If you’ve been with this road trip for the past 2 years, you’ll be surprised at how far you can go down south this summer!

Each year, The Province of Camarines Norte, The Department of Tourism’s Office of Product and Research and Development, DOT Region 5, and MOJO Slippers and Sandals put together the biggest effort into getting people out of their offices and schools and into the waves!

The 3rd Bagasbas Summer Surf Festival will be held from April 9-11, 2010 at Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte and is open to everyone! This is a long weekend, Friday being Araw ng Kagitingan.

Among other things, this event will feature:

• Bagasbas Open Surf Competition.
• National Sport Climbing Competition.
• Bagasbas Amateur Beach Volleyball Open.
• Beach Ultimate Tournament.
• Various clinics – surf clinic with board rental and instructor, rock climbing clinics, and frisbee clinics.
• Beach party featuring live bands.

Registration Info:

• Registration fee is P500 per player: inclusive of 1 event shirt, 1 pair Mojo flipflops, surf clinic with board rental and instructor, wall climbing, volleyball, frisbee games, and beach party.
• You may download this file (2010-Bagasbas-Registration-Form) and email your team roster to reg-2010-bagasbas@sunkenpleasure.org
• Team payments to be made to Bing Benares on or before tournament date.

Coordinators / Key People:
Volunteer Coordinator – Cherry Sy (09065906393 / 09212956525).
Registration – Bing Bernales (09287649983).

For more information about the Bagasbas Summer Surf Festival, visit www.sunkenpleasure.org or visit their Facebook page.

As I understand it, the Amateur Beach Volleyball Open which is just a part of the whole surf festival thing, is being organized by the PVC Volleyball folks. For interested parties, you can get more info from this Facebook invite page.

Women’s Division

Division 1:
1. UST Alumni (USTA)
2. Hope Christian Alumni (HCA)
3. Fil – Chi Fellowship (FCF)
4. San Beda College (SBC)
5. Manila Water Corp. (MWC)
6. One La Salle (1LS)
7. [to be revealed] (ASC)

Division 2:
8. Progressive Volleyball Centre (PVC)
9. Claret Volleyball Club (CVC)
10. Accenture
11. University of Asia & Pacific (UAP)
12. University of Asia & Pacific Alumni (UAPA)
13. Grace Christian High School (GCHS)
14. Immaculate Conception Academy (ICA)

Men’s Division

Pool A:
1. Fil – Chi Fellowship (FCF)
2. University of Asia & Pacific (UAP)
3. UST Alumni (UST)
4. BC Manalaysay (BCM)
5. Sykes (SKS)
6. Rockwell (RKL)

Pool B:
7. Accenture
8. Far Eastern University Alumni (FEU)
9. Manila Water Corp. (MWC)
10. College of Saint Benilde Alumni (CSB)
11. World Citi College (WCC)
12. Claret Volleyball Club (CVC)

Here’s the game schedule I got from one of the PVC players:

You can download the PVC 2010 list of teams and game sked in PDF format over at the Downloads section.

The Organizing Committee for the 7th Youth Girls Volleyball Championship still needs volunteers to serve as Liaison Officers for the participating teams in this event.

Interested applicants may email me at odjiemamon@gmail.com or personally apply at the PVF office where the info sheet/application forms are available. Application is open until October 6, 2008.

Requirements:
1. Female, at least 20 y/o
2. Pleasing personality
3. Conversant and fluent in the English language
4. Knowledgeable in Metro Manila locations
5. Available (on call) from October 9 to 19, 2008
6. Can follow instructions and deal with emergencies
7. Can work for extended hours
8. Third language (i.e. mandarin, nihongo, bahasa, korean, sinhala, tamil, russian etc…) a plus factor

Benefits:
1. Represent the Philippines as immediate contact person with the foreign delegates (read: ikaw ang una at laging kakausapin ng mga players at officials ng team na ia-assign sa yo)
2. Minimal honoraria (meals not included)
3. Billeting (accommodation) available at PSC Ultra Dormitories
4. Certificate of participation and appreciation for the services rendered from the PVF
5. Experience up-close the thrill of high level international volleyball competition and socialize with the participants

Miranda Cup is being held every weekends at the Metro Manila College (MMC) in Novaliches, Quezon City. Game this coming Sunday, August 31 will be as follows:

• 9am – St. Jude vs. PUP (Men’s)
  10am – NCBA vs. World Citi (Men’s)
  11am – La Consolacion vs. MMC (Men’s)
  12nn – NU vs. UA-P (Men’s)

I wish I had more info like the game schedule about this Miranda Cup tournament but I don’t. This sports article was published in People’s Tonight. Taken from Journal Online:

Ateneo stays clean

ATENEO de Manila added World Citi Colleges to its list of victims, posting a 25-16, 25-20, 25-10 triumph in the third Mamerto S. Miranda Cup invitational volleyball tournament at the MMC covered court in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Finding little opposition, the Blue Eagles completely dominated the three-set match to subdue the Vikings and register their fifth straight win in this 10-team tournament being held in honor of MMC founder Mamerto S. Miranda.

The win enabled Ateneo to move half a game ahead of two-time defending champion St. Jude College (4-0).

Overshadowed by Ateneo’s fifth straight win was host Metro Manila College, which rallied from a two-set deficit to subdue two-time runner-up National College of Business and Arts, 26-24, 15-25, 19-25, 25-11, 15-11, for its fourth win against only one loss.

In other matches, National University defeated Polytechnic University of the Philippines, 25-13, 21-25, 25-17, 25-22, for its second win in three outings; and University of Asia and the Pacifc, which outlasted La Consolacion College, 23-25, 17-25, 25-15, 25-11, 15-11, for its first win in four matches.

The tournament resumes on Sunday, Aug. 31 with St. Jude College gunning for its fifth straight win and a share of the lead with Ateneo when it meets PUP at 9 a.m.

NCBA battles World Citi at 10 a.m., MMC meets La Consolacion at 11 a.m. and National University faces University of Asia and the Pacific at 12 noon.

A total of 14 teams – 10 in the men’s division and 4 in the women’s category – are seeing action in this weekend-only tournament being held in honor of Miranda, who established MMC (formerly Novaliches Acadmey) in 1947.

Tournament organizer is Mike Miranda.

http://www.journal.com.ph/

VENUE: Metro Manila College – MMC (formerly Novaliches Academy) in Novaliches, Quezon City. MMC is inside Jordan Plaines Subdivision Phase 1 & 2 near Novaliches District Center (NDC) and beside the Barangay Hall of Sta. Monica.

The latest 3rd Miranda Cup game schedule can be downloaded at the Download section.

So if you’re anywhere near Novaliches on weekends, come and watch volleyball action in the 3rd Miranda Cup Invitational Volleyball tournament.

For the third time since the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, we came home empty-handed. But at least we got a Gold Medal consolation from Willy Wang for the Wushu event. Although this was just a demo event and is not part of the main Olympic sports. Nonetheless, it was wonderful to see fellow Pinoy Willy as he was raising the Philippine flag. Even though he looks more like a Chinese than a Filipino and has a Chinese twang, at least he can sing the Philippine national anthem.

Here are the rankings of other Asian countries:

• Rank 1 – China: 51/21/28 (gold/silver/bronze)
• Rank 7 – South Korea: 13/10/8
• Rank 8 – Japan: 9/6/10
• Rank 29 – Kazakhstan: 2/4/7
• Rank 31 – Thailand: 2/2/0
• Rank 33 – North Korea: 2/1/3
• Rank 42 – Indonesia: 1/1/3
• Rank 50 – India: 1/0/2
• Rank 71 – Malaysia: 0/1/0
• Rank 71 – Singapore: 0/1/0
• Rank 71 – Vietnam: 0/1/0
• Rank 80 – Chinese Taipei: 0/0/4

Once again, China, South Korea and Japan proved their dominance in Asia and in the international stage as they graced the Top 10 nations with most medals. Thailand, on the other hand affirmed their lofty position as the powerhouse in the Southeast Asian region, followed by perennial contender, Indonesia. Our neighbors, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam secured their 71st slot with one silvers each. And guess what we got? Zero.

Headlines here and there consider this year’s Olympic bid as the “Biggest Flop in Philippine Sports”. Well, I think our performance during the 24th SEA Games was worse than this. Dropping from being the champions as many anticipated to a very disappointing sixth place. We also failed to send our volleyball teams in the SEA Games for reasons I cannot comprehend.

What is the problem with Philippine Sports? We do have talented athletes I think. A sports official explains that other countries spend a lot more (at least double) than we do so that’s why we really did not stand a chance against these developed countries. That they trained for years in order to prepare for international sporting events like the Olympics while us on the other hand, only devoted months of training for preparation. We think short-term. And this is just one of the many problems.

While the government is spending millions of pesos on senseless projects that obviously are avenues for graft and corruption, our Filipino athletes and Philippine Sports in general are suffering sad to say. As much as our athletes would like to train and excel, they could not. How could they if they do not have sufficient funding for world-class training to begin with.

Most of our talented Filipino athletes come from far flung provinces, leaving their families behind just lo live their passion for sports and bring honor to our country. Many calls are being made nowadays. Some say that we should start preparing as early as now for the 2012 London Olympics and the coming Olympics’ beyond that, and the coming Lao SEA Games next year and the 2010 Asian Games to be held in Guangzhou, China. Some suggest that all PSC and NSA officials should step down to give way to brighter, more idealistic and dynamic minds to route Philippine Sports back on track. But I wonder if these calls will be heeded and significant changes will take place.

So what are your thoughts about the recently concluded Beijing Olympics?

• BOXING
  Harry Tanamor
• SHOOTING
  Eric Ang
• ARCHERY
  Mark Javier
• WEIGHT LIFTING
  Heidilyn Diaz
• DIVING
  Shiela Mae Perez
  Rexel Ryan Fabriga
• TAEKWONDO
  Tshomlee Go
  Mary Antoinette Rivero
• SWIMMING
  Miguel Molina
  Ryan Arabejo
  James Walsh
  Daniel Coakley
  Christel Simms

Actually, I only got 13 on the list above. But the latest news indicate there will be 15 delegates. Anybody knows who the other 2 Pinoy athletes are?

Marco Torres says:

Just 14 days to go before the Olympics. Don’t forget, it opens 08-08-08, 8pm. Catch it on HDTV. The Opening Ceremonies will surely be awesome with Zhang Yimou of Hero and House of Flying Daggers directing. It will be more spectacular than acrobatics, kung fu and opera combined. It will also be the time they will reveal the final torchbearer (Muhammad Ali in Atlanta ’96 and Abroginese athlete Cathy Freeman in Sydney) and how the torch will be lit (via bow and arrow in Barcelona and from underwater in Sydney). It will be so exciting!

There’s an on-going exhibit in the Mall of Asia to commemorate the event. They feature the Pinoy athletes competing in the Beijing Olympics. They featured me as well so it’s a great, great honor.

Check it out if you happen to pass by.

Marco says:

And I did thanks to all of you. This is for all of you. It was the most amazing experience of my life. Nothing beats achieving a dream and doing something for your country.

It has been quite a hectic past few days. Despite the long wait, the many changes in schedule, the tight security where most expat torchbearer’s families were not able to watch, and many other things, carrying that glorious torch was more than worth it.

It was especially nice to have been given an opportunity to bring smiles to kids of rural China as well.

So thank you again to all your support. You and the rest of the Filipinos who supported and voted for me carried the torch with me every step of the way. Para sa ating lahat ito.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay tayong lahat.

Marco Torres

Here’s a collection of articles, photos shared by Marco, and video clips over the web that featured the event:

• Filipino Torch Bearer over the moon
  South China Morning Post
• ‘It was a dream come true’ says Filipino Olympic torch bearer
  ABS-CBN Online
• Filipino, 5 other torchbearers bring love to China kids
  Inquirer.net Sports
• Pinoy Olympic torch bearer relates experience
  GMANews.tv Video

Selected photos from Marco:

Taken from GMANews.tv under Video section:

It’s going to be today!!! In case you haven’t heard, fellow Filipino Marco Torres has been selected as one of eight expats to carry the Olympic Torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The last time a Filipino held the torch was 44 years ago during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Today will be a historic day for Marco and all the Pinoys around the globe.

I used to play volleyball with Marco a long time ago. All I can say is that he’s a very passionate person in whatever he engages into. So when I heard about the Expats for Olympic Torchbearers, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Marco joined it. He started his campaign back in October 2007. He got as far as getting interviewed in numerous TV and radio shows. Here’s one of them:

All efforts were paid off. Thanks to the support coming from the Filipino community, Marco Torres became one of the eight expats to carry the Olympic Torch. He got the second most number of votes with a total of 13,342.

Background Info on the 2008 Beijing Olympics Torch Relay

• The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay is the largest Torch Relay in the history of the Olympic Games.
• Theme: “Journey of Harmony” and slogan: “Light the Passion, Share the Dream.”
• It is taking place from March 24th until August 8th, 2008, traveling through 21 cities outside Mainland China and 113 cities or prefectures in Mainland China. The Relay will cover approximately 137,000 kilometers and involve more than 21,880 torchbearers.
• The official torch lighting took place in Olympia, Greece on March 24, 2008. The international portion started on March 24 and concluded on May 3. Now, the torch is traveling in Mainland China up to August 8.

In case anyone is interested, you can see the the itinerary for the Lanzhou torch relay over here. Marco says:

I will carry the torch on Monday, the 7th of July and return to Manila the next day on Tuesday, the 8th. I will stay in Manila for a week. I’ll have the torch then along with a DVD of the torch relay and photos as a gift from Beijing Olympics committee.

You can reach me in Manila at 721-1501 (721-1505 Tuesdays onwards) or via cell# 0906-291-7099. See you then! I can’t believe it’s finally happening. Thanks again for your continued support.

Hopefully everything will run smoothly today as Marco Torres carries the torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I’ll be watching the news today and hopefully get a glimpse of the relay. Good luck Marco!

A fellow Filipino, Marcos Antonio Torres has just become one of eight expats to carry the Olympic torch for China. He is the only Filipino by the way who got the second most number of votes with a total of 13,342. Marco will be doing his leg and carry the Olympic torch on July 7, 2008 at Lanzhou in Gansu province. Here’s an update coming from Marco:

First, I want to thank you again for all the support you gave me to the run up to the competition. I wouldn’t have made it without you. The media coverage you provided surely had a great effect on propelling me to the number 2 spot. And, thanks to that, a Filipino will carry the torch again for the first time since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Here is the results page just in case you haven’t seen it. Any other information regarding the torch, you may visit this website.

The above information has info on everything about the torch, i.e. the itinerary, the name of prominent torchbearers like Andy Lau, Jacky Chan, Ian Thorpe, Gabriella Sabatini etc. I’m sure you heard of its controversial world tour particularly in France and the UK. It has been quite peaceful here in China though and much welcomed by thousands of people with singing and dancing.

I want to update you though that I will be doing my leg already on June 25th, 2008 at Lanzhou in Gansu province. It will be an exciting experience complete with a torchbearer’s reception by the city government, a visit to orphanages with kids affected by the earthquake, and many others.

As I would like to share this with the people who voted for me, I would like to inform you that Lenovo and BOCOG says that this can be possible. They said the actual leg can be covered live or footages can be sent on actual time. I am not sure about the mechanics but I can confirm further if you are interested.

Additionally, I am excited to say that I will be keeping the torch I will use. Apparently, its the flame you pass and not the torch, which means I get to keep my torch. I am excited because I plan to return to Manila after I carry the torch, perhaps on the latter part of June which means I can share and show the torch with the rest of our countrymen.

Let me know if you’d like to be a part of it.

All the best,

Marco