic Director and Moderator Glenn Sevilla Mas, Ian Maclennan (Direction and Adaptation), Guelan Varela-Luarca and Nicolo Ricardo Magno (Assistant Directors), Tata Tuviera (Production Design), D Cortezano (Lighting Design), and Lucas Abaya (Graphics Design).

The playdates of The Squaddies’ Shrew are May 27-28. Performances start at 6:30PM at The Doreen Black Box Theater, Arete Arts Wing, Ateneo de Manila University. This intersession staging of the play also serves as a preview run of the season opener of Tanghalang Ateneo’s 40th Season. Regular shows are targeted to run from August 14-18, August 21-25, August 28-September 1 later this year.

For questions and additional details about the show, please contact Frances Catipon at 09175285650.

Connect with Tanghalang Ateneo online through the following social media networks:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TanghalangAteneo
Twitter: www.twitter.com/TAOfficial_
Instagram: www.instagram.com/tanghalangateneo

#TA39 #SquaddiesTA #PerformingChange

PH Rise Sidelines - Cusi Pushes AURELCO, NGCP Sub-Transmission Connection

Wazzup Pilipinas!

As President Rodrigo Duterte asserted the Philippine sovereignty here, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi fits in Aurora’s energization last Tuesday during the commemoration of the First Anniversary of the renaming of Benham Rise to Philippine Rise.

Cusi used the occasion to meet with Aurora Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AURELCO) General Manager Noel DV. Vedad to discuss the island- and micro-grid designs, as well as the planned sub-transmission facilities in their franchise area for the possible connection expansion with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) in the Municipality of San Luis, which is located south of Aurora’s capital, Baler.

Cusi and Vedad discussed about these plans to increase the reliability of electricity services in AURELCO’s franchise area, as part of the electric coop’s “redundancy” measures.

“Aurora is a thriving province and we have to further equip them with effective energy systems to increase not just the stability of their power supply, but also their capability to be energy resilient, especially that it’s vulnerable to natural disasters brought by typhoons,” Cusi explained.

AURELCO is closely coordinating with the DOE’s Electric Power Industry Management Bureau, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Energy Regulatory Commission to put up a 69kV sub-transmission facility traversing Maria Aurora and Casiguran. This also includes a 5 megavolt ampere substation as endorsed by DOE to NEA, which forms part of the electric cooperative’s Distribution Development Plan.

When completed, these projects will provide stable and reliable services to the towns of Dinalungan, Casiguran, Dilasag in Aurora Province and Dinapigue in Isabela or the so-called “DICADIDI areas”.

The DICADIDI areas are currently being served by the National Power Corporation’s Small Power Utilities Group, which is isolated from the Luzon Grid.

The DOE noted that sub-transmission projects are badly needed to improve electricity services in the AURELCO franchise area including also the facilitation of the graduation of AURELCO from its missionary electrification (or subsidy) status.

The DOE Chief concluded, “We are seeing stronger grid connectivity and functioning island- and micro-grids as a way forward to improve Aurora’s current power situation.”

Cover photo caption:

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi (second from left) are AURELCO General Manager Noel DV. Vedad, DOE Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos and Energy Resource Development Assistant Director Ismael U. Ocampo. The meeting happened last Tuesday (15 May) as a sideline to the Presidential Ceremonial Send-off for the All-Filipino Marine Scientific Research (MSR) and Laying of an Ocean Buoy and Symbolic Marker at the Philippine Rise held in Casiguran, Aurora.