Qatar Airways Sponsorship To Help Revive Philippines Football League

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Philippines was one of the soccer powerhouses before the hoops took over the nation. However, the attempts to revive the game in the country with the most active efforts coming from the Philippines Football Federation (PPF) chief Mariano “Nonong” Araneta.

The reigning President of PFF who is seeking a fresh mandate as the chief is looking to sustain the development of football in the country. Philippines has a long association with the sport that dates back to more than 100 years when Paulino Alcántara Riestra became the first Filipino player to play for a European club. 

Since then football teams started to form in the country with some of the oldest names including the Manila Sporting Club (1906), the Bohemian Sporting Club (1909), and the Sandow Athletic Club (1910). But over the years, the game lost its lustre and is overtaken by basketball.

PFF revival efforts could be soon getting a major boost as talks with Qatar Airways are underway to sponsor the Philippines Football League for the next three years. The financial details of the deal are yet not made public but Araneta believes that the sponsorship will provide enough funding to host junior-level tournaments in the league.

Interestingly, the news is coming around the period when PPF Congress event is to be held on November 28. During the event voting for the new PFF president will be held in which representatives from 32 provincial football associations will be participating. 

Araneta is already backed by representatives of 25 provincial football associations and expects that development of the PFF over the last eight years will be enough to earn him another term.

First elected in 2011, Araneta who is on his second term is happy to see Qatar Airways is there to support soccer in the country. He believes it is the performance of the team that gained recognition. He states, “I think they realized that although there are some things that are lacking, but overall football (in the country) has improved.”

Philippines national teams (men and women) has gained during the tenure of Araneta as the PPF president. The men’s national team qualified for AFC Asian Cup for the first time and reached its highest global ranking of 111. 

The women’s national team also made to the AFC Asian Cup. The popularity of the sport in the country is one the rise that is garnering interest from the global fan community. 

Most sportsbooks now list Philippines football odds which is a sign of increasing global interest in the country’s play. The grassroots programs of the PFF are considered to be a reason behind the improved and are praised by the AFC.

The PPF chief is optimistic that the Philippines Football League that had a difficult first couple of years will be benefited from the Qatar Airways sponsorship that will run for three years.

But the tough times are not yet over for the Philippines football as the Araneta’s running mate Ricky Yanson who is also the Negros Occidental Football Association president is in a company dispute with his other siblings including younger brother Leo Rey, who owns Ceres-Negros, Philippine’s top football club.

This makes it important that Araneta wins the election who was captured quoting, “I was thinking of not running anymore as I have served football for a long time.”

“But because of the circumstances right now, then I am forced to run again to protect football from infighting.”

Big Boost for Junior Tennis as Elite US NCAA Division 1 Coaches Visit Manila at the DreamBig Gold Series Tennis Tournament and Camp in January 2020

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Here’s a unique opportunity for junior tennis players to hone their skills and train under top-notch college coaches right here in Manila.

DreamBig Events will stage the “Gold Series College Exposure Tennis Camp”, a two-day tennis camp preceded by a two-day UTR tournament, at the Manila Polo Club on January 9-12, 2020. The sports events company stages tournaments and camp experiences to junior athletes so they can improve their skills and tournament performances.

Touted as the “Road to College Tennis”, the Event will give young athletes in the Philippines the all-important training and opportunity to network with world-class coaches – putting them in a good position to potentially get recruited to top U.S. University/ College tennis teams.

The event aims to provide young tennis players with play level-based competitions with an opportunity to build up their Universal Tennis Rating (UTR). The UTR is the world’s only results–based rating system in tennis that provides an accurate measurement of a player’s level – from newbie to pro to the world’s top tennis players. Armed with a UTR, tennis players get a higher chance of being recruited by top U.S. College coaches who use the rating for their rosters.

Three top collegiate coaches – Alex Wong from Brown University, Rob Raines from Cornell University in New York and Jessie Frieder from Boston University -- will run the camp. They will evaluate each player carefully, with advice and guidance for improvement in specific areas of their game while assessing their readiness to move on to the next level on their journey to possible career as a tennis professional or as a top collegiate tennis player.

Why the need to go through the US collegiate system to excel in tennis? “Because US universities are the gateway to international competition and recognition. The schools are equipped with the newest technology and uphold the highest game standards. Coaches there work extremely hard, not just on individual fitness and skill levels, but also on the athlete’s mental, psychological and competitive outlook to give them the best opportunity to maximize their talents and reach new heights,” said Akshay Maliwal, Founder and CEO of DreamBig.

“Ambitions have to start somewhere – and for many of our participants, their ambition is to study and play their sport in the US. DreamBig Events enables student-athletes to experience the life of a US collegiate that takes them to the edge of world class competition,” Maliwal added.

Previous DreamBig Gold Series Camps have produced top local athletes like Stefan Lhuiller, Nik Gatmaytan, Jerome Romualdez and Tomi Arejola, among others, who have successfully pursued their US collegiate athletic dreams

Interested participants may register now at https://dreambig.events/gold-series-tennnis-camp/

Thomasian Filmmakers Strut Their Wares

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Student filmmakers from the University of Santo Tomas have recently registered their mark in different local film festivals.

The short films “Heist School” (Last Minute Films) and “Gáring” (1PM Films) and the documentary “Beyond the Mats: The UST Salinggawi Journey” (Tiger Media Network) have competed in different film festivals such as Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, Cinestudyante, Maginhawa Film Festival, One La Salle Film Festival, and De La Salle University’s Indie Un-Film Festival.

“Heist School” bagged the Audience Choice award at this year’s Cinemalaya short film category. It also won Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Trailer and Best Sound in last year’s Sine Reel competition organized by the UST Communication Art Students’ Association. In addition, it was also officially selected to the IUF, the inaugural edition of the One La Salle Film Festival and the first Maginhawa Film Festival.

The short film tells the story of two best friends who form a group of students to steal their teacher’s answer key to their examination from the faculty room. Joedel (Jemuel Cedrick Satumba) and Omar (Bryan Bacalso) pull off every trick available to them as they try to save their friendship and themselves from the brink of failing high school. Providing support is Teri Lacayanga as their teacher Ms. Suzy, Ella Mae Libre as Reymarie, Son De Vera as Jerique, Brylle Parzuelo as Jacob, and Kevin Ramos as Edward.

Director Julius Renomeron Jr. teamed up with his classmates Johmar Damiles, Klaire Ellise Dulay, John Paolo Barrameda, Alvin Jamora, Keanu Managuas, Ezren Caneda, Pauline Carlos and Zhino Koe. They have been friends who have created short films long before their film production class in UST.

“Gáring,” on the other hand, brought home Second Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Actress for Chin Jongko and Best Trailer at Sine Reel this year. After winning at Sine Reel, it was officially selected to the IUF and Cinestudyante. The short film tells the story of a loving mother who faces the hardest challenge of her life, pushing her to the brink of how far she will go to save her son.

Director Dan Pablo also took charge of lighting and editing the film, as he got ample support from production manager Katarina Mendoza, screenwriter Georgie Cerbolles, associate producer Ynna Dizon, assistant director and casting director Charlaine Mutia, fellow A.D. Emery Principe, production designer Shaira Calleja, casting director and location manager Alex Garcia and art director Barbara San Diego.

Meanwhile, “Beyond the Mats” is a documentary on the inspiring story of the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe. Dan Angelo Eligado directed, photographed and edited the documentary, with the help of executive producer Gwen Segarra, supervising producers Jomari Hernandez and Pauline Linsangan, writer Oscar David Poblete, co-editor Ma. Lynette Pamintuan, and production assistants Mivel Ambas, Charlene Jaranilla and Clarissa Sulit.

Aside from Sine Reel, UST holds two other student film festivals in the campus. Sine Abierto, formerly Sine Tomasino, is founded in 2015 and organized by the Thomasian Film Society, which counts Renomeron and Damiles as alumni. It was initially restricted to UST filmmakers, but after a year, a category was opened to non-Thomasians. On the other hand, Sining Sine is a film competition of the UST College of Fine Arts and Design for students enrolled in a film elective.

TFS President Kathleen Doblado hopes these film festivals will discover fresh new talents from among the Thomasian community and encourage them to join film festivals outside UST.