Cebu, Baguio, Bacolod children make it to Alaska's JrNBA/JrWNBA All-Stars

The best young basketball players from Cebu, Baguio, and Bacolod overcame the odds to make  it to the final lineup of the JrNBA/JrWNBA presented by Alaska.  The All-Star team will fly to Shanghai, China, October 6, to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime NBA experience.

Boys and girls from the provinces, especially those from Bacolod, Cebu and Baguio did surprisingly well when gauged versus their counterparts from Manila.

The players were selected through a nationwide search. Regional Selection Camps were held in Baguio, Cebu, Bacolod, Davao and Makati. The final 10 boys and 5 girls were named members of the Philippine All-Stars during the National Training Camp at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Cebu City students Darliene Ragasajo (14) and Florence Jil Talas (14) led the JrNBA/JrWNBA Female All-Stars.

The JrNBA/JrWNBA Davao Regional Selection Camp was also well-represented by Rozie Amatong (13) of Davao City, and Aloha Marie Betanio (14) of Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.

The fifth member of the Female All-Stars is Ma. Cecilia Quilenderino (14) of Dalig National High School, Antipolo City.

Arayi Ewon was named Coach of the Year - Female.

Tracy Carl Dadang (14), Fritz Felix Valencia (14), and Harold Alarcon (14) were selected from the Cebu Regional Selection Camp.  They led the members of the Male All-Stars.

Valencia traveled all the way from Bacolod City, while Alarcon came from Silay City, Negros Occidental to compete and qualify at the Cebu Regional Selection Camp.

Riz Ozner Gatus (14) of San Fabian, Pangasinan from the Baguio Regional Selection Camp also advanced to the Male All-Stars.

The other members of the Male All-Stars are Julian Alfonso and Isaiah Miguel Blanco (Alaska Powercamp), Andrei Philip Lechoncito, Jearico Nuñez, Miguel Rey Luis Tan and and Kai Zachary Sotto (Manila Regional Selection Camp). 

Elegino Chollo of Davao City was named Coach of the Year - Male.

JrNBA/JrWNBA Philippine All-Stars will join 90 other boys and girls from JrNBA Programs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.  They will attend the NBA Global Games 2016 between the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, China. 

“I’d like to congratulate our JrNBA Philippine All-Stars on their success.  Through Alaska Milk’s Nutrition. Action. Champion. Program and our partnership with the NBA, we have been able to help fuel the basketball dreams and life aspirations of thousands of children across the country,” said Alaska Milk Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Wilfred Steven Uytengsu. “This collaboration is an important element of our long-standing Nutrition. Action. Champion. Campaign. By leveraging on this initiative, Alaska Milk was able to proactively educate families and children on the important role of drinking milk and getting into sports to achieve a healthy and active lifestyle.”

JrNBA/JrWNBA presented by Alaska promotes the importance of regular physical activity, trains participants in the fundamentals of basketball and teaches the importance of core values, including sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude and respect.

The JrNBA Program is presented by Royal Friesland Campina in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam through its Alaska Milk, Frisian Flag, Dutch Lady, and Foremost brands.  The program was also conducted in Singapore through a partnership with Sport Singapore.

This program has touched the lives of more than 1.5 million children, parents, and coaches across Southeast Asia by conducting camps, clinics, and NBA Cares community outreach activities.

Visit Alaska Milk’s sports channel www.playph.com, and @PlayPH in Facebook and Instagram for inspiring stories on Filipino sports fans of all ages and skill levels.

Fans may also visit the official website www.jrnba.asia for more information on the JrNBA programs. Add NBA's official account on LINE through @nba_global.

Follow the NBA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nba, and Twitter @NBA for all the latest news and updates.  For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com.

UA Run Crew #RunWithFight is ON

UA RUN CREW PHILIPPINES WITH PIOLO

It was a relaxing Saturday afternoon, combined with a very cooperative weather. It should be a perfect time for 200+ running enthusiasts to gather, and kick off the most exciting program yet to be launched by the Under Armour - APEX Run Crew.  October 1 marked the beginning of the UA Run Crew, at the runner-friendly Bonifacio High Street Amphitheater.

It was no ordinary kick off event. It provided a high-octane ambiance to fuel awesome fitness goals.  Coach Jim and Toni Saret opened the program with a jolt of energy.  UA celebrity triathlete Piolo Pascual shared how gearing up with a high performance apparel and shoes like Under Armour would help you perform even better and help push you to perform more.  For warm-up, runners were introduced to a 4-minute fun + fierce workout led by Coach Toni, alongside with Coach Jim and Piolo. Then the runners were prompted to group themselves into smaller teams.  Teams assisted by top UA coaches. This was done to ensure that every participant received orientation on proper form, techniques, and workout to support their goals in running. There was also a short run along Bonifacio High Street to complete the launching activity of the UA Run Crew. 

UA Celebrity Triathlete Piolo Pascual warming up with the Run Crew coaches and athletes.

UA Run Crew in Action

Conditioning...

RunWithFight

UA Run Crew's #RunWithFight is officially ON.  It will run until December 3, 2016.  

Catch your favorite UA Run Crew on these days:

Mondays and Wednesdays - BHS Amphitheater, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Tuesdays and Thursdays - QC Memorial Circle, Planas Garden, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm ​and SM MOA by the Bay, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm​

FREE Weekly Runs:

Saturdays - BHS Amphitheater, 6:00 am - 8:00 am

Interested? Visit www.coachjimsaret.ph to learn more.  

Soliloquy: From a Working Woman to a Plain Housewife for Two Months

Me when not working, feeling cozy.  

This my soliloquy.  This is my blog.  #Respect

I have a love-hate relationship with work.  I love it more than I hate it.  My mindset is - work is a sanctifying grace.  It has always been like that since the day I joined the workforce six months before I graduated from college. I don't think it's going to change. 

Work taught me a lot of valuable things, including a great deal of patience, and respect for individual differences.  I'm still learning new things along the way.  I sometimes hate work, when it imposes its tendency to take away precious time from people and things I love.  I can always decide to keep it at bay, but what if sometimes, I care too much?  You know that hard wired 'malasakit' in Tagalog.  

Every time the doctors and genuinely concerned people would tell me to slow down, I find it really hard.  For a time, I couldn't differentiate 'busy' from 'very busy'.  

I have been on leave from work for almost a month now.  It's time to hit the brakes, and be on a much needed downtime to do some reassessment.  

I may have lost a child in my womb, but after days of retreat and grieving, I realized the baby is now part of who I am, part of my marriage with my greatest love. We never had the chance to hold the baby in our arms, but he/she will always be in our hearts, and will continue to inspire us to become a better couple, better parents (in God's time), better family.    

I received kind thoughts, not only from family and closest friends but also from people I did not expect to care.  I do not have high or low expectations of people.  I just learned not to expect anything from anyone, but I can only hope for people's genuine kindness.  My learning about the value of family and old-time friendship resurfaced.  With them, I can be myself and not be judged.  I can eat lunch while sobbing uncontrollably, in public, and they would not turn their back at me in shame, because they knew of depression. I should love them more.  For the quality time, yes, I am ultimately working on it.  I forgive myself for any misgivings, and I pray that I may also be forgiven.  

For how many times do I need to remind myself, I cannot please everybody. At some point, my heart would be badly broken by people I cared for, or at least respected.  Over the years, I learned about the difference between forgiveness and reconciliation.  I tend not to delve into negativity.  Tempted to take a few steps, but no, I do not want dark thoughts, a jaded heart.  I openly let go of toxic things, and toxic people.  My way of saving myself from being dragged down to a darker alley of deceit or untruthfulness, or playing host to a person's parasitic ambitions. I simply do not want to rub off the negative to the positive-minded people in my life.  Sorry, but not sorry.

I'm starting to feel lighter now, figuratively.  It helps to be kind to oneself, so we can also extend the same kindness to the people around us. 

Oh, and universe, please shower me with more healthy baby dust!  :)