Two former PBA players will be part of a new-look Manila Chooks TM squad slated to compete in the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Doha Masters on March 26 to 27.
Chico Lanete and Mac Tallo are joined by Zach Huang and Dennis Santos as Manila looks to make a good impression in the two-day tournament set in the Qatari capital.
Manila goes into the tournament with fresh faces after Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol, Santi Santillan and Troy Rike left for the PBA after the Doha Masters in late-November.
Coach Aldin Ayo will be tasked to steer the team that needs to get past the qualifying draw which includes host Doha and Austria’s Graz in order to compete in the main draw. (Jonas Terrado)
Laguna chessers overpower rivals
The Laguna Heroes scored back-to-back victories Wednesday night and kept their share of the lead with the San Juan Predators in the 2021 Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino tournament at chess.com.
The Heroes upped their record to 29-4 following their 20-1 and 15.5-5.5 wins over the Isabela Knight Raiders and Manila Indios Bravos, respectively.
Grandmaster John Paul Gomez was the top scorer for the Heroes with perfect six points after downing Lordwin Espiritu of Isabela and Ryan Dungca of Manila.
Woman National Master Jean Karen Enriquez, Vince Angelo Medina and Kimuel Aaron Lorenzo also contributed to Laguna’s impressive performance.
Pinoy bets show stuff in Singapore
Two Filipino fighters are all set for mixed martial action in ONE: Fists of Fury III at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on Friday.
Team Lakay’s women’s strawweight bet Jenelyn Olsim will face No. 5 contender Maira Mazar of Brazil while Fil-Indonesian Aziz Calim will lock horns with Roshan Mainam of India in the flyweight bout.
Olsim, a product of Rich Franklin’s ONE Warrior Series, faces a tall order in her ONE Championship debut against the Brazilian veteran, who holds a 7-3 record.
Olsim, a muay thai silver medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, is the lone Team Lakay fighter in the strawweight division while her teammate Gina Iniong competes in the atomweight. (Carlo Anolin)
Metura, Saludar win in GenSan
Rimar Metuda, Froilan Saludar and Adam Diu Abdulhami came through with resounding victories in the 10-fight card put up by Sanman Boxing Promotions under strict health protocols on Wednesday at its owngym in General Santos City.
Metuda led the triumphant campaign for the Sanman stable of boxers as he scored a third round knockout win against veteran campaigner Eden Sonsona in their welterweight match.
Saludar, elder brother of reigning WBA world minimum weight champion Vic, beat Reymark Taday via unanimous decision in their eight-round bout in the bantamweight class.
For his part, Abdulhamid delivered a second round knockout against Romeo Jakosalem in their welterweight fight dubbed “Comeback Kings” by the Sanman outfit.
Carjun Carcosia, Ian Sampan and Harmonito dela Torre all won via KO against Jesril Vijano in the featherweight division, Yoben Lementillo in the super featherweight and Renan Portes in the lightweight, respectively.
The other winners were RV Deniega, John Vincent Moralde and Jerry Francisco who defeated their respective foes. (Waylon Galvez)
Tokyo Games exec quits over pig insult
TOKYO (AFP) – The creative director for Tokyo’s Olympic ceremonies resigned on Thursday for suggesting a female comedian appear as a pig, just weeks after the Games’ chief stepped down over insulting remarks about women.
Hiroshi Sasaki announced his decision after a report on Wednesday revealed his proposal that Naomi Watanabe, a popular celebrity and plus-size model, appear as an ”Olympig” wearing pig ears at the opening ceremony.
It is just the latest headache for the coronavirus-delayed Games, which are struggling for public support mid-pandemic and were left reeling by former chief Yoshiro Mori’s sexist comments last month.
In a statement released early Thursday, Sasaki apologized to Watanabe and said he understood his suggestion was inappropriate.
