Death by ‘elected position’
Forgive the editorial abuse but today’s title is a play of words on the extremely violent murder of Governor Degamo of Negros Oriental along with eight other innocent individuals who were seen as targets or deemed as threats by hired assassins......»»
Death by ‘elected position’
Forgive the editorial abuse but today’s title is a play of words on the extremely violent murder of Governor Degamo of Negros Oriental along with eight other innocent individuals who were seen as targets or deemed as threats by hired assassins......»»
Funny old world: The week’s offbeat news
From Vietnam's leaders not being able to take a joke, to why Jude Law is proud that his new film stinks... Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world. Not so close, Jude British star Jude Law -- the former face of Dior Homme -- doused himself in a special fragrance to get in the mood to play Henry VIII, the English monarch who liked to chop and change wives, in the movie "Firebrand", which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Henry was getting old and moldy by the time he married his final wife, Catherine Parr. So, Law had a perfumier come up with a scent that summoned up the smell of "puss, blood, fecal matter, and sweat". Co-star Alicia Vikander, who played Parr, said she and the crew struggled not to puke from the stink on set. You can never be too old Old white men may have become a term of abuse elsewhere, but Cannes has refreshingly taken this much-maligned minority to its heart. No less than six are competing for its top prize. This year's festival is awash with pensioners, with 80-year-old Harrison Ford saddling up for one last ride as Indiana Jones and Robert De Niro and Michael Douglas also girding themselves to climb all those red-carpet steps to the premieres. Still, old guys can be a contrary lot. Take 80-year-old Martin Scorsese who premiered his "Killers of the Flower Moon" there but refused to compete for the Palme d'Or, saying, "It's time for others" -- by which he presumably meant even older men like favorite Marco Bellocchio, 83, and two-times winner Ken Loach, 86. Dead woman elected A dead woman has topped the poll in a local election in India two weeks after her sudden demise. Ashiya Bi's husband informed officials of the 30-year-old's death but they told AFP there was no way to remove her name from the ballot. "Once the electoral process begins, it cannot be halted or paused," said Bhagwan Sharan, a district officer in Uttar Pradesh. Despite being a first-time candidate, Bi took 44 percent of the vote. "Ashiya made friends easily and people didn't want to break the promise of support they gave her," said local Mohammad Zakir. Sense of humor failure A Vietnamese noodle seller has ended up behind bars for making a jokey viral video at the expense of one of the communist country's politburo members. Public security minister To Lam topped off a visit to London and Karl Marx's grave by dining at celebrity chef Salt Bae's pricey restaurant -- where a 24-carat gold leaf steak can set the average worker back more than $1,000. Street seller Peter Lam Bui posted a parody video impersonating Bae -- a.k.a. Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, who parlayed his meme stardom into a string of high-end eateries -- by sprinkling herbs on noodle soup and calling himself "Green Onion Bae". But officials did not see the funny side and had Lam convicted of spreading anti-state propaganda. The post Funny old world: The week’s offbeat news appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Mother’s justice cry
Jonash Bondoc, a Philippine Merchant Marine Academy cadet, died from alleged fatal punches in a fistfight with a schoolmate in July 2021. His mother, however, believes Jonash did not die due to a fistfight, but was a victim of hazing. Gracelyn Gimang Bondoc, the mother of the victim, is now seeking the intervention of the Commission on Higher Education to issue a preventive suspension against the president of the PMMA, Commodore Joel Abutal and his chief of staff, Ensign Chuck de la Cruz. She also sought the filing of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of public service pursuant to the 2017 rule on administrative cases in civil service. In a 6-page administrative complaint received at the Commission on Higher Education or CHEd office last 18 May, obtained by the Daily Tribune, Bondoc narrated that she received the bad news last 6 July 2021 that her son Jonash died. “After receiving the sad news, we went to PMMA to see my son. However, I was only allowed to see his remains on 8 July 2021, wherein we only saw his face and were not allowed to go near him since he allegedly had Covid-19,” she narrated, adding that Jonash was immediately cremated due to his health circumstances. Fall guy? She said on 7 July, a certain Jomel Gloria was charged with homicide after executing an Extra Judicial Confession admitting his culpability for the crime to support the scenario that Jonash’s death was the result of a fistfight. On 8 December 2022, the Regional Trial Court Branch 71 of Iba, Zambales promulgated its decision finding Gloria guilty of homicide, due to his admission that he punched the victim Jonash twice in the chest, causing his instant death. After his conviction, Gloria was released through provisional liberty pending his appeal or any remedy available to him after posting an additional bond of P60,000. But as Bondoc doubted the reason given for his son’s death, the mother secured a copy of a medico-legal report from the Zambales Provincial Crime Laboratory Office, and she found out that his son suffered multiple contusions and hematomas in his neck and head. After his conviction, Gloria was released through provisional liberty pending his appeal or any remedy available to him after posting an additional bond of P60,000. “Thus, we arrived at the conclusion that the injuries my son suffered are not commensurate with the attack made and as narrated by the accused Jomel and we believe that the same is not committed by one person by merely punching Jonash twice in the chest,” according to Bondoc. Mystery from top Another mystery is that the respondents being the highest official of PMMA did not investigate the possibility of a hazing incident, as it was not “a secret that there is hazing in PMMA.” Because of the purported extra judicial confession, the authorities including the respondents zeroed in as a suspect of the crime, the person of accused Jomel, leaving others scot-free and maintaining their position in PMMA without any worry whatsoever.” “Obviously, the foregoing showed that the act of respondents constitutes an obstruction of justice or violation of Presidential Decree 1829, which is tantamount to grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the interest of the public service,” the letter of Bondoc to the CHEd said. In an interview with the Daily Tribune, the lawyer of Bondoc, Atty. Banjo Lucman said they want CHEd commissioner Prospero de Vera III to “act swiftly on their request” to put Commodore Abutal under preventive suspension for his command responsibility, as well as for CHEd to reinvestigate the alleged whitewash that resulted in the demise of a PMMA cadet. The post Mother’s justice cry appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Iran summons Swiss envoy over call to halt executions
Iran on Sunday summoned Switzerland's ambassador over a tweet calling for a stop to executions linked to protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, Tehran's foreign ministry said. The Swiss embassy took to Twitter on Friday to "strongly condemn" the execution earlier that day of three men convicted of killing security force members during last year's protests in the central city of Isfahan. "Switzerland urges Iran to stop these executions and to take steps to reduce the use of the death penalty," said the tweet from the embassy, which also represents US interests in Tehran. Ambassador Nadine Olivieri Lozano was summoned "following Switzerland's interventionist position in our country's internal affairs", the foreign ministry said on Sunday. The Swiss tweet featured an image from a demonstration outside Iran showing protesters raising a poster of Amini -- who died in custody on September 16 -- and waving Iran's pre-Islamic revolution flag. Tehran on Sunday condemned "the unconventional and unprofessional use of this country's embassy in Tehran in republishing an image with a fake flag". "Such an unconventional action is not compatible with the friendly relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Swiss Confederation, and should be corrected," the statement said. Iran witnessed waves of nationwide protests following the death of Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress rules for women. During the protests, which Tehran generally labeled as foreign-instigated "riots", thousands of Iranians were arrested and hundreds killed including dozens of security personnel. Majid Kazemi, Saleh Mirhashemi, and Saeed Yaghoubi were hanged on Friday after being found guilty of "moharebeh" -- or waging "war against God" -- for shooting dead three members of the security forces on November 16. The executions drew sharp reactions from Western countries and were censured by human rights groups based outside Iran. Iran executes more people a year than any other nation except China, according to human rights groups including Amnesty International. The pace of the executions has been frantic in 2023, with the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) now counting at least 270 executions since the start of the year. The post Iran summons Swiss envoy over call to halt executions appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cabinet shake-up looms (3)
From Indonesia, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. confirmed that there will be a reorganization, not a reshuffle, of the Cabinet following the end of the one-year ban on those who ran in the May 2023 elections. He said he has already evaluated the performance of the Cabinet members during his first year in office and he will be appointing competent individuals as additional members of his official family. He added that he will be picking them up from those who lost in the last elections. No wonder some are lusting to be picked and even hired public relations persons to push for their names and peddle them as already being chosen. Social media is replete with a list of so-called incoming appointees with the departments they are supposed to head. The truth of the matter is — this list is bogus and purposely circulated by the handlers of those whose names appear thereat. One wonders why they go to great lengths to project themselves as having already clinched the Cabinet portfolio. Some of them have served at one time or another in the past administrations while others would like a taste of the limelight accompanying the position as well as the perks that go with it. Still others, the opportunity of public exposure is a golden chance to raise one’s chances of getting elected to a national office. It cannot be discounted that there are unscrupulous few who having accumulated ill-gotten wealth while in office, would like to return to their money-making ventures having succeeded to evade the graft busters from discovering or unearthing their unlawful under-the-table deals. There is one political opportunist and a scoundrel who has been suspended by the highest court of the land for unethical practice, and who is so hated by a religious group for his threat to kill its members, but who managed to worm his way to the graces of the appointing power, or so seems, (hopefully it’s more apparent than real ) in the last elections by using gutter language in a distasteful attempt at aping the maverick, politically willed and well-loved PRRD. It will be a disaster if these kinds of people are appointed in the Cabinet for they are termites that will destroy the image of the administration. Unsurprisingly, there are Cabinet members who will have sleepless nights the next few days for they might wake up the following day to learn that they would be joining the two former Cabinet officials who fell from power just after a few months in office. It is indisputable that those who will get the axe have not performed well in their departments and have become an embarrassment to the presidency. Instead of being assets to the administration, they have become liabilities and therefore should be given their walking papers. The performing ones will undoubtedly remain for they have helped PBBM in implementing his policy of national development and vision of economic growth and prosperity for the people. In an earlier column, they have been named. There is another member of the Cabinet who is an asset to the administration. His stint as President of the University of the Philippines and as a long-time executive of the Asian Development Bank have helped him steer competently and efficiently the Department of Trade and Industries. Secretary Alfredo Pascual not only has continued the innovative programs in the trade industry initiated by the Duterte administration but improved on it resulting in the country’s steady economic rise coming from the crippling pandemic. He has introduced business practices geared toward attracting foreign investments while strengthening domestic trade. These business opportunities for both local and foreign investors will greatly produce not only needed government revenues but employment for the millions of the unemployed. Hopefully, the coming new composition of the Cabinet will usher in the much-needed support coming from the alter egos of the President to ensure the success of the latter’s presidency. The post Cabinet shake-up looms (3) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Erdogan leads show-of-force rally
Istanbul, Turkey — “Istanbul!” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shouted to the sea of supporters he gathered for a show-of-force rally ahead of next Sunday’s election — the toughest of his two-decade rule. “If you say okay, we will win for sure!” The masses were packed shoulder-to-shoulder across the tarmac of Istanbul’s old Ataturk airport: A tidal wave of Turkish flags and banners with the 69-year-old president’s face. Erdogan was the mayor of this city before leading his Islamic-rooted party to power and ending half a century of secular rule in the mostly Muslim but officially secular state. The loss of Istanbul to the opposition in 2019 mayoral elections cracked Erdogan’s aura of invincibility and sounded the first warning bell for the approaching vote. The latest polls suggest that Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu are locked in a dead heat and probably heading to a runoff on 28 May. But surveys in Turkey are an inexact science and both are trying to show their supporters that they can win outright next weekend by picking up more than 50 percent of the vote. Kilicdaroglu staged a smaller but still-impressive rally that filled a park on the Asian side of the city facing the Sea of Marmara the day before. But Erdogan and his party charted 10,000 buses to bring in people from 39 provinces for what the president dubbed “the rally of the century” on Sunday. He claimed that more than a million people had shown up — and aerial footage of the event beamed live across the nation suggested that Erdogan might have been right. “I am honoured to be here,” 68-year-old Heyiye Kefal said with a smile. The disabled pensioner was transported to the event by a party bus. “We were in bad shape before but today we have everything: freedom and comfort,” she said. The old airport was abandoned in 2018 in favour of a new one the size of Manhattan that the president built near the Black Sea. “We have reshaped the country,” Erdogan proclaimed from the stage. Kilicdaroglu’s message was equally upbeat. “Are you ready for change? Are you ready to restore democracy?” the 74-year-old head of Turkey’s oldest party asked his supporters. “Together, we will rule the country with reason and virtue.” Istanbul’s popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — a presidential hopeful until a court effectively barred him from higher office in a case stemming from his 2019 victory — was the guest star of Kilicdaroglu’s event. “Rights, law, justice” and “Erdogan thief!” the crowd chanted as Imamoglu spoke. “Because of Erdogan, innocent people are in jail,” pensioner Yunus Mensur said while clutching a Turkish flag. The 76-year-old echoed Kilicdaroglu’s pledge that an opposition victory would bring “freedom and democracy”. “Kilicdaroglu will do what is right,” added Sabit. The 55-year-old accountant refused to give his last name because “we are not free -- and you can write that down”. Polls suggest Kilicdaroglu is beating Erdogan by a two-to-one margin among younger voters, who have known just one leader throughout their life. The young were out in force at the Istanbul park on the pleasant Saturday evening. “He is like us, he understands people,” 20-year-old Aleyna Erdem said of the grandfatherly opposition leader. “Kilicdaroglu will raise the status of women,” added Mujde Tosun. The 24-year-old supermarket employee lives in one of Istanbul’s most conservative districts and stays veiled in public. But she voiced no fear with the historically secular position of Kilicdaroglu’s party. Its previous decision to bar women from wearing the veil at school or civil service was a “thing of the past” she said. Kilicdaroglu has since pledged to make the wearing of headscarves protected by law. But Tosun said she was not particularly worried about the veil. Her main concern was the possibility that Erdogan might be re-elected. If that happens, “we’re doomed,” she said. The post Erdogan leads show-of-force rally appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Floods kill over 170 people in east DR Congo
More than 170 people have died after heavy rains and flooding in eastern DR Congo's South Kivu province, officials said Friday, after torrential downpours killed dozens in neighbouring Rwanda. South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabije said dozens of people were unaccounted for in the Kalehe region, west of Lake Kivu and near the Rwandan border, where the floods also washed away hundreds of homes. "We have about 176 people dead," he said while visiting the affected area. "This toll is provisional," he said. "We also have about 100 people missing." Archimede Karhebwa, the assistant administrator of Kalehe, had earlier told AFP that about 100 people had died, according to a provisional toll. A day of national mourning will be observed on Monday with flags lowered to half-mast "in memory of the lost compatriots", the government announced on Friday evening. Several villages in Kalehe were submerged when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains, he said. Karhebwa said the floods carried away hundreds of houses and also "surprised vendors and their clients in the markets". Innocent Mupenda, a civil society figure from the region, said a downpour started on Thursday afternoon, before the "river carried away villagers". His mother and 11 children died in the flood, Mupenda said. Vital Muhini, an elected official from Kalehe, also told a local radio station that the floods had been "devastating human and material damage". He put the number of deaths at around 150. AFP was unable to independently confirm the death toll, with reported figures varying. A member of a rescue team deployed on Friday afternoon, who declined to be named, said "the search is continuing in the rubble". Eastern Congo's deadly flooding follows the death of at least 127 people this week after downpours in neighbouring Rwanda, which lies on the other side of Lake Kivu. Karhebwa, Kalehe's assistant administrator, said that the rivers have burst their banks and caused disastrous flooding on four previous occasions. The area had been studied and people living by the river requested to leave, he explained. Deforestation in the area and climate change have contributed to the flooding problem, according to Karhebwa. "We are sending out an SOS to people of goodwill and for urgent humanitarian aid," he said. Heavy downpours during rainy seasons in central Africa regularly lead to flooding and landslides. But experts say extreme weather events in Africa are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change. Last month, a landslide provoked by torrential downpours killed around 20 people in North Kivu, a province that neighbours South Kivu. The Democratic Republic of Congo, a vast nation the size of continental western Europe, is one of the poorest countries in the world, riddled by corruption and conflict in its east. The post Floods kill over 170 people in east DR Congo appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Charles III crowned king at first UK coronation in 70 years
Charles III on Saturday finally met his date with destiny after a lifetime as heir to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, as he was officially crowned king in the first coronation in Britain since 1953. At exactly 12:02 pm (1102 GMT), the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed the solid gold St Edward's Crown on Charles's head as a sacred and ancient symbol of the monarch's authority. Cries of "God Save the King" rang out from the 2,300-member congregation at Westminster Abbey and trumpet fanfares sounded at the climax of the solemn religious confirmation of his accession. Outside, ceremonial gun salutes blasted out across land and sea while bells pealed in celebration at churches. Charles, 74, will wear the St Edward's Crown only once during his reign. His wife, Camilla, 75, was crowned queen in a simpler ceremony soon afterwards. The build-up to the Christian ceremony of prayer and praise -- steeped in 1,000 years of British history and tradition, with sumptuous robes and priceless regalia -- has been mostly celebratory. But even before Charles and Camilla left Buckingham Palace for a rainy procession to the abbey, police arrested dozens of protesters using new powers rushed onto the statute book to crack down on direct action groups. The anti-monarchy movement Republic -- which wants an elected head of state -- said six of its organisers were detained, while climate activists Just Stop Oil said 19 of its number were held. Nevertheless, dozens of Republic activists held aloft banners on the route of the procession route, declaring: "Not My King." Both Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International voiced concern at the arrests. "This is something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London," HRW said. London's Metropolitan Police has some 11,500 officers on the streets in one of its biggest-ever security operations. It has warned that it has an "extremely low threshold" for protests. As well as being the first coronation in 70 years, it was the first of a king since 1937. It was only the second to be televised and the first in colour and streamed online. Changes Much of the two-hour Anglican service, in which Charles pledged "I come not to be served but to serve", would have been recognisable to the 39 other monarchs crowned at Westminster Abbey since 1066. But while many of the intricate rituals and ceremonies to recognise Charles as his people's "undoubted king" remained, the king sought to bring other aspects of the service up to date. Female bishops and choristers participated for the first time, as did leaders of Britain's non-Christian faiths, while its Celtic languages -- Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic -- featured prominently. A gospel choir sang for the first time at a coronation while a Greek choir intoned a psalm in tribute to Charles's late father, Prince Philip, who was born on the island of Corfu. As king, Charles is the supreme governor of the Church of England and has described himself as a "committed Anglican Christian". But he heads a more religiously and ethnically diverse country than the one his mother inherited in the shadow of World War II. As such, he sought to make the congregation more reflective of British society, inviting ordinary members of the public to sit alongside heads of state and global royalty. In another change, the coronation themes mirrored his lifelong interest in biodiversity and sustainability. Seasonal flowers and foliage were brought from the wind-battered Isle of Skye in northwest Scotland to Cornwall at the tip of England's southwest coast to fill the abbey. Ceremonial vestments from previous coronations were reused, and the anointing oil -- created from olives on groves on the Mount of Olives and perfumed with essential oils -- was vegan. Charles was anointed out of sight of the congregation behind a three-sided screen in front of the High Altar, to the strains of Handel's soaring anthem "Zadok the Priest", sung at every coronation since 1727. Opposition Rishi Sunak -- Britain's first prime minister of colour, who gave a reading from the Bible at the service -- has described the coronation as "a proud expression of our history, culture and traditions". But not everyone is convinced: polling indicates waning support for the monarchy, particularly among younger people. Charles's eldest brother Prince Andrew -- sidelined due to his friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein -- was booed as he headed to the abbey. Another royal exile, Prince Harry, who has criticised the family since leaving for the United States in 2020, attended the coronation on his own. Overseas, Charles's position as the hereditary monarch and head of state of 14 Commonwealth countries looks increasingly fragile. Jamaica and Belize both signalled this week that they are moving toward becoming republics, while Australia, Canada and others may eventually follow suit. Britons struggling with the soaring cost of living have meanwhile questioned why taxpayers should stump up for the coronation, with the bill estimated to be over £100 million ($126 million). Support Yet the huge crowds of royal fans that have been building all week on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace indicate that the royals still have a central role in British culture and history. Many of those camping out to watch have flown in from abroad, underlining the royal family's untouched position as Britain's leading global brand. Christine Wilen travelled from Niagara Falls in Canada for the event. "I'm very excited to be here, to be part of this history," said Wilen, wearing a visor and sweatshirt in Canadian colours. "It's just too good an opportunity to miss," said Nick Demont, 60, outside the abbey. "There's a good chance I won't see another one." The post Charles III crowned king at first UK coronation in 70 years appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Reviewing Ramadan
By the time this piece sees print today, either Eid el Fitr which marks the end of the fasting month of Holy Ramadan was celebrated yesterday or the celebration is today. It is a guessing game. Even with the advances in modern science and technology — which predetermine like clockwork the setting and rising of the new moon, believers are still bound to follow the Islamic injunction to be guided by the personal sighting of the moon, with two witnesses attesting. True, the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos had recommended, and this was adopted by Malacañang, the declaration of 21 April as the Eid el Fitr national holiday. Still, many ulamas and Muslim scholars were asking for a fatwa or religious declaration to back the position of the NCMF. An archaic practice? No way, claim the ultra-conservative Muslims. They have to follow to the letter the religious ritual. As a consequence, there appears to be a dichotomy in Islam — a continuing tug of war between uncompromising stern fundamentalists and those who want to break away from past tradition towards forward-looking progressive ideas without desecrating the basic principles of Islam. In fact, this defines the great divide between the adherents of fundamentalist Islamic States of Abobakar Al-Bagdadhi advocating violence to establish a Caliphate in the mold of prophet Muhammad’s PBUH of yore, and moderate Islam. That is a contentious issue better left to Muslim theologians. But this piece is written to review international and local events that happened during the observance of the just-concluded Ramadan that impacted Muslims. These were mostly discussed in my recent columns. The historic breakthrough in the sour relationship between the two leading countries of Muslims — Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran — was a welcome development. After a long period of backdoor negotiations, unlikely peacemaker China brokered the restoration of diplomatic and political ties between the erstwhile contenders for political dominance in the Middle East, to the embarrassment of the superpower United States which was sidelined. This is good for Islam. A fly in the ointment, however, in the solemn observance of Ramadan was the willful desecration of Islam’s third Holiest Mosque, the Al Aqsa. Devotees in the middle of their prayer rituals were attacked and dispersed with stun grenades and rubber bullets by Israeli armed forces — a serious affront to the solemnity of the Holy Month. In the dying days of Ramadan, another blow was dealt to Islam. As we go to press, fighting rages in Sudan whose populace are devout practicing Muslims. The protagonists are two generals vying for power during the transition from the dictatorial regime of President Omar al-Bashir to civil government. Muslims are the victims in the armed intramural. Locally, tragedy struck with the fire that hit a vessel in the sea off Basilan where most of the victims were Muslims. A Congressional inquiry was called to determine the cause. This was sad for Islam. In the newly created provinces of Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte, the political and legal imbroglio in the latter has simmered down a bit. But while the political and administrative conundrum was addressed with the appointment of a senior minister of the BARMM as officer-in-charge governor, it has created a new problem for Maguindanao del Sur. The re-elected governor was fuming with contempt and indignation after being designated merely as OIC, a move that many observers saw as a gaffe by the Office of the President. This column empathizes with the governor. She was the governor of the mother Maguindanao province and was elected governor of the new Maguindanao del Sur. Why in hell should she be treated the same as the OIC governor of Maguindanao del Norte? This column suggests that the good governor file a special court action for Declaratory Relief to rectify the error. Meantime, the successful hurdling of the recent Bar exam by Muslim takers was welcomed by the Muslim minority. Muslims pray that the teachings of Ramadan for piety, rectitude, self-discipline, forgiveness, and altruism observed by devotees will outlast the end of Ramadan. To my readers: Eid Mubarak! amb_mac_lanto@yahoo.com The post Reviewing Ramadan appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait
Xi Jinping was elected to another five-year term as president of China together with his position as head of the Chinese Communist Party and head of the Military Commission......»»
Coaching great John Thompson of Georgetown dead at 78
By JOSEPH WHITE AP Sports Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — John Thompson, the imposing Hall of Famer who turned Georgetown into a “Hoya Paranoia” powerhouse and became the first Black coach to lead a team to the NCAA men’s basketball championship, has died. He was 78 His death was announced in a family statement released by Georgetown on Monday. No details were disclosed. “Our father was an inspiration to many and devoted his life to developing young people not simply on but, most importantly, off the basketball court. He is revered as a historic shepherd of the sport, dedicated to the welfare of his community above all else,” the statement said. “However, for us, his greatest legacy remains as a father, grandfather, uncle, and friend. More than a coach, he was our foundation. More than a legend, he was the voice in our ear everyday.” One of the most celebrated and polarizing figures in his sport, Thompson took over a moribund Georgetown program in the 1970s and molded it in his unique style into a perennial contender, culminating with a national championship team anchored by center Patrick Ewing in 1984. Georgetown reached two other title games with Thompson in charge and Ewing patrolling the paint, losing to Michael Jordan’s North Carolina team in 1982 and to Villanova in 1985. At 6-foot-10, with an ever-present white towel slung over his shoulder, Thompson literally and figuratively towered over the Hoyas for decades, becoming a patriarch of sorts after he quit coaching in 1999. One of his sons, John Thompson III, was hired as Georgetown’s coach in 2004. When the son was fired in 2017, the elder Thompson -- known affectionately as “Big John” or “Pops” to many -- was at the news conference announcing Ewing as the successor. Along the way, Thompson said what he thought, shielded his players from the media and took positions that weren’t always popular. He never shied away from sensitive topics -- particularly the role of race in both sports and society -- and he once famously walked off the court before a game to protest an NCAA rule because he felt it hurt minority athletes. “I’ll probably be remembered for all the things that kept me out of the Hall of Fame, ironically, more than for the things that got me into it,” Thompson said on the day he was elected to the Hall in 1999. Thompson became coach of the Hoyas in 1972 and began remaking a team that was 3-23 the previous season. Over the next 27 years, he led Georgetown to 14 straight NCAA tournaments (1979-92), 24 consecutive postseason appearances (20 NCAA, 4 NIT), three Final Fours (1982, 1984, 1985) and won six Big East tournament championships. Employing a physical, defense-focused approach that frequently relied on a dominant center -- Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo were among his other pupils -- Thompson compiled a 596-239 record (.715 winning percentage). He had 26 players drafted by the NBA. One of his honors -- his selection as coach of the U.S. team for the 1988 Olympics -- had a sour ending when the Americans had to settle for the bronze medal. It was a result so disappointing that Thompson put himself on a sort of self-imposed leave at Georgetown for a while, coaching practices and games but leaving many other duties to his assistants. Off the court, Thompson was both a role model and a lightning rod. A stickler for academics, he kept a deflated basketball on his desk, a reminder to his players that a degree was a necessity because a career in basketball relied on a tenuous “nine pounds of air.” The school boasted that 76 of 78 players who played four seasons under Thompson received their degrees. He was a Black coach who recruited mostly Black players to a predominantly white Jesuit university in Washington, and Thompson never hesitated to speak out on behalf of his players. One of the most dramatic moments in Georgetown history came on Jan. 14, 1989, when he walked off the court to a standing ovation before the tipoff of a home game against Boston College, demonstrating in a most public way his displeasure against NCAA Proposition 42. The rule denied athletic scholarships to freshmen who didn’t meet certain requirements, and Thompson said it was biased against underprivileged students. Opposition from Thompson, and others, led the NCAA to modify the rule. Thompson’s most daring move came that same year, when he summoned notorious drug kingpin Rayful Edmond III for a meeting in the coach’s office. Thompson warned Edmond to stop associating with Hoyas players and to leave them alone, using his respect in the Black community to become one of the few people to stare down Edmond and not face a reprisal. Though aware of his influence, Thompson did not take pride in becoming the first Black coach to take a team to the Final Four, and he let a room full of reporters know it when asked his feelings on the subject at a news conference in 1982. “I resent the hell out of that question if it implies I am the first Black coach competent enough to take a team to the Final Four,” Thompson said. “Other Blacks have been denied the right in this country; coaches who have the ability. I don’t take any pride in being the first Black coach in the Final Four. I find the question extremely offensive.” Born Sept. 2, 1941, John R. Thompson Jr. grew up in Washington, D.C. His father was always working — on a farm in Maryland and later as a laborer in the city — and could neither read nor write. “I never in my life saw my father’s hands clean,” Thompson told The Associated Press in 2007. “Never. He’d come home and scrub his hands with this ugly brown soap that looked like tar. I thought that was the color of his hands. When I was still coaching, kids would show up late for practice and I’d (say) ... ‘My father got up every morning of his life at 5 a.m. to go to work. Without an alarm.‘” Thompson’s parents emphasized education, but he struggled in part of because of poor eyesight and labored in Catholic grammar school. He was moved to a segregated public school, had a growth spurt and became good enough at basketball to get into John Carroll, a Catholic high school, where he led the team to 55 consecutive victories and two city titles. He went to Providence College as one of the most touted basketball prospects in the country and led the Friars to the first NCAA bid in school history. He graduated in 1964 and played two seasons with Red Auerbach’s Boston Celtics, earning a pair of championship rings as a sparingly used backup to Bill Russell. Thompson returned to Washington, got his master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the University of the District of Columbia and went 122-28 over six seasons at St. Anthony’s before accepting the job at Georgetown, an elite school that had relatively few Black students. Faculty and students rallied around him after a bedsheet with racist words was hung inside the school’s gym before a game during the 1974-75 season. Thompson sheltered his players with closed practices, tightly controlled media access and a prohibition on interviews with freshmen in their first semester -- a restriction that still stands for Georgetown’s basketball team. Combined with Thompson’s flashes of emotion and his players’ rough-and-tumble style of play, it wasn’t long before the words “Hoya Paranoia” came to epitomize the new era of basketball on the Hilltop campus. Georgetown lost the 1982 NCAA championship game when Fred Brown mistakenly passed the ball to North Carolina’s James Worthy in the game’s final seconds. Two years later, Ewing led an 84-75 win over Houston in the title game. The Hoyas were on the verge of a repeat the following year when they were stunned in the championship game by coach Rollie Massimino’s Villanova team in one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. Success allowed Thompson to rake in money through endorsements, but he ran afoul of his Georgetown bosses when he applied for a gambling license for a business venture in Nevada in 1995. Thompson, who liked playing the slot machines in Las Vegas, reluctantly dropped the application after the university president objected. Centers Ewing, Mourning and Mutombo turned Georgetown into “Big Man U” under Thompson, although his last superstar was guard Allen Iverson, who in 1996 also became the first player under Thompson to leave school early for the NBA draft. “Thanks for Saving My Life Coach,” Iverson wrote at the start of an Instagram post Monday with photos of the pair. The Hoyas teams in the 1990s never came close to matching the achievements of the 1980s, and Thompson’s era came to a surprising and sudden end when he resigned in the middle of the 1998-99 season, citing distractions from a pending divorce. Thompson didn’t fade from the limelight. He became a sports radio talk show host and a TV and radio game analyst, joining the very profession he had frustrated so often as a coach. He loosened up, allowing the public to see his lighter side, but he remained pointed and combative when a topic mattered to him. A torch was passed in 2004, when John Thompson III became Georgetown’s coach. The younger Thompson, with “Pops” often watching from the stands or sitting in the back of the room for news conferences, returned the Hoyas to the Final Four in 2007. Another son, Ronny Thompson, was head coach for one season at Ball State and is now a TV analyst. ___ Joseph White, a former AP sports writer in Washington who died in 2019, prepared this obituary. AP Sports Writer Howard Fendrich contributed......»»
Kyrgyzstan elects ally of Japarov as speaker
Kyrgyzstan’s parliament elected an ally of acting leader Sadyr Japarov as speaker Wednesday, in a move bolstering the populist politician’s position as he prepares for a January presidential election......»»
Lawmakers laugh off new Duque position
Facing criticisms at home for his poor handling of the new coronavirus spread and facing a probe that is looking at his role on the corruption in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhlHealth), Health Secretary Francisco Duque was recently elected chairman of the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific region. The validation of Duque came […] The post Lawmakers laugh off new Duque position appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
FIBA: Mighty Jimmy and the shot that introduced Gilas to the World
This story was originally published on Feb. 24, 2019 It’s Saturday night at Mall of Asia and the arena is absolutely rocking. Eternal basketball rivals in the Philippines and South Korea are delivering another classic. Gilas Pilipinas is down to the final minute of regulation against its longtime tormentor in the second of two semifinal games. The national team is up by two, 81-79. The Philippines is hosting the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championships where three tickets to the 2014 World Cup are at stake and the winner of this particular game gets one of those tickets. Given the rich history of both teams and what it would mean to the winner, this pivotal game has gone down the wire as everyone pretty much expected. Also knowing the history of both teams in international play, Gilas’ precarious two-point lead was not safe at all. A ghost was lurking in the background and a dreaded curse felt almost inevitable. Down to the final minute of the crucial grudge match between the Philippines and South Korea, guard Jimmy Alapag has the ball and a two-point lead. What he will do will help define not only his career but the legacy of the Gilas name as a national team. WAKE-UP CALL Even before the Philippines-Korea game, Gilas Pilipinas already had to go through one emotional game early in its homestand for the Asian Championships. In a preliminary round showdown against Chinese Taipei, the Filipinos collapsed in the fourth quarter, allowing the Taiwanese to steal a morale-boosting 84-79 win. In 2013, the relationship between the two countries hit a rough patch over the death of one Taiwanese fisherman. In an updated May 17 report by CNN’s Jethro Mullen, “Taiwan has reacted angrily after one of its fishermen was killed by a Philippine coast guard vessel.” Taiwan had frozen applications from OFWs seeking jobs in its territory and the government of then President Ma Ying-jeou demanded an apology, among other things, from the Philippines. While the national basketball teams of both countries never really had any prior animosity with each other, tension was naturally present as both teams squared off in Group A action. Gilas Pilipinas and Chinese-Taipei both entered the showdown with identical 2-0 records and the winner would take control of solo Group A lead heading into round 2. Taking a good lead into the fourth quarter, the Philippines was outscored by 18 in the last 10 minutes and the national team took its worst home loss in quite some time. “At the time, it was a huge game for us. We understood what was happening in Taipei during that particular time. We really wanted to win for what our kababayans were going through at that time,” guard Jimmy Alapag said on that first home loss in the 2013 Asian Championships. “We didn’t get the job done, and it was tough especially to lose a game like that, it was a very emotional and it was a game that we knew we needed,” he added. The crushing loss meant that the Philippines had little room for error in round 2. While Gilas didn’t have any world beaters lined up in the second round, anything less than a perfect run would have meant an early clash with Asia’s established powerhouse teams in the knockout stages. On the other side of the bracket, defending champion China, Iran, and South Korea were battling for position and were expected to finish in the top-3. That means if Gilas Pilipinas failed to finish no. 1 in its group, the national team would have faced one of those teams in the quarterfinals. Gilas picked up a crucial win over Qatar in the 6th of August and the day after, the Philippines got some help from those same Qataris as they beat Taipei in a close decision. At the end of round 2, all teams finished with identical win-loss records but Gilas Pilipinas would take over first place after all tiebreaks were considered, barely edging out Taipei. The Philippines ended up avoiding defending champion China, Iran, and South Korea and instead got Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. No. 2 Taipei drew China and the third-running Qataris were matched up with the South Koreans. “I think that was the moment we grew up and grew closer. I think that was the lowest of the lows, just because of the atmosphere and what was going on between both countries. It kind of felt that we let our end of the bargain down, you know what I mean? We’re on our home soil and we didn’t take care of business. I think that was one of those moments where we had to really check ourselves and find a way to make it right,” forward Gabe Norwood said of the Taipei loss. “But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In tournaments like FIBA-Asia it’s important that you have short-term memory whether it was a win or a loss. We needed to let go of that game and continue to stay the course, keep our focus in the tournament,” Alapag added. On August 7, four days after Gilas lost to Taipei, the rift between the Philippines and Taiwan would reach a resolution and the latter country lifted its freeze hiring and other sanctions on the former. The Philippines also did issue on official apology over the death of the Taiwanese fisherman a couple of months prior and the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila recommended the pressing of homicide charges to erring members of the Philippine Coast Guard. DARK HISTORY If the word “rival” is to be defined as a, “person or group that tries to defeat or be more successful than another person or group” then sure, the Philippines and South Korea are rivals. Both countries are rivals in the Asian basketball scene and they have been going at it for a very long time. But if the word rival can also mean “equal” or “peer,” is the Philippines really a worthy basketball rival to South Korea? The Philippines’ history with South Korea in terms of basketball is dark. Very dark. Consider the most high-profile matches between the two countries and you’ll see that the Philippine national team is just not at the level of South Korea. Or at the very least, Koreans always seem to reach 120 percent of their potential when they play Filipinos and we barely bring out 80 percent of our abilities when matched up against our East Asian neighbors. The 1998 PBA Centennial team, arguably the greatest Philippine team ever assembled, was demolished by South Korea in the Asian Games. A national team set up for gold only settled for bronze. Speaking of a bronze medal game, the original Gilas Pilipinas team lost a podium finish to South Korea in the 2011 FIBA-Asia Championships. That team squandered a double-digit lead and collapsed late. Of course, who can forget the semifinals of the 2002 Asian Games in Busan when Olsen Racela had the chance to put the Philippines up four but missed two free throws. South Korea would win with a booming triple at the buzzer off a broken play and would later take down China to capture the gold medal. South Korea is the Philippines’ basketball nemesis for all intents and purposes. A worthy adversary that always seem to emerge victorious at our expense. Still, all that previous disappointment didn’t seem to bother Gilas Pilipinas six years ago. The team was not scared and instead, they were excited even. One factor to greatly consider was that fact that the game was in Manila. It makes all the difference to play at home. “We understood the bad history that we had with Korea. We haven’t been very successful with them in quite some time but we knew from Day 1 that if ever we got an opportunity to play them at home, then we have a great chance,” Alapag said. “Man, pre-game, it was just the focus. Everybody was up for the challenge, I don’t think anybody was really nervous, I think it was just the anxiety... we wanted to get out there and do it already,” Norwood added. Playing at home had its perks for sure, but it also had its drawbacks. For all the painful losses the Philippines suffered at the hands of South Korea, it would have been devastating if Gilas actually took a beating in Manila. Stakes were extra high in this particular chapter of this long, ongoing saga. “There was always pressure, it was something that we acknowledged early. Playing at home, it’s great having that support but at the same time, there is some added pressure because you wanna make sure that you make our home crowd proud of the team that they watch and ultimately, win games,” Alapag said, making sure to note that the national team knew of the disadvantages of playing at home even before the Korea game. “It was there but it was something that we acknowledged and we wanted to make sure that we took advantage of the opportunity playing at home,” he added. ALL FILIPINO, ALL HEART Once it was go time, the Philippines-South Korea game went about pretty normal, as you would expect any game from these two national teams. But even before halftime, an injury to Gilas center Marcus Douthit changed the complexion of the semifinals showdown. All of a sudden, the Philippines was without its anchor, without its best player. Sure, there were players on the Gilas bench that can come in and replace Douthit’s size but there was simply no one on the Gilas bench that can come in and replace his talent, production, and just overall presence. June Mar Fajardo was in that Gilas bench but it 2013, the would-be five-time PBA Most Valuable Player was just not at that level yet. It would have been easy for Gilas Pilipinas to fold like cheap furniture and succumb to the overwhelming pressure of trying to overcome South Korea to reach a stage very few Filipinos have reached before. Gilas didn’t fold and instead, the Douthit injury rallied the team even further. “Alam mo sa totoo lang, puso na lang yun eh. Nung nawala si Marcus talaga, sabi ni coach kailangan doble kayod tayo. Dahil sobrang dehado tayo kumbaga, wala na tayong import, wala tayong malaki,” forward Marc Pingris said. With Douthit gone, Ping ate up all of his minutes and worked by committee with guys like Ranidel De Ocampo and Japeth Aguilar to fill in the gaps. “As a player naman, kami nagusap-usap kami na kahit anong mangyari, lalaban kami. Yung time na yun, talagang patay kung patay,” Ping added. Despite losing its best player to an untimely injury, Gilas Pilipinas’ confidence in winning never wavered. With their collective backs against the wall, the Philippine national team played even better. Unlike the later iterations of Gilas Pilipinas, the 2013 team, aptly called Gilas 2.0, had the luxury of having actual preparation before the FIBA-Asia Championships. The amount of work that came before the tournament and the Korea game, the bond built over countless hours of training, all of that helped the national team avoid a monumental meltdown in front of a rabid Manila crowd. “We were such a close-knit team in terms of our chemistry, in terms of the talent that we had, so we felt confident even when Marcus went down early in the game. If you looked at our huddle, you had 11 more very confident guys, not just in themselves but more importantly, in each other,” Alapag said. “That just boiled down to the chemistry that we had. I don’t think any of us panicked, we were all confident in each other. We’ve all been into that situation with our PBA teams, having the ball in our hands and making a play. Knowing that we had five weapons on the floor that could make the winning play, I think it made us very confident and we were able to sustain our composure,” the former Gilas captain added. THE GHOST AND ITS CURSE Shin Dong Pa, Hur Jae, Lee Sang-min, Oh Se-Keun, TJ Moon, and Cho Sung-min are just some players from the South Korean national team that inflicted incredible damage to the Philippines over the course of decades. The dreaded Ghost of South Korea takes form in these players and its curse is to give Filipinos the most heart-crushing loss possible. In 2013, the Ghost was Kim Min-goo and his curse was to beat Gilas Pilipinas in Manila. Despite losing Marcus Douthit and trailing by three points at the break, the Philippines started to turn the tables in the second half. Gilas Pilipinas unleashed Jayson Castro and the Blur led a blazing offense in the third quarter, finding a way to take a 10-point lead over South Korea, the Philippines’ largest of the night. But as the dust settled and Gilas holding a 65-56 lead entering the final period, an ominous figure would make his presence felt. The Korean Ghost has arrived and his name was Kim Min-goo. His curse? Beat Gilas Pilipinas in Manila. Kim was 22 and a senior in college when he made the South Korean national basketball team as a backup shooter in 2013. In nine games in Manila, Kim would play well enough to make the tournament’s All-Star team, averaging 12.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists. He led Asian Championships with 25 three-point field goals, 10 came in the last two games and five came against Gilas Pilipinas. Kim drilled back-to-back triples to open the fourth quarter against the Philippines. Later, his fifth triple — a four-point play at that — pushed the Koreans to within a point, 72-73. South Korea would take over soon after as Lee Seung-jun dunked the basketball on a fastbreak. The Ghost has arrived and his curse is in effect. “Ako pumasok sa isip ko yun nung lumamang Korea, na putek ito na naman,” Pingris said. “Pero ang sabi ko, sayang yung opportunity, kaya naman eh. So sabi ni Jimmy samin, no matter what happens wag kami gi-give up. Pinaghirapan natin to at may goal tayo, this year aalis tayo,” he added, noting the team’s goal to get into Spain and compete with the world’s best national teams. Faced with the possibility of dealing with a devastating defeat, Gilas had enough mental fortitude to keep things going. Trust your system, trust your preparation, trust your crowd, trust your teammates, and more importantly, trust yourselves. “You’re never out of the game if you’re playing at home,” Norwood said as they stared a deficit late against their destined rivals. “I think that was our mindset, keep it close and just find a way,” he added. Jimmy Alapag found a way. BORN READY Down 73-75, Jimmy Alapag was under heavy duress when he let go of a three-pointer from the left wing just in front of his bench. It was good to go. The Philippines was back on top by one as Alapag somehow managed to get his team to snap out of an initial shock following Korea’s strong fourth-quarter rally. The stage is now set for a wild finish and Jimmy will star in the final act of what has been an incredible show by Gilas and South Korea. “In situations like that, as an athlete and as a pro, that’s the situations that you dream about,” Alapag said. “Those are shots that you practice when you were a kid. When the shot clock is winding down, to have an opportunity to knock down a shot. It’s a shot that I practiced thousands of times,” he added. After the Philippines and South Korea traded baskets for the lead, Alapag made perhaps the most underrated play in this crazy and emotional encounter between two basketball rivals. Tasked with inbounding the ball just near underneath his own basket, Alapag found his Talk ‘N Text teammate Ranidel De Ocampo for an open look at three. Swish. Gilas leads, 81-77, with 91 seconds to go. “Ranidel was my favorite target for a very, very long time in my career,” Alapag said on the play that most people probably don’t even remember. “Once I saw that he got open, I wanted to make sure that I gave him as great a pass as possible and Ranidel has been known for a long time to take care of the rest,” he added. THE EXORCIST “Yeah, I was right under the basket,” Gabe Norwood says with a laugh when asked if he remembers the shot that changed the course of Gilas Pilipinas as a national team. Late in the fourth quarter of what was essentially a heavyweight bout, the Philippines just landed two strong haymakers but South Korea would refuse to go down without a fight, beating the count of 10 each time. Down to the final minute of a crucial grudge match with a World Cup berth on the line, Jimmy Alapag had his hands on the basketball as Gilas would go to its halfcourt set. Jimmy will never let go of said basketball. Up two, Jimmy did what Olsen wished he could 11 years prior. Up two against South Korea in a pivotal semifinal game, Alapag received a screen from Marc Pingris, which was enough to momentarily shake off Kim Tae-sul. With some room, Alapag drifted to his left and let a three-point shot fly. Boom. Gilas leads, 84-79, with 54 seconds to go. The shot would later be remembered as the one that ended the Korean Curse, the one that finally exorcised the Ghost. “The first thought that came to my mind was don’t miss,” Jimmy said of the clutch jumper. “That last one, Ping sets a good screen and I got a clean look. It’s a shot that myself, and Jayson [Castro], and Larry [Fonacier], and Gary [David], and Jeff [Chan], all of us, we practice that shot time and time again after practice. So you know, it was a shot that I was confident in but in that moment, all you’re thinking about was don’t miss,” he added. It’s one thing to be confident in yourself and to be confidednt in your preparation. It’s a different thing to actually perform under such pressure. As soon as Alapag managed to shoot his shot, Gabe Norwood did what any other good teammate would do and got in position to get the offensive rebound. You know, just in case. Gabe got the ball alright, but he got it after it swished through the rim. “When he put the shot up, I tried to crash for the rebound but I basically knew that it was going in,” he said. “I had probably the best view, I was right under the basket. I think caught it after it went through too,” Norwood added. Alapag checked out moments later as the Philippines went to its defensive lineup in order to stop another Korean comeback. South Korea turned to its most effective shooter in Kim and as he rose up to try and answer Alapag’s triple, Norwood met him at the apex for the game’s most dramatic stop. Gabe blocked Kim and Gilas would finish things off with a final Marc Pingris basket on the other end. A historic 86-79 win was complete. “I still get chills thinking about it, to look up and see grown men just breaking down. My wife was trying to hold my kids and she was holding back tears. It was just an awesome moment, the bond that we had on that team, the stuff that we did to get prepare, I think we poured it all out in that game,” Norwood said on the monumental victory. “I think it probably didn’t hit me until the final buzzer sounded. Not just for me but for the entire team, when that final buzzer sounded, it was such a special group of guys and the fact that we could share that moment with not just with each other but the entire country, it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” Alapag added, savoring the moment of a Philippine win over Korea 28 years in the making. THE INTRODUCTION Gilas Pilipinas would lose to Iran the next day in the Finals of the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championships. The Philippines put up a fight but Hamed Haddadi would prove to be too powerful to stop. It would take another two years for Gilas to beat Iran but that didn’t really matter in the moment. The Philippines is headed to the World Championships for the first time in three decades. The Philippines has beaten South Korea and one singular shot has allowed the Gilas name to be known around the world. Jimmy wouldn’t say that though. At least not directly in that way. “For me, that shot was the biggest for my career. But really, it was our entire team. We’ve gone through so much and that was just one particular play that really culminated the entire game and all the contributions from other guys from Gabe’s defense, to Ping’s rebounding, to Japeth’s rim protecting, to Jayson and LA doing a lot of the legwork,” Alapag said. “Everybody had their part in contribution to the game. After the shot, after the buzzer sounded, it was just a very special moment for us as a team and for Philippine basketball to show that all of the sacrifices, all of the hard work, now it’s given an opportunity to re-introduce ourselves to the world,” he added. Jimmy wouldn’t say it, but his teammates would. That shot of his that beat South Korea in the 2013 FIBA-Asia Championships introduced the Gilas name to the world. It announced that the Philippines has finally arrived. Gilas’ breakthrough overtime win a year later in Spain against Senegal — a game Jimmy pretty much decided late as well — made it known that Filipinos are here to stay on the World stage. “I would say so, it got us to where we wanted to be in the World Cup. I think we shocked some people there as well. But just the work that went in, I think it showed the country that we can get back to where we want to be as long as you work together,” Norwood said. “Yung puso ni Jimmy, grabe naman. Makikita mo maliit pero gusto lang niya talaga manalo. Ang liit pero parang lion pag nagalit eh, nandoon yung tiwala namin sa kanya. Ano pa ba masasabi mo, Jimmy is Jimmy Alapag,” Pingris would add. [NOTES: At the time of original publishing, Gilas Pilipinas was fighting to make a return trip to the FIBA World Cup, this time in China in 2019. To secure its slot, the the Philippine national team needed to beat Kazakhstan in Astana plus a loss from Japan, Jordan, and/or Lebanon. One of the teams that can help Gilas is South Korea... ironically. Jimmy Alapag retired from national team play in 2014 and retired playing for good in 2016. He has since made himself a champion basketball coach in the ABL. Marc Pingris suffered an ACL injury in 2018 and is in the process of returning for his PBA team in the current 2019 season. Gabe Norwood is still in Gilas. He’s still an effective two-way weapon. He can still dunk and will stop your best player too.] [Updated Notes: The Philippines beat Kazakhstan to make the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China. Gilas got help from... South Korea. The Koreans beat Lebanon on the road, allowing Gilas to advance to the World Championships outright with a victory over Kazakhstan.] — Follow this writer on Twitter, @paullintag8.....»»
IOC keeps a close eye on latest POC development
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) expects the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) to abide by its constitution and push through with its elections before the end of the year. IOC representative to the Philippines Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski said in her appearance in Tuesday’s online version of the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum that POC will hold its elections this year even if the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was delayed to July next year due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. “That’s in our by-laws. In other countries, it’s only stated that they will have elections on the Olympic year so naturally that’s 2020. But Olympics was postponed,” said Cojuangco-Jaworski. “But there are countries where the constitution says that whether or not the Olympics pushes through or not there will be elections and we are one of those countries. That is specified. Of course, the IOC expects that we adhere to our own constitution,” she added. Cojuangco-Jaworski, the 2002 Asian Games gold medalist in equestrian, also shared that the IOC is very much aware of what’s happening within the POC. “We at the IOC are regularly in touch,” said Cojuangg-Jaworski, a newly-elected member of the powerful IOC executive committee. The POC was in the news recently because of a heated debate regarding proposed amendments in its constitution and by-laws. But the move to amend the constitution, particularly those concerning a proposed age limit of 70 years old on those seeking elective positions in the POC, was met by a strong opposition. The other key amendments include disallowing persons to hold the position of president in more than one NSA (national sports association), the withdrawal of recognition on NSAs that are no longer affiliated with their IFs (international federations). After two meetings among members of the executive committee, nothing was finalized, and it’s all back to square one. Cojuangco-Jaworski said the IOC has been pushing for amendments in the constitutions of the different NOC (National Olympic Committee). “There are many developments in the Olympic movement and we want to keep up. The IOC wants the amendments to take effect before the different NOCs hold their elections,” said Cojuangco-Jaworski in the session presented by San Miguel Corp. Go For Gold, Amelie Hotel Manila, Braska Restaurant, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and powered by Smart, with Upstream Medias as official webcast partner......»»
Early struggles as coach drove Alapag to prove doubters wrong
Jimmy Alapag has made quite a successful transition from being a player to a head coach. The proof is that his San Miguel-Alab Pilipinas won the ABL title his first year and the team has stayed as a regular championship contender since. However, while his first season as head coach ended up with a championship celebration, the start was pretty rough for Alapag. [Related: ABL Finals: Jimmy Alapag was destined to be a head coach] It was so rough that he heard the criticisms that he wasn't actually ready to coach yet. "For my first season in particular, it was a struggle," Alapag said on Coaches Unfiltered. "We're here in the Philippines and when I retired, there were still some people who felt that I should have continued playing. So you start to hear some of that that I wasn't ready to coach, I just wasn't fit for the position," Jimmy added. As a first-year coach, Alapag wanted to start off on the right foot. But Alab was had a 0-3 record early and had alosing record approaching their second month before rallying to get the no. 3 seed in the playoffs. Even then, they faced the defending champion Hong Kong Eastern in the semifinals and figured in a sudden death Game 5 against Mono Vampire in the Finals. It was quite the journey and it only proved that coaching is not as simple as it may seem, even for a champion point guard like Alapag. "I think when you're a first-year coach, I think you always kinda think about how you start your season. I think you're always hopeful that you'd get out to at least a decent start and get that monkey off your back early," Jimmy said. "But that just drove me to right the ship," he added of their early struggles. "And I was very fortunate to have a great staff with Alab. We just put our minds together." — Follow this writer on Twitter, @paullintag8.....»»
Debates rage in Britain as kids go back to school
LONDON (AFP) — Britain partially reopens schools on Monday and allows the most vulnerable to venture outdoors despite warnings that the world’s second worst-hit country is moving too quickly out of its coronavirus lockdown. A death toll that now officially stands at 38,489 has piled political pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was elected […] The post Debates rage in Britain as kids go back to school appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phoenix Petroleum Names New President
Phoenix Petroleum, announced the election of Henry Albert “Bong” Fadullon as the company’s new President who will lead its business growth effective June 1, 2020. He was elected to the position shortly after the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on May 29, 2020 where he was likewise elected as a new member of the Board of Directors […].....»»
Fadullon assumes role as Phoenix Petroleum prexi
The country’s fastest-growing oil company, Phoenix Petroleum, announced the election of Henry Albert “Bong” Fadullon as the company’s new President who will lead its business growth effective June 1, 2020. He was elected to the position shortly after the Annual Stockholders’ Meeting on May 29, 2020 where he was likewise elected as a new member […] The post Fadullon assumes role as Phoenix Petroleum prexi appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gabriela Tavor’s tender letter to Esteban Santos for his graduation from Harvard University
by Jessica Jones May 25, 2023 at 10:05 p.m Gabriela Tavor and Esteban Santos have been married for several years and have managed to position.....»»