Rookie helps TNT list its 2nd victory
Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@thestandard.com.ph; sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
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SATURDAY, APRIL 1, 2017
By Jeric Lopez
Sports Jose Jerry Belibestre leaps to a new record of 7.43 meters in the boys’ long jump event of the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships.
Rising Bacolod star smashes 18-year-old long jump mark I LAGAN CITY—A rising star from Bacolod stole the thunder from other fancied bets as he shattered an 18-year-old record in the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships Friday at the Ilagan Sports Complex in this sun-baked city.
medal with a mark of 6.82 meters, while Jhaelord Adriano of Team ISU grabbed the bronze medal after hammering 6.80 meters. Belibestre, the eldest of the four children of a bicycle shop owner, said he was hardly threatened as he cleared the 7.0-meter mark in all of his six jumps. “All of my jumps were more than seven meters,” said Belibestre, who claims to have registered a personal best of 7.53 meters in an unofficial competition in Bacolod City. “I know I can win it. I prepared hard for this tournament and I am eyeing not just to win the gold, but also to break the record. That’s my goal. I always go for breaking records.”
Unfortunately, Belibestre is not leaning towards joining the national team as his coach, Miguel Arca, stressed that his ward is more comfortable training in the province rather than sending him to Manila to be under the care of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa). “It‘s the chemistry of the athlete and the coach that makes it work (in the province),” said Arca, a noted Visayas-based mentor from Ramonito Maravilla National High School whose other wards delivered golden triumphs in the Asean School Games, Children of Asia and Malaysia Open. While Belibestre is starting to
make a name for himself, a grizzled veteran resurfaced in a bid to reclaim his spot in the national squad headed for the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur this August. Former national team star in Julius Sermona of Philippine Air Force zoomed in the final fourkilometer mark to reign supreme in the men’s 10,000-meter run. The 38-year old Sermona, who last campaigned in the Laos SEA Games in 2009, clocked 33 minutes and 29.78 seconds in the long distance battle to overcome Gilbert Laido of Lucena City (33:32.28) and heavyweight Eduardo Buenavista of Philippine Air Force (33:43.29) to clinch the gold medal.
SOLID rookie Roger Pogoy continued to show his worth. The sharpshooting neophyte hit the go-ahead basket and scored a game-high 24 points as TNT KaTropa escaped Blackwater, 92-89, in a competitive battle in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night. The Tropang Texters listed their second victory and improved to 2-1, while the Elite fell to 0-4 at the bottom as it once again came up short of listing a win. The game was tied at 87-apiece when Pogoy calmly sank the go-ahead jumper with 1:48 remaining to give TNT KaTropa the slight edge, 89-87. Larry Fonacier followed that with a triple in the next possession to make it 92-87 for the Texters with around a minute left. Blackwater gave itself a chance by coming to within just a single possession, 92-89, and it had its chance to tie, but the triple from newly acquired Nino Canaleta in the dying seconds didn’t find its mark. New TNT import Dante Greene had a solid debut, scoring 22 points to further help his team capture the win. The Elite was the one who started on fire, ending the opening quarter with a 14-2 blast to take a sizeable 27-15 gap early on. However, TNT KaTropa bounced back right away in the second, outscoring Blackwater by 10 to trim the gap to just 39-41, in favor of the Elite, at the half and make it anyone’s game heading into the second half. It was then neck-to-neck moving forward. Blackwater played without star rookie Mac Belo, who is nursing a knee injury. Canaleta debuted for the Elite after being acquired earlier this week in exchange for Dylan Ababou and James Forrester. Blackwater hopes that Canaleta’s scoring prowess can help its cause with top stars Art Dela Cruz and Belo both out indefinitely with injuries.
Jose Jerry Belibestre of Negros ruled the boys’ long jump event in dominant fashion to join the elite list of record holders in this prestigious annual tourney sponsored by Ayala Corporation with Milo, Philippine Sport Commission and International Amateur Athletics Federation as co-presentors. A third-year BS Education stu-
dent at University Negros Occidental-Recoletos in Bacolod City, Belibestre tallied 7.43 meters to pocket the gold medal and destroy the 7.41-meter record tallied by Joebert Delicano in the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia in 1999, when he was barely one year old. Jericho Hilario of San Beda College settled for the silver
Wesley, 3 others share US chess lead
Weiss, Allen banner Xterra off-road triathlon cast
FILIPINO grandmaster Wesley So’s black king was on the run following a series of checks, but he still escaped with a draw in 37 moves of his Sicilian Defense with Samuel Shankland on Thursday in Round 2 of the 2017 US Chess Championship at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis in St. Louis, Missouri. A repetition of moves by Shankland’s queen at queenside allowed So to settle for his first draw in two games. Because of this, he found himself sharing the lead with three others. So has 1.5 points with first day co-leader Hikaru Nakamura, Alexander Onischuk and Varuzhan Akobian. In Round 1, So beat Alexander Shabalov in 29 moves of an English Opening to grab the opening lead with Nakamura. Nakamura, who started his campaign with a 65-move triumph over Ray Robson, settled for a draw in 58 moves with world no. 3 player Fabiano Caruano. Onischuk earned a chance to catch up with So and Nakamura after he put away Shabalov in 44 moves. Akobian also caught up with So when he prevailed over Gata Kamsky in 23 moves. So will be meeting Caruana in the third round, and then Onischuk in the fourth. A total of $194,000 cash prize is at stake in the 11-round tournament. The champion will earn $50,000, with the runner-up taking home $35,000. Peter Atencio
Cebu 5th District Rep. Red Durano (center) holds the Xterra shirt as he poses with (from left) Sunrise Events Inc. general manager Princess Galura, Mark Tolentino, provincial administrator Cebu Province, Danny Roble, chief of staff to Mayor Nito Durano, and medical director Dr. Pedro Mancao during the launch of the Xterra OffRoad Triathlon South in Danao, Cebu.
BRADLEY Weiss and Ben Allen gear up for another spirited duel for the men’s crown while Great Britain’s Jacqui Slack seeks redemption in the women’s side of the Xterra Off-Road Triathlon South firing off April 23 in Danao, Cebu. Weiss bucked wet and slippery condition then pounced on Allen’s miscue in the bike stage to keep the title in last year’s staging of one of the toughest off-road races in Albay. But the South African ace braces for a tougher challenge this time, not only from the expected charge from Allen and the rest of the elite field but also from the challenging course in Danao that will not only test the field’s stamina and power but also mental toughness. “This event is one of the biggest in recent years for Danao City, which has hosted in-
ternational MTB races. We’re happy and fortunate that Sunrise Events, Inc. has chosen us to host the event and we guarantee a triathlon to remember,” said Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano VI during the media launch of the event at the Coco Palms Beach Resort recently. The event, featuring the 1.500m swim, 40km off-road bike and 10k trail run, will also showcase Danao as a top tourist destination, according to Durano. Others who graced the event launch were Provincial administrator Atty. Mark Tolentino, DOT Region 7 officer-in-charge Judy Gabato and Galura along with triathletes Noy Jopson, Clark Gothong, TJ Mayol, Bernard Sia and Michael Randy Uy. The event actually serves as the first of three Xterra races the city will host till 2019 as
Durano and SEI general manager Princess Galura signed the three-year contract recently. Galura said that around 300 to 400 triathletes are expected to join the event, sponsored by Alcoplus, Sanicare, The Philippine Star, 2GO Express, Cetaphil, Prudential Guarantee, Columbia, Garmin, Tri Life, Cignal Hyper TV, Rocktape, Gatorade, MNTC, Coca Cola Femsa, Powerade, Wilkins and Storck, which stakes $15,000 to the winners in the pro division and P120,000 in the Asian Elite class Slack, meanwhile, tries to redeem herself from last year’s setback to Lizzie Orchard of New Zealand, who rallied in the run stage to snare the women’s crown on her very first try in the event backed by El Salvador and Coco Palms as hotel partners.
BEST Center opens nationwide clinics BASKETBALL Efficiency Scientific Training Center (BEST Center), the pioneer and multi-awarded basketball clinic in the Philippines, is now accepting enrollees for its annual summer sports clinics to be held in various cities across the country. Now on its 39th year, BEST Center teaches kids using scientific training methods to hone their skills in playing sports according to their level of experience and skills. For the basketball clinic, kids as young as 5 years old are accepted and levels offered are level 1 for beginners and levels 2 to 6 for advance, while for volleyball clinics, kids as young as 8 years old are accepted and levels offered are 1 to 3. Aside from learning the fundamentals of ball handling, dribbling,
passing, shooting, spiking, serving, blocking, footwork, and defensive and offensive moves, kids also spend their summer productively with BEST Center by learning values such as discipline, camaraderie, teamwork, and sportsmanship which are vital for their growth and development. “To make the summer season more productive, we encourage parents to enroll their kids in sports clinics,” said former national coach and BEST Center founder, Nicanor Jorge. “Through sports, they will not only make use of their time productively and be physically active. They will also have fun, meet new friends and develop social and life skills.” Since its establishment in 1978, BEST Center continues to pro-
duce some of the country’s finest basketball and volleyball players including Chris Tiu, Kiefer Ravena, Michelle Gumabao, and Princess Gaiser. The nationally renowned organization is sponsored by MILO and supported by Chris Sports and Rain or Shine, has also been cited by the Philippine Sportswriters Association and also received the Olympism Award from the Philippine Olympic Committee as hall of famer for its contribution to sports development in the Philippines. To know the complete schedule or for more information about BEST Center’s classes and tournaments, call the hotlines 411-6260, 3723066 and 372-3065, email bestcentersports@gmail.com or follow BEST Center Sports Inc. on Facebook.
A young Milo BEST Center participant learns the basics from his instructor.