Isports ATBP.

The Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) is aiming to form a national women’s indoor volleyball team that will represent the country in the 27th Myanmar Southeast Asian (Sea) Games slated for December 11 to 22 in Naypyidaw. The Philippines has not competed in indoor volleyball in three previous editions of the biennial sporting event—in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand (2007); Vientiane, Laos (2009); and Bandung, Indonesia (2011). PVF national committee chairman Ramon Suzara said they will try to convince both the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to help them fund the team’s trip to Myanmar. “It is an open tryout, University Athletic Association of the Philippines and the National Collegiate Athletic Association players are not yet included since they have ongoing tournaments. There is a separate schedule for them,” said PFV Secretary-General Vangie de Jesus. The Philippines’ dismal performance in various international volleyb...

National team members, who are housed in various rooms at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, will soon be enjoying the amenities of a Hotel-type dormitory as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) plans to finish the project and other renovations to its sports facilities by the end of the year. The PSC, which is prioritizing the athletes’ dormitory, is planning to build 64 rooms where close to 400 national training pool members will soon be housed. “Construction will start as soon as there’s a winning bid, which starts next week. We plan to award the contract by the middle of March since there will be an election ban for public bidding,” said PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia. Garcia said they would want the winning contractor to finish two rooms a week, which will house six national pool members will be housed. “Currently 10 to 12 athletes share one room here at the Rizal Memorial. We’ll gradually close the athletes’ quarters here at the Rizal Memorial and will transfer them ...

Ten sports are initially added to the 2013 Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)-Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) National Games when Manila hosts the third edition in May. Golf, ice skating, futsal, underwater hockey, diving, windsurfing, motocross, bowling and indoor hockey are among the new sports that will be offered in the POC-PSC joint grassroots development program while basketball will be held for the first time since the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas has its own development program. The regular 12-member and 3-on-3, both men’s and women’s divisions, are the basketball events. The 3-on-3 basketball will be held for the first time in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The additional 12 sports, discussed during the PSC Sports Program meeting on Wednesday, bring the number to 49 with cricket also being considered. PSC Sports Program Secretariat Chairman Atty. Jay Alano said they expect to add more disciplines since there are a lot of groups who wanted t...

Atoy Co is hoping to find the right material and the correct combination that would make Mapua competitive when action in Season 89 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) seniors' basketball tournament begins in June this year. Co, who was officially introduced as the Cardinals’ new coach to the Mapua community, said his first task is to add height and heft to his obviously small line-up. "I'm facing a huge task since the other teams have a bigger line-up compared to us." "I'm looking for big men, minimum of six-feet-eight, a shooting guard preferably an Allan Caidic or a Bogs Adornado type of a player who has an 80 percent chance of making his shots once he is left open and a smart playmaker who can read the defense pretty well," added Co. Co, however, said that trying to lure them to the Cardinals' nest is his big obstacle. "Every coach is looking for good players, those whom he thinks fit his system. We can't g...

Nonito Donaire Jr. and Guillermo Rigondeaux will face each other at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City in the unification bout for the junior-featherweight belt on April 13. Top Rank Head Bob Arum, in an interview by ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael, said on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) that they have chosen Radio City because Madison Square Garden’s (MSG) Theater is booked. “MSG [Executive Vice President] Joel Fisher said maybe he could get Radio City, because the Garden owns it. We said that was a great idea. It’s expensive to do a fight there, but it’s worth it,” Arum said. Arum will officially announce the fight, the main event of HBO’s World Championship Boxing, in a news conference on Thursday in New York City. This will be the second boxing event in Radio City’s 82-year history since January 15, 2000, a light-heavyweight bout between Roy Jones Jr. and David Telesco. “I’ve heard so much about the place and how Roy fought there and Roy is one of the guys I look up to, so I ...

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming is hoping the Water Snake’s luck would slither its way towards him this year when he makes his professional debut on April 6 in one of the undercard bouts of the Brian Viloria-Juan Francisco Estrada title fight. The Zunyi City-born fighter will be fighting in front of an expected pro-Chinese crowd at the Venetian Casino & Resort in Macau, one of China’s two Special Administrative Regions the other being Hong Kong. Shiming, born under the rooster sign in the Chinese zodiac,  signed with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions early this year aiming to be the second Chinese world boxing champion after World Boxing Council minimumweight title holder Ziong Zhao Zhong. His opponent, however, has yet to be determined. The 31-year-old World Cup of Boxing champion is being trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach and Miguel Diaz, and will spar with World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization flyweight champion Viloria. Shiming is k...

Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Yao Ming is expected to suit up when the Shanghai Sharks play exhibition matches here in Manila against several Philippine Basketball Association teams and the Fiba Asia Men’s championship-bound Gilas Pilipinas in May. The 7-foot-6 Yao, the Sharks’ President for Basketball Operations, has played for the Shanghai-based squad before transferring to the NBA where he played for 10 seasons with the Houston Rockets. He retired in 2011 due to various injuries. Yao and the entire Sharks, including former Washington Wizards shooting guard Gilbert Arenas, is set to arrive in the first week of May. They will face Gilas on May 6 and a PBA team on May 7 at a still yet-to-be-determined venue. Aside from the friendly games, Yao and the Shanghai Sharks will hold a clinic on May 8 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium as part of its grassroots development program.

Nonito Donaire Jr.'s first fight of the year with Abner Mares was scratched after the Mexican decided to give up his World Boxing Council (WBC) junior featherweight belt to climb to the featherweight division. ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael reported that since a Donaire-Mares bout looked farfetched, the Guadalajara-born fighter and his manager, Frank Espinoza, decided to move up to the 126-pound division. Mares (24-0-1, with 13 knockouts), who is handled by Golden Boy Promotions, challenged Donaire, one of Bob Arum’s top fighters at Top Rank, for a unification bout. The Filipino Flash holds the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and The Ring versions of the belts. “Moving up to featherweight was already in our plans even before this Donaire situation,” said Mares. “We wanted to fight Donaire and we did whatever was possible in our power to make that fight. That is the fight that I wanted. That is the fight the fans wanted. It didn’t happen.” Golden Boy Chief Executive Officer Richard S...

Golden Boy Promotions has offered Mexican Abner Mares—with a $3 million purse as bait—to be Nonito Donaire Jr.'s opponent when he fights this summer. Mares, the World Boxing Council junior featherweight champion, is hoping Donaire's Top Rank promoter would not seal an April fight for Donaire against two-time Olympic champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. The 27-year-old Mexican (24-0-1, with 13 knockouts) wanted to unify the 122-pound belts, two of which—World Boxing Organization and The Ring—Donaire holds. Mares said that Donaire's camp should stop making excuses and start negotiating for a possible June bout. Golden Boy Promotions has already formalized its offer to Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Cameron Dunkin, Donaire's manager. Dunkin and Arum admitted they received Golden Boy’s contract but BoxingScene.com reported that both turned down the offer and opted to pursue an April 13 bout for Donaire against World Boxing Association super bantamweight titlist ...