Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko is an avid fan of basketball star Thirdy Ravena.
The ambassador even wished Ravena speedy recovery and showed his support by donning his No. 0 Pilipinas jersey.
Two photos of the Japanese diplomat showing his basketball love have been posted on his Twitter feed.
Ravena, a former player of the Ateneo de Manila University collegiate champion team, has recently been sidelined from his Japan B. League team San-en NeoPhoenix due to a hand injury.
A member of the Gilas Pilipinas squad, Ravena underwent successful hand surgery last January.
“Get well soon, @ThirdyRavenaaa!! Eager to see you back on the court! Take it to the rack!!!” the ambassador tweeted Saturday. (Genalyn Kabiling)
PBA still on TV5
The PBA assured that its television deal with TV5 won’t be affected after the latter forged an agreement with ABS-CBN to air some of its primetime programs.
Questions as to whether the PBA coverage will be bumped off from Manny V. Pangilinan’s flagship channel were raised after TV5 entered into a blocktime agreement that will allow ABS-CBN to air its primetime shows daily.
PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial and league chairman Ricky Vargas of TNT assured that TV5 is fully committed to give the league the deserved exposure.
“There are no major changes, in fact it’s an enhancement, especially with additional PBA content at PBA Rush,” Vargas said, referring to the PBA-only cable channel available through Cignal. (Jonas Terrado)
PH taekwondo jins rev up training
Five taekwondo jins are intensifying their training inside the bubble at Inspire in Calamba, Laguna as they enter the crucial stage of their buildup for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) this May.
Marc Velasco, the chief of staff of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), said Friday that the next two months would be crucial since the OQT is set May 14 to 15 in Amman, Jordan.
“The taekwondo team is entering its crucial training phase,” said Velasco, also the national training director. “Expect the intensity to go up with two months left before the important tournament.”
Pauline Lopez, the reigning two-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist and Asian Games bronze medal winner, leads the national team along with Rio Olympics veteran Kirtsie Elaine Alora in the women’s category. (Waylon Galvez)
Manila water polo gets equipment
Water polo in Manila gets the much-needed boost following the arrival of its equipment from Europe, said program’s officer-in-charge Dale Evangelista.
“Of course, Mayor Isko (Moreno) wants the best equipment for Manila, that’s why we purchased it in Europe,” said Evangelista. “We’re all excited with this development, we’re just waiting for its release. Once they’re ready, we’ll start to install it in different venues we identified together with the Manila Sports Council.”
Last month, Moreno said he wants the country’s capital city to be in the same level as Barcelona in Spain and the province of Kashiwazaki in Japan – all traditional power in the sport.
The training goals, ball and caps will be distributed to Bitas Aquatic Complex, Andalucia Complex, Dapitan Complex Bagong Buhay Complex and the JCC Complex – all under the care of the Public Recreation Bureau. (Waylo Galvez)
Azkals to play in China this June
The Philippine Azkals will play the remainder of their World Cup/Asian Cup Qualifiers this June in China, the AFC announced Friday.
The Azkals begin the resumption of the Asian Qualifiers on June 3 against Guam followed by matches opposite China on June 7 and Maldives on June 15.
China was selected as one of the centralized venues in a bid to complete the fixtures in the second round of the joint qualifiers. (Jonas Terrado)