THE 36TH FIVB CONGRESS AND THE VOTE FOR PVF

                                                            (courtesy of fivb.org)

At the 36th FIVB Congress in Cancun, Mexico, 94 countries voted not to expel Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) from FIVB. A total of 24 countries failed to attend the said congress, which meant an addition of 24 more votes for the side of non-expulsion. Hence, a total of 118 votes went to the non-expulsion of PVF which is 53.2% of the total number votes of the FIVB General Assembly (GA). Only 46.8% or 104 voted for the expulsion of PVF.

There are 3 points that make the decision of the FIVB GA at the 36th FIVB Congress extremely significant and groundbreaking.

One, it clearly establishes the fact that PVF is still the member of FIVB. The votes for non-expulsion of PVF, which form a majority, make PVF the true full member of FIVB

Two, it firmly establishes the fact that Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) is not and cannot be affiliated in any way to FIVB. The FIVB Constitution only allows one member to FIVB per country. Since the votes went for the non-expulsion of PVF, LVPI cannot and must not be accommodated by FIVB and should be a non-entity as far as FIVB is concerned. As such, LVPI cannot and must not assemble and send teams to any AVC or FIVB tournament. Any participation from LVPI in any AVC or FIVB tournament will go against the very constitution of FIVB and put both AVC and FIVB in trouble. At best, LVPI teams can only participate in tournaments under the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC).

Three and most important of all, the vote of the FIVB GA for the non-expulsion of PVF is a courageous show of force against against FIVB BA and POC. It is a strong and undeniable indication that the majority of the FIVB GA decided to disregard the POC non-recognition of PVF to effectively stop the travesty that both POC and FIVB BA have displayed for four years. The conscience vote of the FIVB GA, for all intents and purposes, finally served justice to PVF and the Filipino people in general.

KAMPEON ANG TEAM MONTANEZ

Pinangunahan nina Macrol, Atienza at Karamihan ang opensiba ng Team Montanez upang masungkit nito ang kampeonato sa Binan City Hall Basketball Tournament nitong nakaraang Martes.

Subalit nagkaroon nang malaking kontribusyon ang iba pang manlalaro ng Team Montanez para maitala ang panalo. Pumuntos at dumepensa sina Gonzales, Villanueva, Ibarbia, Casubuan, Taytay, Alibusan, Garcia at Espeleta. Dahil sa tulong nang lahat ng manlalaro, umabot sa 18 points ang kalamangan ng Team Montanez sa huling yugto ng laro.

Pinilit naman nina De Pano, Souza at Maat ng Team Souza na habulin ang kalamangan ng Team Montanez. Subalit kinapos ang Team Souza at nagkasya na lamang bilang first runner-up ng torneo.

Tinanghal na MVP ng torneo si Jason Macrol ng Team Montanez.

PAGALINGAN SA 2018 BINAN CITY HALL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

Mula sa labing-anim, apat na koponan na lang ang natitira sa isinasagawang 2018 Binan City Hall Basketball Tournament.

Bagamat pagkakaibigan at pagpapahalaga sa kalusugan ang mga pangunahing layunun ng torneo, di nagpapigil ang ilang kawani ng city hall ng Binan na magpakitang-gilas at magpamalas ng husay sa paglalaro ng basketball. Kaya naman ang ilan sa kanila ay nangunguna sa pagka-kandidato bilang MVP at miyembro ng Mythical Five. Ang mga kawani-manlalaro na patuloy na nagpapakita ng galing sa torneo ay kinabibilangan nina:

1. De Pano
2. Souza
3. Parate
4. Cambal
5. Carrasco
6. Atienza
7. Macrol
8. Karamihan
9. Manlangit
10. Almendral
11. Dimapilis
12. Pura

Sa Lunes, ika-24 ng Setyembre, ang semifinals ng torneo. Inaasahan na magiging mahigpit ang labanan sa pagitan ng apat na natitirang koponan. Tiyak na sasandal nang lubusan sa mga nabanggit na mga players ang kani-kanilang mga koponan para mapalapit sa inaasam na kampeonato.

Ang 2018 Binan City Hall Basketball Tournament ay bahagi ng selebrasyon ng Civil Service Month ng lungsod ng Binan.

VARGAS AND POC IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOWLING DISPUTE

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas swore in the new set of officers of Philippine Bowling Federation (PBF) a month ago. The induction of PBF officers by no less than the POC president is a strong POC statement of support and recognition for the group that displaced Philippine Bowling Congress (PBC)/

But the support and recognition given by POC to PBF really puts Vargas and POC in a tight situation. The question as to why PBC was suddenly replaced by PBF remains unanswered to this day. World Bowling, which is the International Federation (IF) for bowling has not categorically come up with an official statement as to why PBC lost its membership and was replaced by PBF in World Bowling.

If Vargas and his team only took the time to their homework, they would have discovered something highly irregular with the sudden displacement of PBC in World Bowling.

The screenshots of the websites of Asian Bowling Federation (ABF) and World Bowling taken in August and September 2016 respectively will somehow reveal what took place. In the screenshot of the ABF website in August 2016, Steve Hontiveros was listed as president while Alex Lim as secretary-general of PBC. Both Hontiveros and Lim were not officers of PBC during the said date according to PBC President Gerry Mallilin. Clearly, there were misrepresentations with regards to Hontiveros and Lim as the ABF screenshot reveals. But why the need to misrepresent Hontiveros and Lim in ABF? Present PBC officers claim that the misrepresentations were necessary to make the change of name of PBC to PBF in World Bowling easy and more convenient. With the president and secretary-general as signatories, a simple letter informing World Bowling of the change of name of PBC to PBF will suffice to make PBF the new NSA for bowling.

What makes this claim of PBC officers hold water can be seen in the screenshot of the website of World Bowling in September 2016. In the screenshot, what is particularly interesting are the details that are written for PBF. The details like office address, telephone and fax numbers are those listed in the ABF screenshot for PBC.  The details of PBC in the ABF screenshot match exactly those details of PBF in the World Bowling screenshot. The screenshots of the two bowling websites clearly show that there was merely a change of name that took place.

But what seals the deal for the allegations of PBC officers against PBF came from Steve Hontiveros himself. In September 10, 2016, Hontiveros reportedly called up PBC Prsesident Gerry Mallilin to instruct Mallilin to change the name of PBC to PBF. "Mabaho na ang pangalan ng PBC. Gawin nating federation." Mallilin quoted Hontiveros as saying.

If Vargas and POC think the the dispute in bowling is over, they are in for a surprise. PBC must now know how to salvage its very existence and show Vargas and POC that justice will reign, no matter how difficult, this time around

UNMASKING POC PRESIDENT RICKY VARGAS

courtesy of spin.ph

To this day, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Ricky Vargas has yet to suspend Philippine Katatedo Fedration (PKF) from POC. Despite the withdrawal of membership of PKF from World Karatedo Fedration (WKF), Vargas and the entire POC refuse to suspend PKF.

The whole issue on karatedo truly reveals the kind of sports leader Vargas is. When the seven karatekas came out in public to reveal the anomalies within PKF, Vargas and POC were so unconcerned and did not even bother to investigate what the athletes were complaining about. It was the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) that took the initiative to do an investigation. PSC was the one that took on the responsibility that should, in the first place, belongs to Vargas and POC.

But more than that, what is really disturbing about the karatedo episode is the inability of Vargas and POC to take immediate and proper action. Clearly, PKF and its officials committed serious offenses which WKF verified and found to be true. But despite this, Vargas and POC appear unmoved and seem to protect PKF under Romasanta. This early in his leadership, Vargas has failed to gather enough courage and good judgment. So to expect Vargas and POC to enforce good governance in sports is nothing more than wishful thinking.

URGENT CALL TO POC : REINSTATE PDBF NOW !

In 2011, then Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Jose Cojuangco Jr. removed Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF) as a National Sports Association (NSA) because of an alleged "directive" coming from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The directive, according to Cojuangco, instructs the POC to place PDBF under International Canoe Federation (ICF) and Philippine Canoe Kayak Federation (PCKF) to continue being a part of an NSA.

Now after seven years, the IOC categoricall denies issuing such a directive. Below is part of the letter of IOC regarding the matter :

The IOC does not have a directive as we only recognise particular sport disciplines with respect to the Olympic Programme.

-  The Media Relations Team, IOC , March 29, 2018

The letter likewise states that dragon boat is not part of the Olympic program thus, IOC cannot be involved in the sport in any way.

It is now incumbent on POC President Ricky Vargas and his administration to give back to PDBF the recognition it truly and richly deserves. PDBF and its athletes have been denied of their opportunity to represent  and bring pride and honor to the country for the past seven years despite their world - class achievements. It is only right that the new POC immediately serves justice to PDBF and its world champion teams. PDBF deserves nothing less than a reinstatement as an NSA by Vargas and company.

PVF AND ITS CHANCES IN FIVB CONGRESS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

While it is true that the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) board assured Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas Inc. (LVPI) President Joey Romasanta that PVF will be expelled at the next FIVB Congress in Dominican Republic, the current status of Romasanta and POC President Peping Cojuangco as top sports leader in the country stand on shaky ground that the chances of Philippine Volleyball Federation (PVF) regaining its FIVB membership has increased tremendously.

The affidavits of the six karate jins are compelling enough to question the kind of leadership that Romasanta offers. While he can claim that he is not directly involved in the anomalies exposed by the athletes, command responsibility dictates that he must be held accountable. After all, he is the president of Philippine Karatedo Federation (PKF). It is not far-fetched that people will conclude that Romasanta practices the same inept and corrupt leadership in LVPI as he too is the president of the volleyball federation recognized by POC. FIVB national federation presidents will most likely conclude that what is happening in PKF happens in LVPI as well. Thus, votes for LVPI acceptance as a full member of FIVB will likely be affected come FIVB Congress.

POC President Peping Cojuangco, on the other hand, has to contend with a court decision that effectively declares his last victory at the last POC election as null and void. What will make LVPI's problem worse is when Peping actively calls for IOC suspension because of government intervention should the court force POC to hold elections. LVPI's main argument for FIVB membership hangs on its POC recognition, nothing more, nothing less. Should POC be suspended, LVPI's main argument for inclusion to FIVB is effectively destroyed.

So whether the merger between PVF, PSL and PVF materializes or not, PVF still stands to win its campaign in FIVB. Its chances to regain its FIVB recognition certainly increases significantly because of what is happening to Peping and Romasanta. PVF must now exploit current events to show FIVB and the world that it is right in fighting for its dear life and the sport that it loves.