Thursday, March 27, 2008

Cultural exchange to mark 6th BIMP-EAGA Games

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/25 March) - A four-nation "youth exchange program" will coincide with the holding of the 6th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines -East Asian Growth Association (BIMP-EAGA) Friendship Games on November 28 to 30 in Brunei Darussalam.

The youth from the four countries' growth areas will promote their respective cultures and economic movement, among others.

"This is the first time that we will hold this program and we recognize the importance of this program," said Haji Matassim Bim Jibah, director of Brunei Ministry of Cultural, Youth and Sports during the friendship games road show here Tuesday.

He added the program, acknowledged as a significant side event of the biennial meet, will boost the growing good relationship of the four nations.

The BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games was conceived in 1995 as a venue for sports development, as well as educational and cultural exchange among athletes from the four countries. It aims to promote opportunities to intensify interaction among peoples and governments within BIMP-EAGA other than trade and enhance unity and cooperation among the youth of participating countries through friendly sports.

Joseph Encabo, Mindanao representative to the BIMP-EAGA Sports Council, said the participants in this "holistic program" will learn the culture and economic movement, among others of Brunei and other growth areas in the region.Eight slots are allotted to the Philippines or four apiece for Mindanao and Palawan, according to Encabo who is also the senior executive assistant to Philippine Sports Commission chairman William "Butch" Ramirez.

Asked who will represent Mindanao, he said "we are encouraging local government units to send representatives to discuss their cultures and economic movement in this holistic program".

Encabo explained that the LGU's will only shoulder the airfare to and from the venue.The host country will bear the cost of accommodation, food and inland transportation, said Haji Jibah, adding Brunei is well prepared for the 6th edition of the Games.

Carrying the theme "Cooperation through sports", the four-nation friendship games, touted as a venue for strengthening economic cooperation in the region, will feature competitions in athletics, aquatics, sepak takraw, badminton, futsal, tennis and pencak silat.

Traditionally, the choice of events depends on the limited budget available for the athletes' transportation and needs of the host country and its growth area.

Since it also aims to promote friendship, the BIMP-EAGA sports council has preferred to feature mostly non-contact sports."We have already discussed the aspect of logistics issue and also the accommodation of the participants," said Haji Jibah.

There are 13 growth areas who are participating in the meet: Brunei Darrusalam, Gorontalo, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi and West Papua of Indonesia, Sabah, Sarawak and Federal territory of Labuan of Malaysia and Palawan and Mindanao of the Philippines.

Team Mindanao-Philippines will be composed of athletes from the island whose participation will be bankrolled by their LGUs."LGUs will take care of the airfare of their athletes and the rest of the operational expenses will be shouldered by the PSC," Encabo clarified.

In 2005, Team Mindanao-Philippines bannered by athletes from Davao City, Davao Oriental, Panabo City, Gen. Santos City and Koronadal City placed third overall. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

Give little support to sports, firms asked

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/06 March) - The British chief executive officer and founder of the American style restaurant here yesterday encouraged corporations to provide support to organizations that help "the people of Davao, especially the kids."

Alan W. Barnett, CEO and founder of the Al's Diner, cited American boxing patron Ron Doran, who helps train young boxers to stand out in the sport.

"As a business, we have a responsibility to the city where our business is situated to help the people in any possible way," Barnett told sports journalists during the Davao Sportswriters Association Forum at the Tower Inn Hotel.

Al's Diner, touted as the little restaurant that cares and home of the giant burger, sponsored the uniforms of the Davao City boxing team under Doran that saw action in the recent Kalilangan festival boxing competition in Gen. Santos City.

After four days of competition, the team brought home two gold, three silver and four bronze medals. A victory party for the triumphant boxers is scheduled on March 8, 2 p.m. at Al's Diner.

Barnett promised to give P1,000 as incentive to the gold medal winners, brothers Engilbert and John Vincent Morante, and P500 and P250 to the silver and bronze medal victors, respectively.

Concerned over the lack of equipment for the daily training of the young boxers, the restaurateur said he is now encouraging other corporations to extend any assistance to the kids who train in rings with holes and without light.

He cited that helping this kind of endeavor is "just giving thank you to the community, the people of Davao, in practical way and it's also an investment in the future".

"Their business comes from the people of Davao and just give back to the people of Davao," said Barnett.

Doran said he is seeking for corporate sponsors to take care of the needs of the young boxers, mostly indigent kids. Jonas Aleonar, regional sales manager of Petron Corporation, said their company has been supportive to the sports development programs in the localities.

"We are supporting various sports programs just like in volleyball, basketball and taekwondo,” said Aleonar who also graced the forum to give an update on the ongoing Petron Basketball Tournament.

Sports organizers acknowledged the vital role of corporate sponsors in staging tournaments as part of the sports development programs saying “without corporate sponsors the program usually dies". (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: Davao del Norte to boost grassroots sports dev't program

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 March) – Grassroots sports development program in Davao del Norte will get a boost with the provincial government eyeing to focus on sport disciplines where local athletes have good chances in excelling.

Former vice governor Anthony Del Rosario, the provincial sports coordinator, said it was time to give attention to this ‘forgotten’ program.

Del Rosario, 41, acknowledged the importance of sports development program and its impact to the community which, he said should be understood by the people of Davao del Norte.

He also announced the staging of a two-day sports summit in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Sports Institute on April 3-4 with at least 600 participants expected.

The bulk of these delegates will come from the barangays, the public schools, and the youth sector, he said, adding he hopes that the sports summit would "strengthen our ranks" from the provincial government down to the barangay government.

"We need to achieve a common bond and a common goal to have a uniform program and common direction for sports," he said.

The sports official said he expects the stakeholders to identify the focus sports where the athletes from the province would excel nationally or internationally.

He also encouraged the barangays to formulate their own sports programs anchored on their chosen focus sports using funds for the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).

A true-blue sportsman, Del Rosario said he is seeking an additional P2-million budget for his office which is only receiving an annual allocation of P1-million.

Davao del Norte has laid down the groundwork for a reinvigorated thrust towards positioning itself as a major sports destination in the country.

Gov. Rodolfo Del Rosario made three major bold steps towards achieving that goal. First, he appointed his son, Anthony to head the province’s sports front office.

Second, he programmed the reconstruction of the burned old sports complex into a spanking new state-of-the-art facility. Third, he conducted a province-wide consultative sports summit to redirect the policies and programs on sports. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: VM Duterte's team rules Davao City cycling tourney

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/24 March) -- Team Inday Sara did it again.

The wards of Vice Mayor Sara Duterte ruled the recent Mayor Rodrigo Duterte – 71st Araw ng Dabaw Cycling Challenge here.Team Inday Sara, which won the Samal Cycling challenge last month, clocked in fifteen hours, eight minutes and 23 seconds to rule the 154-kilometer race.

University of Mindanao placed second with a time of 15:13.20, trailing most of the way Team Inday Sara bannered by Marcial Catangue, Glen Yap, Dany Tapao, Tatu Labaya, Alan Salutillo, and team captain Rosano Bontia.Team 3MJ-Gen.Santos ended its campaign at third place with 15:43.14 and the Great Circle Logistics at fourth with 15:52.14.

Inday Sara topped the Samal event in 11 hours and 46 seconds, beating UM which clocked 11:05.18, and Great Circle Logistics/Kambras which finished the race in 11:11.39.

Glen Yap took the individual title for Inday Sara while the runner-up was a promising young rider, Marvin Aleonar. Glen Ibanez settled for third place.In the veterans class, Jerry Castillon of 3MJ won over Danny Samaniego and Dominic Carpio while Romeo Mascardo shared the limelight by taking the juniors title over Nathaniel Caresma and Andrew Jurilla.

Joel Parba bagged the masters title at the expense of Carlofer Salonga and Andres Pedregosa.Hilario Saronel was the oldest rider at 66 while the youngest participant was Cliff Collence Prospero.

PhilCycling regional director Salvador Paholio Jr. thanked the supporters of the recent Araw ng Dabaw-Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte Cycling Challenge for the success of the race.

Radio Mindanao Network's dxDC, Davao City Sports Coordinator Christopher "Bong" Go, Unilever Phils., Emperador Brandy, Lipovitan Amino sports, Phoenix Fuels, Coca-Cola, Rain Water, 3rd District Rep.Isidro Ungab, Davao Sports Council Inc., Karancho Inc.and SK Federation president Halila Sudagar backed the race.

In chess, law student Henry John Lopez overwhelmed titled veteran chess players to bag the Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and Vice Mayor Inday Sara – 71st Araw ng Dabaw Open Chess Tournament at the Market Basket in Damosa Gateway.

Lopez, SEA Paralympics gold medalist, tallied 6.5 points to clinch the title in the tournament, one of the 17 sport events that highlighted the Araw ng Dabaw sporting conclave.

Cagayan de Oro City bet and National Master (NM) Levi Mercado beat four other 6.0 scorers via tiebreak to grab the runner-up honors.

NM Jimmy Dano placed third followed by Erwin Aton, Perkins Bayron and Carlo Doctolero in fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.

In dama, hometown bet Cerelio Enobio took the spotlight after bagging the Mayor Rodrigo and Duterte and Vice Mayor Inday Sara – 71st Araw ng Dabaw Dama competition played at the Osme¢¥a Park.Enobio beat Daniel Asor from Digos City in the finals to claim the masters crown. Edwin Cabalquinto placed third and Roy Rodas bagged the fourth place. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: BIMP-EAGA Games roadshow slated in Davao soon

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/18 March) -- Brunei Darussalam delegates led by its Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports permanent secretary will arrive for the road show and launching of the 6th Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines- East Asian Growth Association (BIMP-EAGA) Games on March 25, 9 a.m. at the Apo View Hotel.

Dr. Zafri Mohamed, the ministry secretary, will spearhead the road show which signals the start of preparations for the four-nation friendship games slated November 28 to 30 in Brunei, said Joseph Encabo, Mindanao representative to the BIMP-EAGA Sports Council.

Encabo added delegates from Sabah, Malaysia will also be coming over to attend the road show.

This year’s edition of the four-nation friendship games carries the theme “Cooperation through sports.” Sports coordinators from various local government units in Mindanao will be invited to attend the road show, according to Encabo who is also the senior executive assistant to Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez.

The list of LGUs to be invited included those from Compostela Valley, Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao City, Sarangani Province, General Santos City, South Cotabato and Lanao Del Sur. Encabo said the LGUs will select the events they want to participate in and determine the number of athletes they will be sending.

This year’s edition of the four-nation biennial meet, touted as a venue for strengthening economic cooperation in the region, will feature competitions in athletics, aquatics, sepak takraw, badminton, futsal, tennis and pencak silat.

Traditionally, the choice of events depends on the limited budget available for the athletes' transportation and needs of the host country and its growth area.

The BIMP-EAGA Friendship Games was conceived in 1995 as a venue for sports development, as well as educational and cultural exchange among athletes from the four countries.

It aims to promote opportunities to intensify interaction among peoples and governments within BIMP-EAGA other than trade and enhance unity and cooperation among the youth of participating countries through friendly sports.

Since it also promotes friendship, the BIMP-EAGA sports council which is composed of the heads of the various sports councils of the four-member countries in the growth area preferred to feature mostly non-contact sports.

There are 13 growth areas entered in the meet: Brunei Darrusalam, Gorontalo, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Central Sulawesi, South East Sulawesi and West Papua of Indonesia, Sabah, Sarawak and Federal territory of Labuan of Malaysia and Mindanao and Palawan of the Philippines.

In a previous interview with MindaNews, Susannah Liaw, permanent Secretary of Sabah, Malaysia's Ministry of Youth and Sports and chair of the Sabah Sports Council, said sports tourism around the region could be an offshoot of the games.

She said that through sports, regional cooperation takes a new pace as it gives more reason to come together.

"With the friendship games, we strengthen similarities and celebrate differences," she said. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: Davao del Norte: the new sports capital of the South

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/11 March) -- Davao del Norte hosted the recently concluded Mindanao elimination of the prestigious 12th Nestea Beach volleyball which was held at the Tagum City Volleydrome in Tagum City. And, later this month, the first official provincial trip of the 2008 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Cup that will feature the inaugural game of the import-laden conference will take place in the country's biggest banana exporting province at the Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural and Sports Center in Panabo City.

Even before the talks on these two big events got underway, the province has been poised to become the new sports capital of the South. It has laid down the groundwork for a reinvigorated thrust towards positioning itself as a major sports destination in the country. Gov. Rodolfo Del Rosario made three major bold steps towards achieving that goal.

First, he appointed his son, former vice governor and true-blue sportsman Anthony del Rosario to head the province’s sports front office. Second, he programmed the reconstruction of the burned old sports complex into a spanking new state-of-the-art facility.

And third, he conducted a province-wide consultative sports summit to redirect the policies and programs on sports. All these are geared towards an immediate goal—to host the 2010 Palarong Pambansa, the country’s national biggest school-based sports competition, according to a statement sent to MindaNews.

Davao City and other provinces in the Davao region have been eyed as possible hosts of the annual national sports conclave. However, the unavailability of a venue made the region lose in past biddings. In contrast, Southwestern Mindanao neighbors Koronadal City, Sarangani Province and General Santos City have all hosted the Palarong Pambansa, the former having hosted the meet in 1995 and in 2006.

The new sports complex project will start soon in Barangay Mankilam across the province’s Government Center, where the old sports complex once stood until it was razed by fire in March 2003. "We expect this project to be completed by 2010," Gov. del Rosario said.

The younger Del Rosario, who owned the Davao Eagles franchise in the defunct MBA, is now laying the cornerstones of the province’s sports program that will lead to the possible hosting of other major sports events like the revived Mindanao Friendship Games and the Davao Regional Athletic Association, or even national competitions conducted by the National Sports Associations.

In November, it was reported that the provincial engineer’s office had prepared the blueprint of the proposed 15-hectare sports complex project originally amounting to P171 million. But based on today’s prices of construction materials, the appraised value of the project could reach up to more than P200 million.

Construction of a total of 49 spans of concrete bleachers, rehabilitation and upgrading of the Olympic size swimming pool, construction of a modern oval track with rubberized track materials and synthetic foot soccer field, proposed parking area that can accommodate more than 300 cars, among other vital components are the priorities of the project.

An executive clubhouse is also included in the plan, while the existing mini-forest shall be retained to provide an ecological balance.

The PBA is taking its act down south with an exciting match-up pitting the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Talk N Text Phone Pals on March 29 at the Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism, Cultural and Sport Center in Davao del Norte, the PBA website reported.

Organized by the city's local government unit led by Mayor Jose Silvosa Sr., the lone game scheduled at 4:30 p.m. highlights the celebration of the 7th Araw ng Panabo City.The Panabo stop is an official provincial game of the import-laced 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Cup, which opens on March 30 at the Araneta Coliseum with a double-header featuring Welcoat against Air 21 at 4:30 p.m. and Red Bull facing Barangay Ginebra at 6:50 p.m. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

15th Iligan National Writers Workshop now open for applications

The Iligan National Writers Workshop is accepting manuscripts on its 15th year this year.Fifteen (15) slots, five each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are available for writing fellowships to the INWW.

Applicants are required to submit five poems, or, one short story, or, a one-act play in Filipino, English or in Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Kinaray-a, Waray (with translations) and Chabacano along with the applicant’s biodata, two 2X2 photos and a certification that his/her work is original.

For short stories or plays, please submit a hard copy and a 3.5 diskette with the manuscripts encoded in MS Word 7.0. Unpublished works are preferred. Writing fellows will be given free board and lodging, honoraria and a travel allowance.

Applications must be postmarked on or before April 15, 2008. No applications or manuscripts will be accepted if sent by fax or e-mail. Applicants are also advised to keep copies of their manuscripts since these will not be returned.Send all applications to the 15th INWW Director, Christine Godinez-Ortega c/o OVCRE, MSU-IIT, Iligan City . For more information call Pat Cruz tels. (063) 3516131; or e-mail:
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PGMA brings ‘Serbisyo Muna Caravan’ to Surigao Del Norte tomorrow

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will arrive in Malomino, Surigao Del Norte on Friday (March 28) to spearhead the delivery of her administration’s enhanced social services to this province as part of her commitment to uplift the welfare of the Filipino people.

The Serbisyo Muna Caravan is the Arroyo administration’s service and goods-laden assistance program that provides livelihood, health and financial support to the poorest families in the country.

The President, who is expected to arrive at 10 a.m. at the Malimono Elementary School, will be welcomed by Surigao del Norte Gov. Robert Ace Barbers and Malimono Mayor Teodoro Sinaca Jr., among others.

STATEMENT: Union of Peoples' Lawywers in Mindanao

Mindanao lawyers, law students, paralegals: Oust Gloria Now!Uphold the Rule of Law and the People's Sovereign Will!The lawyers, law students and paralegals from the Union of Peoples' Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) call on Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from Malacañang, for having lost the legal, Constitutional and moral ascendancy to rule the country with the latest ZTE broadband scam and the looming sell out of our national territory in the Spratly Islands.

The Senate probe on the ZTE deal has not only revealed the truth of corruption involving the First Family, but also the underhanded means of the Arroyo government to suppress the truth. There was the abduction of ZTE witness Rodolfo 'Jun' Lozada to prevent him from testifying in the Senate, and the invoking of Executive Order 464 to prevent former Neda chair Romulo Neri from appearing in the Senate. Both instances showed the government's attempt to violate the Senate power to conduct investigation and violate Lozada's life and liberty.

That Arroyo later admitted to having known about the anomaly in the ZTE deal but still signed the contract makes her culpable of graft – an impeachable offense.This ZTE deal is only one of the many cases of corruption involving Arroyo and the First Family.

It is disgusting how Arroyo has suppressed the truth, the same way she has done in the Hello Garci election fraud in 2004; the many anomalous projects such as the P728-million fertilizer scam, the P200 million Diosdado Macapagal Highway, and the P503-million North Rail project; and the current reported sell-out of the Spratly Islands to China in exchange of the ZTE deal, North Rail and South Rail Projects.

Arroyo has run this government like a Mafioso bent on corruption and repression, without regard to the rule of law and the people's sovereign will. She has run this government like a dictator, imposing Draconian measures to silence critics and giving tacit approval to the culture of impunity that is responsible for more than 900 cases of political killings and disappearances of activists, media and professionals, including lawyers, judges, and paralegals.

But it is the sovereign will of the people that had put her in the presidency through people power in 2001.

It is this same sovereign will that now decides to remove her from power.Impeachment under a rubber-stamp House of Representatives is not an option, as evidenced with the killing of impeachment complaints in the past three years.

A probe by a partial Ombudsman would just cover up the Arroyos. We see the Ombudsman probe as a smokescreen to the ongoing Senate investigation.

Only the ouster of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo remains the choice of the people to remove the illegitimate, corrupt and evil occupant in Malacañang. Only the ouster of Arroyo would restore the rule of law and the supremacy of the people's sovereign will.

SPORTS: Montana Pawnshop captures Araw ng Dabaw cagefest title

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 March) - Former pro Henry Fernandez lived up to his billing in the game that mattered most.

Fernandez hit a three-pointer as time expired to lift Montaña Pawnshop to victory over Duterte Agilas-Goldstar Hardware, 80-79 in their winner-take-all championship match in the 71st Araw ng Dabaw-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Inday Sara commercial basketball league Sunday night at the jam-packed Davao City Recreation Center.

Following a timeout and with only two seconds left, Montaña forward Lendy Dawal made an inbound pass to the sweet-shooting Fernandez who threw up a semi-fade away triple at the right corner that swished the net before the final buzzer sounded.

Fans proceeded to storm the court to celebrate Montaña’s victory that came as a big surprise as the Pawnbrokers were trailing all throughout the game.Agilas forward Apple Coronado split his free throws after his teammate John Gonzaga missed two bonus shots in their previous possession that boosted their advantage to 2, 79 – 77 with 2 seconds remaining.

Fernandez, who was named Most Valuable Player, scored 25 points, 10 of which came in the payoff period including the buzzer-beating triple that upset the Agilas who squandered their chance to cop their first title in several years.Michael Maniego drilled an open layup that tied the count at 74 all.

He chipped in 16 points for the Arman Quibud-owned Montaña Pawnshop which trailed 59 – 65 going to the final period.Gonzaga had 24 points for the Agilas who was up 78 – 77 before the high-flying guard missed his pivotal bonus throws via penalty with 30 seconds left.

Arian Daja also canned 24 markers for the Agilas who was enjoying a 4-point lead, 78-74, after Gonzaga made an open layup with only 1:42 remaining.

The Agilas opened the game with a bang behind the heroics of Gonzaga, Coronado and Daja, taking a 24 – 17 lead after ten minutes of play.But Montaña went into a scoring rampage in the second quarter behind Maniego and Fernandez, a former Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants player, to tie the count at 41 all at the half.

The Roi Josol-mentored Agilas then came out strong in the third period, gaining a 12-point advantage, 60 – 48, the biggest lead of the ballgame.

M. Lhuiller Kwarta Padala of Cebu City clobbered Zamboanga City Latinos to cop the third place honor.Councilor Edgar Ibuyan awarded cash prizes to the winners in the tournament which was the centerpiece sport event in this city’s charter day celebration. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: PSC bankrolls RRD-Araw ng Dabaw sportsfest

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/17 March) -- The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has bankrolled five sport disciplines in the 2008 Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte-Araw ng Dabaw Sports Festival calendar of sport events.

The PSC, chaired by Dabawenyo William "Butch" Ramirez, is sponsoring dancesport, chess, arnis, taekwondo and swimming competitions."We will be sponsoring events that are focus sports in Davao City," said Ramirez, a former sports consultant of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, in an earlier interview.

The City Government of Davao through the Sports Development Division-City Mayor's Office has supported 17 events in line with the city's charter day celebration.Football for the young and veteran players opened the festival on March 8 to 9 at the Tionko field.

Bodybuilding started on March 9 at the Victoria Plaza.The other events include commercial basketball, boxing, table tennis, sepak takraw, billiards, lawn tennis, volleyball, cycling, among others.

Four teams are vying for the title in the ongoing commercial basketball league which offers cash prizes and trophies.

They are M. Lhuiller Kwarta Padala of Cebu City, Zamboanga City Latinos, Montana Pawnshop and Duterte Agilas Goldstar Hardware.In table tennis, Some 140 paddlers across Mindanao are vying for top honors in the tournament which opened on March 16 at the SIR Elementary School.

"There will be players from Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Panabo, Cotabato, Davao Oriental and Iligan, " said Frendee Nunez of Metro Davao Table Tennis Association (MEDATTA). (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

Commercial Basketball:

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/11 March) - Zamboanga City has confirmed its participation in the 2008 Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte-Araw ng Dabaw Basketball Tournament on March 12 to 17 at the Davao City Recreation Center.

Zamboanga City, bannered by local talents, is the fourth squad to confirm its entry. A team from the Visayas is also set to join the competition.M.Lhuillier Kwarta Padala of Cebu City, Montaña Pawnshop Davao and Philippine Air Force have been invited to join the six-day event which is one of the sporting highlights of the 71st celebration of the Araw ng Dabaw.

Entrance is free.Another Davao squad, possibly a combination of players from the Duterte Agilas and Goldstar Hardware, will join the tournament presented by Mayor Duterte.

The Zamboanga squad which is expected to arrive Tuesday or Wednesday morning will parade Cris Concepcion, Darwin Cordero, Emrey Ramirez, Jomie Alvarez, Junie Navarro, David Sebastian, Tantan Parreño, Eter Chua, Jeffrey France and Ronald Saracho.

Two other big men will be named soon by team manager Jun Navarro.Meanwhile, the organizers have advised would-be spectators to follow the security measures to be implemented by local authorities.

Montaña Pawnshop is eager to do battle in the tournament organized by the BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas XI and supported by the Sports Development Division-City Mayor's Office.Nick Serafica will do the coaching chores for the Pawnbrokers.

He will be assisted by former head coach Dodong Cagampang and Peter Epe.Serafica will put his hands full on veteran erstwhile PBA standout Henry Fernandez, Mike Manigo, Harold Sta.Cruz and Marvin Poloyapoy, former Adamson falcon in the UAAP.

Biboy Clavel, Charlie Braga, Ryan Abanes, Dado Ayson, Ronald Lamocha, Junel Jawod, Lendi Dawal, Jojo Endrinal and Arden Guiyab are expected to provide support. (Rico Biliran/MindaNews)

SPORTS: 'Araw ng Dabaw' sporting highlights unfolds this weekend

DAVAO CITY (Mindanews/5 March) -- Dabawenyos can now look forward to an exciting and fun-filled sports activities as the 71st Araw ng Dabaw sporting highlights take center stage this weekend.Football and cycling will signal the start of the sporting spectacle as the Araw ng Dabaw celebration kicks off this weekend in separate venues.

Dubbed as Araw ng Dabaw football festival, the event will unfold March 8-9 at Tionko Football Field.

The two-day event will feature competitions in elementary girls, high school girls, boys 10 and under, boys 12 and under, boys under 14, men's 35 and above and ladies open.

The boys U-14 will serve as a tryout for the Philippine team that will compete in the AFC Festival of Football in Malaysia this May, according to a press statement from the Davao Football Assocation (DFA) emailed to MindaNews.

The selected players will compose the Mindanao team and later on compete with their counterparts in Luzon and Visayas to determine the team's final line up. Mindanao Center of Football Excellence coordinator Consur Manreza will scout the players.

The Mindanao team will be coached by David Dwight Penano.In cycling, after successfully conquering the Island Garden City of Samal cycling challenge, the Inday Sara Team is gunning for honors in the 71st Araw ng Dabaw Cycling Challenge on March 9.

The race starts at the Rizal Park at 7 a.m. PhilCyling XI Director Salvador Paholio Jr. said the next race on Sunday will be another exciting competition as other teams are planning to exact vengeance after losing to the riders of Inday Sara.

Marcial Catanque will lead the squad of the Davao City Vice Mayor against teams from University of Mindanao, Great Circle Logistics/Kambras, Davao Oriental, among others. Paholio said this Sunday's race, sponsored by City Government of Davao through City Sports Coordinator Christopher "Bong" Go, offers prizes to the winners.

Inday Sara topped the Samal event in 11 hours and 46 seconds, beating UM which clocked 11:05.18, Great Circle Logistics/Kambras which finished the race in 11:11.39. (Rico Biliran / MindaNews)