The Company of Ateneo Dancers (CAD) won in the recent Nike Women Dance Battle held this weekend.

Excerpt:

MAKATI CITY, Philippines–Clad in goddess-inspired outfits, the Company of Ateneo Dancers (CAD) grooved their way to the top and took home the grand prize in the Nike Women Dance Battle.

“We’re really avant-garde to be different and unique,” said Steff Someda, a BS Biology student and team captain of CAD, in an interview during the contest held at A. Venue Saturday.

“We put a lot of energy, belief, faith in ourselves and faith in God,” added Jesse Castillo, AB Arts Management student and co-dance head of CAD.

Read the rest of the report here.

MANILA, Philippines—Former national women’s futsal team IROK Philippines is striking it out on their own as they join an international tournament in New Zealand this year.

Head coach Emmanuel Batungbacal said the team is currently raising funds to compete again at the Vikings Futsal Cup this August.

The team competed in last year’s tournament but placed at the bottom. They were able to beat host country New Zealand but lost closing games to stronger teams in Australia.

“But we’re bringing in lots of experience and some new players with us this time,” Batungbacal told INQUIRER.net via a telephone interview.

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By Izah Morales

IT was not yet Friday but many have gathered at the Black Nazarene Church in Quiapo not to hear mass. They were there to catch a glimpse of the victorious Manny Pacquiao.

At around 8:00 in the morning, the siren went off in Plaza Miranda as Pacquiao and his entourage arrived.

The once solemn atmosphere in the Church was quickly filled with cheers as Pacquiao entered. People who were seated in the Church silently, stood up. Others even forgot they were inside the Church as they climbed on top of pews to have a better view of the boxing champion. The police took about 30 minutes to settle the rowdy crowd inside the Church.

After priest gave his final blessings, Pacquiao was asked to give a message to the people.
During his message, Pacquiao thanked the people and attributed his success to God. He talked about the criticisms he got from some sportswriters before his bout with Oscar de la Hoya. But he said he did not lose hope as he kept his faith in God.

Pacquiao told the crowd, “Don’t tell God that [you] have a big problem. [B]ut tell your problem [that you] have a big God.”

As he went out of the Church, people brought out their phone cameras and took photographs. They followed him until he got into his land cruiser. One man screamed, “Idol kita, Manny!” as if saying that Pacquiao has always been their champion.

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

PASIG CITY, Philippines — Want to be good in a sport that constantly innovates?

Try playing the yo-yo.

“Yo-yo is a sport that inspires endless ideas and innovation. It is a safe sport that can be played by everyone, plus it can be done almost everywhere,” said Philip Rodriguez, a professional yo-yo player.

“To start playing, all you need is the yo-yo, a small space to throw the gadget, patience and dedication to practice. Everyone can be good at it,” he said.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

PASIG CITY, Philippines — Start them on a sport while their young.

This has been the inspiration of Toby’s Youth Badminton Championships. Now on its sixth year, the cup continues to attract young talent to compete with other badminton players of their own age.

Toby Claudio, vice president for operations at Toby’s Sports said starting sports development at the “grassroots” level — meaning the youth — is the best way to keep the local talent pool fresh and helps offer better training to athletes.

“Often, we believe that training is for a selected pool of very talented athletes. But the key to develop and hone players is to offer the opportunity to as many kids as possible. From here, players will emerge as they learn in the court and during their early training,” Claudio said.

One of the challenges for young badminton talents is how to get exposure and experience in competitions, given that most of these cater to the yuppies and working class players. Through their badminton cup, Claudio hopes they are helping the youth gain experience and exposure while playing at the court and get acknowledged as they publish results of the competition. At present, 10 to 15 players from the cup were drafted in the national team.

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IF you’re a fan of mixed martial arts, then Saturday, July 19 (Sunday, July 20 in Manila) was a great day because the debuting MMA promotion Affliction unleashed its first pay-per-view, Affliction: Banned, while the reigning MMA promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship, countered this challenge by quickly putting together the UFC Fight Night 14 card, which it showed for free on Spike TV on the same day.

The Affliction: Banned main event featured the man many MMA aficionados consider the best heavyweight fighter and arguably the best MMA fighter of all time, Russia’s legendary Fedor Emelianenko. Going up against him was the former two-time UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia, with the winner becoming the first World Alliance of Mixed Martial arts heavyweight champ. This was the icing on what was a great card that included Andrei Arlovski, Josh Barnett, Pedro Rizzo, Matt Lindland, Renato Sobral, and one of my all-time faves, Vitor Belfort.

Meanwhile, the main event for UFC Fight Night 14 was the UFC’s main star and the man being touted as the current best pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world, Anderson Silva, the UFC middleweight champion, who was making his debut in the light heavyweight division. I’m a huge Silva fan, and this guy has been dominant in the UFC middleweight division, but even though I felt he would win against James Irvin (best known for knocking out Houston Alexander in eight seconds), I have to admit I was wondering how wise it was for Silva to accept a bout in a higher weight class on short notice.

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By Erika Tapalla
INQUIRER.net

UPDATE: Editor’s note: Corrected misspelled name.

I HAVE to admit, for the longest time, the first image that usually enters my head whenever I see a Frisbee would be a topless stud flicking the disc to his beautiful golden retriever named Lassie, trained to, yes, “retrieve” that disc for a rewarding rub on the head on a warm day out in the park.

But recently, I realized that image was completely off for two reasons. One: the Frisbee, or “disc” as they call it, isn’t just for the Lassies and their masters. And two: It actually takes skill to catch those plastic discs as they soar and trick you as to which direction they’re actually headed. Believe it or not, it’s not as charming as it looks. I should know.

I tried it, and there were many times when my disc didn’t look as pretty as a flying saucer that so perfectly flies right to the hands of my partner. Trust me when I say there were times when I made my disc look like a weapon that would slice someone’s head off (vertically, at that) if they weren’t paying attention.

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WORLD-CLASS Filipino athlete Bong Coo shares how she got into bowling and recounts her most memorable tournaments. She talks about the future of the sport in the Philippines and cites some of the rising stars.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

ASIANLOGIC CEO and Asian Poker Tour director Chris Parker talks about the tournament which kicks of on May 27 at the Dusit Thani Hotel. The APT boasts a $1 million guaranteed prize pool. Interview conducted by INQUIRER.net reporter Relly Carpio.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.

CHINO VEGUILLAS, a senior instructor at the AAK Fitness System in SM Megamall and Regina Torres, 10, talk about karatedo and why kids should try this sport this summer.

Video taken by INQUIRER.net online videographer Janie Christine Octia.