Team Secret ended their winning drought after 288 days when they downed top-seeded Rex Reagum Qeon on Sunday, April 20, at Sangam Coliseum in Seoul. Still, TS finished last with a 1-4 win-loss record in the tournament’s Group Omega.

In the other group, Alpha, Global Esports failed to nail the fourth and final playoff berth last Friday, April 18, losing to Paper Rex (PRX) in a winner-take-all duel.

Read: VCT Pacific: Filipinos lose Week 3 games; playoff chances slim

Adrian “invy” Reyes took control for the Manila-based Team Secret, generating a Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) statline of 64/43/16 and clutching pivotal rounds in the third map, Lotus.

“I think this match showed our true potential as a team,” Reyes said in the post-match interview, explaining an improvement in his squad’s performance and in their confidence as the tournament’s underdogs.

‘Nothing to lose’

“[…] we know that there’s no more high stakes, [we] have nothing to lose any more so we showed our true potential, so yeah it [the win] really means a lot to us,” he said.

Head coach Ji “meow” Dong-jun echoed the same sentiments, shifting his stalwarts’ focus to relieve pressure instead of making drastic changes coming into this bout.

“What worked today isn’t the change of comps. We didn’t do any of those actually. Instead, we actually made a talk on how ‘let’s try to play more free’ like, no pressure guys,” Ji said.

After falling flat in their comeback attempt in Haven, 13-15, Team Secret wasted no time to retaliate in Ascent, utilizing a pistol round win to open with a 4-0 start.

The Filipinos kept their foot on the gas as they continued to surge with a flawless win at the 10th round to bring their advantage to its biggest at 9-1. They proved to be too much for their Indonesian opponents, swarming them at the entrance of B Main at the 18th round to even the series at 1-1.

A nip-and-tuck battle ensued in the opening rounds of Lotus, before a 1v2 clutch from Reyes sparked a five-round run to put Team Secret in a comfortable 8-4 lead by halftime. RRQ, however, refused to bend as they created a 5-1 charge of its own to put the map into a deadlock with nine rounds apiece.

In the 19th round, Reyes again delivered, taking down four members of the RRQ squad and defusing the spike with less than a second left to lift Team Secret toward double digits.

The Adobo Gang never looked back, taking the two succeeding rounds and defusing RRQ’s last-ditch attempt as they closed the split with a victory. Aside from invy, Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes backstopped the team’s offensive as he went ballistic, pouring 21 of his 56 kills in Lotus as Raze.

Duelist Maksim “Jemkin” Batorov anchored the opposition with a 56/54/7 KDA and an Average Combat Score (ACS) of 222.

Missing the playoffs

In Group Alpha, Global Esports narrowly missed the last trip to the playoffs after bowing to Asia Pacific juggernauts Paper Rex (PRX).

A 26-19 advantage in First Blood kills failed to materialize toward round wins for the Filipino-dominated crew as PRX’s aggression got the better of them in Split and Lotus, respectively.

Led by initiator Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov hot start, Global Esports’ attacks were able to penetrate the PRX defense in the opening map as they brought the APAC giants to a 5-7 scoreline before switching sides.

Chaos started to unfold in the second half, with PRX flooding the plant sites round after round, rendering the Filipino-dominated team winless for the rest of the first map.

Global Esports found itself in a similar scenario before halftime in Lotus, 5-7, before taking the pistol fight of the second half as well as the round after to equalize the map at the 14th.

What seemed to be a fortified defense cracked again, with Paper Rex finding holes to scrap a 4-0 run and positioning itself at series point, 8-12. A quadruple kill from Kyung-won “Udotan” Go allowed Global Esports to save a match point, but waned out as they got picked off at the 22th round.

Derrick “Deryeon” Yee stuffed the stat sheets with a 30/34/11 KDA, while Go and Fedorov combined for 59 frags in the span of two maps.

For PRX, flex player Khalish “d4v41” Rusyaidee remained cool and composed, showing up with a 43/24/14 statline using Viper and Vyse, respectively.

Team Secret finished in sixth and last place in Group Omega with a 1-4 record, behind Zeta Division (2-3). Nongshim Redforce (2-3) , T1 (3-2), Talon Esports (3-2) and Rex Regum Queon (3-2) advanced to the playoffs.

In Group Alpha, Global Esports occupied fifth place (1-4) ahead over winless Detonation FocusMe. Paper Rex (2-3), Gen.G (3-2), DRX (4-1) and BOOM Esports (5-0) completed the postseason cast.

The playoffs will start on April 26, and the Top 3 teams will book their tickets to Masters Toronto.

The post VCT Pacific: End of the road for Filipino squads appeared first on CoverStory.

The Manila-based Team Secret is still in search of a breakthrough in Group Omega after falling to Masters Bangkok champions T1 in a backbreaking three-map series.

Despite the Filipinos’ regained confidence to secure the second map Icebox to force the final map Lotus, ghosts of the past continued to haunt them. Their errors overwhelmed their hopes for a victory in the closing moments of the final map.

“Coming into Lotus we had really good momentum but we sort of just crumbled [under] pressure. I think the team was just panicking a lot of the times [in our round losses],” Adrian “invy” Reyes said during the postgame press conference. 

In Group Alpha, Global Esports bore the brunt of another 2-0 sweep, this time in the hands of DRX, the VCT Pacific Kickoff 2025 champion. 

A 3-13 stomping at Ascent shook Global Esports’ individual and team performances as they dropped their map pick Split, 9-13, afterwards.

“Losing our first map to such a big degree was a little bit too much for us to overcome,” Kyung-won “UdoTan” Go said.  

Team Secret remained at the bottom of Group Omega with a 0-3 record behind Nongshim Redforce and Zeta Division (1-2) and TALON Esports and Rex Regum Qeon (2-1). T1, the top seed, earned the first ticket to the playoffs with a 3-0 standing. 

In Group Alpha, Global Esports is at fourth (1-2) behind DRX and BOOM Esports (3-0) and Gen.G (2-1), and ahead of Paper Rex and Detonation FocusMe (0-3). The two leaders are joining the playoffs.

(To understand how the game is played, see “VCT Pacific: Filipinos look for rebound after Week 2 misfires” in CoverStory.) 

Counterpunch 

After conceding the opening map Haven, 6-13, Team Secret delivered a powerful counterpunch in Icebox as their defensive masterclass limited T1 to a measly three rounds at the end of the first half.

Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul became the spark for the Korean collective as they rallied with a 6-1 run, torching the Pinoy squad’s lead to a single round, 10-9.  

Refusing to back down, Team Secret duelist Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera went berserk with a triple kill at the 20^th round with James “2GE” Goopio scooping four frags at 21^st to push them toward map point, 12-9. 

The squad put down the ultimatum as they wiped out the T1 crew in B site to even the series with one map apiece.

Team Secret came out guns blazing at the opening of the deciding map Lotus. Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes dished out a quad kill at the fifth round to take an early 4-1 advantage en route to a 7-5 attacking half.  

But the chinks in their armor started to show right after the side switch as the Koreans exploited their defensive lapses to string six consecutive rounds and bury them in a 6-12 hole. 

Curtains dropped on round 21 as T1’s Young-sub “Sylvan” Ko unleashed his ultimate, Viper’s Pit, to plant the spike at C site and pick off a lone Cabrera to close out the match. 

Adrian Reyes led Team Squad in the stat sheets again, tallying a kill-death-assist (KDA) ratio of 49/46/28 and an average combat score (ACS) of 217 across the three maps. Cabrera popped off in Icebox, delivering 25 of his 43 kills as Iso. 

On the flipside, T1’s in-game leader Yu did the heavy lifting as the series MVP with a KDA 67/39/9, flexing with a different agent for each map.

Team Secret’s head coach Dong-jun “meow” Ji cited improvements in their performance compared to last week’s defeat from ZETA Division. “We are better than last week, that’s for sure. A lot of confidence is up right now, so it’s pretty good,” he said.   

Ji cited the change in their agent picks as the turning point for their victory at Icebox. “It did make a difference when they were playing a comfort agent,” he explained after reverting Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco and Reyes in using their signature agents Sova and KAY/O, respectively.

Moving forward, the tactician looks to put more priority in comfort as he builds up the team’s confidence for the remaining matches. 

Uphill climb 

A Team Ace from DRX was the start of an uphill climb for Global Esports as they were blitzed round after round in Ascent, resulting in a 3-9 deficit. 

The Koreans flexed their championship prowess after halftime as they shut down Global Esports’ advances to move up 1-0 in the series. 

Controller Federico “Papi” Evangelista regrouped the team to open Split with a bang, mounting a solid 5-0 defensive start. DRX slowly crawled its way back to the game with a late run, with an elimination win evening things up at 6-6. 

A scrappy pistol and buy round put Global Esports on the driver’s seat for the last time at 8-6, before the defense snuffed out their attacks once more with a triple kill from DRX’s Park “Estrella” Geon slamming the door on any chance of a Global Esports comeback.  

Filipino sentinel Kelly “kellyS” Sedillo anchored the team with a 23/33/10 performance to go along with a 184 ACS. Go topped the fragging list with 25 kills using Cypher. 

DRX’s Min-hyuk “Flashback” Cho was hailed as the series’ MVP with a 41/23/7 KDA, notching 25 eliminations as Neon in Split.  

Global Esports’ head coach Donnie “Elevated” Chell aired his frustrations at the team’s slow start leading to their recent defeats. “Going down 0-1 to a team like DRX is never gonna go well for us,” he said. 

He explained the calibrations following the unprecedented departure of their former head coach, Preston “Juv3nile” Dornon, who was slapped with a yearlong ban due to breaches in the Riot Games Global Code of Conduct. “It’s kind of different being in the head coaching slot where everything is on you,” he said.  

Chell complimented their sixth man Derrick “Deryeon” Yee, who had joined him in the coaching booth: “Having Derrick in the booth was a breath of fresh air because he was very good with the players and he’s obviously a player [as well], and it was helpful to have him and his energy and ideas.”  

With Global Esports stuck at fourth in Group Alpha just above the winless crews of Paper Rex and Detonation FocusMe, Chell emphasized how their next fixture will dictate the team’s pace heading into their last matches. 

“Momentum-wise, I think that game is probably the most important one of the seasons,” he said. “Obviously, we have two teams in our group that are 0-3 so somebody needs to win, somebody needs to make the playoffs.”  

Two playoff spots are still up for grabs in Group Alpha.

Team Secret will open the fourth week of play against Korea’s Nongshim Redforce (1-2) on April 12, while Global Esports will try to return to the win column versus Gen.G on April 13.

The post VCT Pacific: Filipinos lose Week 3 games; playoff chances slim appeared first on CoverStory.

Global Esports will take on Korean powerhouse DRX, while Team Secret will face the monumental task of bringing down Master Bangkok champions T1 on April 7. 

Valorant is a 5v5 tactical shooter video game developed by Riot Games, in which two five-member squads try to outwit and outgun each other using weapons and skills on a round-per-round basis.  

A round win is collected whenever a squad “kills off” everyone in the “enemy” team (called an elimination win) or if a faction reaches their goal: Attackers must be able to plant and detonate the Spike (an explosive device) in one of the sites on the map, while Defenders try to prevent this by holding down plant sites, letting the time run out or defusing the Spike. 

Both teams will get a chance to be Attacker and Defender as they switch sides every 12 rounds. A deuce in the 24th round will send the match into overtime; a team must win two consecutive rounds to claim victory.

Each player of a team pilots an Agent armed with unique abilities that they can buy or charge by eliminating players, as well as guns ranging from pistols to rifles to help out in their main objective of reaching 13 round wins.  

The agent’s ability may fit any of four designated roles: Duelist, who is equipped with offensive-oriented tools to aggressively take space; Initiator, who can gather information or set up other teammates for execution; Controller, who provides coverage using smokes; and Sentinel, who leans toward defensive kits that hold off enemies and flanks.

12 teams competing

Filipino-dominated Global Esports and Team Secret are among the 12 teams competing in VCT Pacific, the game’s highest competitive stage in Asia with a prize pool of $50,000 that started on April 2 and ends on May 2. The teams come from Southeast Asia—South Korea, Japan, “South Asia” and “Oceania.”

Aside from the Pacific, the regional tournaments are EMEA (Spain, France, “DACH,” Turkiye and “MENA”) and Americas (“Latin America” and Brazil), each of which involves 12 teams.

The ten-month season (January to October) is divided into three legs—Kickoff, Split 1 and Split 2. During Split 1, a single-round robin group phase, teams are grouped under Omega and Alpha and battle each other in a best-of-three series format. 

The top four teams will advance to the Playoffs, with a double-elimination bracket, on May 6–18. The top three that will secure their spots to Masters Toronto, the prestigious international tournament, on June 7–22 and go up against the other finishers EMEA and Americas. At stake is a prize pool of $1 million, the Masters trophy and championship points.

The teams with the most championship points at the end of the three splits will book their tickets to the culminating event of the season, Champions 2025 Paris, with a prize pool of $2.25 million. The winning team gets $1 million. 

As of now, Global Esports and Team Secret have lost their second game in the tournament. Global Esports (with a one win-one loss card) is in Group Alpha along with BOOM Esports (2-0), DRX (2-0), Gen. G (1-1), Paper Rex (0-2), and Detonation FocusMe (0-2).  

In Group Omega, Team Secret remains winless (0-2), suffering a 2-0 series sweep from Japan’s ZETA Division (1-1) last March 29. Others in the group are T1 (2-0), Nongshim Redforce (1-1), Rex Regum Qeon (1-1), and TALON (1-1). 

‘A little bit scared’

It had a great start, but Team Secret could not close the opening map Lotus, 11-13, before falling short in its comeback attempt in Icebox, 10-13. Its lineup includes initiators Adrian “invy” Reyes and Brheyanne “Wild0reoo” Reyes, in-game leader (IGL) Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco, duelist Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera, and controller James “2GE” Goopio.

“This is not the result that we expected. I think we were a little bit scared. We were not playing our game, we were just reacting to their [ZETA’s] game,” Brheyanne Reyes said after the match.  

Team Secret saw its 11-6 lead fizzle out on Lotus as ZETA mustered a second wind to a 6-0 run and Shota “SugarZ3ro” Watanabe stuck a spike defuse amid a Team Secrets crossfire for a 1-0 series lead.

The Filipinos tried to mount a comeback in Icebox from a 6-12 deficit as a clutch from Cuyco sparked a 4-0 streak to trim the gap to two. Unfortunately, their hopes were dashed in the 23rd round as a scrappy firefight at A site resulted in their team being wiped out as the spike went down. 

Adrian Reyes led the crew with a 45/30/29 series Kill-Death-Assist (KDA) ratio, dropping 27 of his total frags in Lotus alone, while ZETA Division’s Hikaru “CLZ” Mizutani was hailed as the series’ MVP with a 42/27/9 KDA and an Average Combat Score (ACS) of 244 as Sova. 

Rude awakening

In Group Alpha, Global Esports had a rude awakening from its dream start with a 2-0 defeat from Indonesia’s BOOM Esports last March 31. 

The collective comprising Filipinos Kelly “kellyS” Sedillo, Federico “PapiChulo” Evangelista, and Mark “patrickWHO” Musni, Korean duelist Go “UdoTan” Kyung-won and Russian flex player Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov was clobbered in its map pick Lotus, 1-13, before losing an 11-13 heartbreaker in Haven.

Global Esports’ dominant form in its win against Detonation FocusMe was nowhere to be found in the opening map with BOOM Esports pulling out all the stops at its defending half to limit team captain Kelly “kellyS” Sedillo and company to a lone round win.

The team finally got a foothold in Haven after taking its first pistol win of the series and the round after to put its opposition within striking distance, 6-8. At 9-12, Sedillo singlehandedly wiped out the BOOM squad to get at C site and ace, energizing his squad toward saving three match points. 

Looking to send the map into overtime, Global Esports found its efforts futile as it was gunned down in the retake attempt at C to close out the series, 11-13. Go anchored the crew with 27 kills using Iso, followed by Sedillo who contributed 19 frags with the sentinel pick Cypher.   

Despite the loss, assistant coach Donnie “Elevated” Chell said in a postgame interview: “…We came back on Haven and I’m proud of the boys for fighting on that map.”  

He added: “Couple more rounds go our way there and I think we take the series in three [games], but it didn’t happen today, and we’ll be back stronger [in our next game].”

On the flipside, Hildegard “Shiro” Arnaldo was hailed the series MVP with 21/15/12 KDA and a 260 ACS leading the way for the Indonesia-based squad as Sova.   

Both Team Secret and Global Esports will try to regain ground in the playoffs. They will close out the third week of play with Global Esports facing the undefeated DRX squad while Team Secret gears up against Masters Bangkok titlists T1 on April 7.

The post VCT Pacific: Filipino squads look for rebound after Week 2 misfires appeared first on CoverStory.

It took the 19-year-old years of sweat and training with her coaches from Rafa Nadal Academy, which she joined at the early age of 12.

In a recent Instagram post, Eala talked about how last week’s Miami Open has left her “speechless and so full of emotion, mostly pride and gratitude,” after bowing out in a decider against world No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States, 6-7, 7-6, 3-6.

Pegula eventually lost to the top-seeded and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, 5-7, 2-6, in the finals last Saturday. 

“I’m proud of myself for pushing through those tough moments, as well as to have been able to make a statement for the Philippines in one of the biggest stages of tennis,” Eala said.

It was in the Miami Open where Eala made history as the first Filipino tennis player to defeat three Grand Slam champions—Jelena Ostapenko (world No. 25) of Latvia, Madison Keys (No. 5) of the United States, and Iga Swiatek (No. 2) of Poland—and break through the top 100 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings.

She received praise for her feats from not only tennis fans around the globe but also fellow Filipino athletes such as Olympians Hidilyn Diaz and EJ Obiena, and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao.

“You may not have made the finals, but you won the hearts of the world, Alex Eala!” Pacquiao wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “The whole nation is proud. This is just the beginning. Keep fighting and inspiring. You’ve shown the heart of a true champion. Laban lang! The future is bright for you. Proud na proud kami sa’yo! #PinoyPride!” 

Former world No. 1 tennis player Chris Evert also took to X to commend Eala’s fighting spirit during the tournament, saying: “Incredible that Alex Eala still has anything left in her considering the teen has beaten 3 Grand Slam Champs.”

The Filipino tennis sensation continued to convey her heartfelt gratitude for all the support she has received over the past weeks: “Moreover, I’m thankful for all the positivity coming my way, and I pray that you all continue sending support through the highs and lows. Salamat sa lahat ng pagdadasal at magagandang mensahe.”

Her gratitude came with an acknowledgment of what lies ahead: “I recognize that these two weeks have opened the door to so many opportunities for me, but along with those opportunities come a whole new set of obstacles I will have to navigate through.” 

Having soared to the 75th spot from 140 in the WTA rankings, Eala is now guaranteed a spot in the main draw of this year’s remaining grand slams, with the French Open beginning in May, Wimbledon in June, and the US Open in August. 

“The real work starts now,” she said.

For now, the Filipino tennis star looks to enjoy her downtime and to ensure that she will be ready for the Madrid Open that starts on April 22.

“I think my wish is to play something before that (Madrid Open),” Rafa Nadal Academy coach Joan Bosch told ANC about his ward on Monday. “But we still need to sit and see, to check the body and everything. I want to see that ankle and talk to her how are the feelings, the motivation.” 

“She’s a young player considering the WTA. We’re working on goals that if we can achieve, then she will be competing there in the next five years,” Bosch said. 

He said some of these goals “are still not done.”

The post After making history in the Miami Open, Alex Eala buckles down to ‘real work’ appeared first on CoverStory.

Her feat against World No. 2 Swiatek intensified the buzz among sports fans locally and internationally, with some dubbing her as the new “giant killer” of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).

“I could exclaim firmly that Alex’s performance up to this series is world-class. Unfathomable, relentless winners against elite players. Congratulations,” one of them wrote on Facebook. 

Another posted: “Her resiliency, nerves of steel, made it possible to win the game and beat the odds against a formidable player like Iga Swiatek. Alex [is] an absolute inspiration to many people in the world.”

Prior to her performance and her commitment to reach the top in world women’s tennis, Eala graduated high school in 2023 from the Rafa Nadal Academy led by former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who also praised the alumna online. 

“We are extremely proud of you, Alex,” Nadal wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “What an incredible tournament! Let’s keep dreaming!”

Present in Eala’s box during her quarterfinals match was Toni Nadal, Rafa Nadal Academy coach and Nadal’s uncle.

Also showing their support online are fellow tennis players, including Australian Olympian Ellen Perez who holds a ranking of No. 17. 

During the post-match interviews against Swiatek, Eala described how she felt as being “on cloud-nine.”

“Thank you all so, so much for all the support. This week has been so unbelievable, so I hope you guys can make it more unbelievable in my next match,” Eala said. 

With her efforts to reach the semifinals, Eala earned a colossal jump in her WTA ranking from 140 to 75. 

The 19-year old tennis star has become the first Filipino woman to defeat three Grand Slam champions in the Open Era with her triumphs against Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and Swiatek. 

According to the WTA, Eala’s performance has also “equalled the best result achieved by a wild card at the Miami Open since the tournament’s inception in 1985.”

Eala will face the winner between Emma Raducanu of Britain and World No. 4 Jessica Pegula of the United States in the semifinals on March 28.

Read more: Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals

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This comes after her historic upset victory against Grand Slam champions World No. 5 Madison Keys (6-4, 6-2) of the United States and World No. 25 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (7-6, 7-5) in the previous rounds.

In the opener, Eala, the 19-year old WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) star and ranked No. 140 before the tournament, scored her monumental main draw victory against World No. 73 Katie Volynets of the United States, 6-3, 7-6.

She is now making waves in the tournament as a wild card entry and the first Filipina to ever defeat Grand Slam players one after the other since the WTA rankings began in 1975.

Eala won her matches against Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, and Keys, the Australian Open champion, and with Badosa’s sudden pull-out, she will face five-time Grand Slam Champion Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals on March 26.

The Filipino sensation was emotional during an on-court television interview after her victory over Keys. “Growing up it was tough. You didn’t have anyone from where you’re from to pave the way. Of course, you have many people to look up to around the world, but I think—I hope this takes Filipino tennis to the next step.”

When she was 13 years old, Eala’s family made the tough decision to accept a full scholarship to the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain, where she graduated in 2023. 

“My family should take credit for the foundation that they laid out before they sent me there.” she said, adding:

“But of course, the academy was able to build on that foundation in such a way that I’m able to be where I am now. And I think the combination of everything that I’ve been through since I started tennis is what has led to this moment and what has led to me having all these opportunities.”

Present during her graduation ceremony was Swiatek, her next opponent in the Miami Open. Although taking the feat against Badosa was a walkover, Eala is still determined to power through her march against Swiatek.

“Not the way I would want to move on to my first WTA1000 QF. I wish Paula a speedy recovery. Looking forward to my match on Wednesday,” she wrote on Instagram.

Swiatek is formerly ranked at No. 1 for a total of 125 weeks before Aryna Sabalenka reclaimed the spot.

Read more: Alex Eala notches a first for the motherland

The post Alex Eala pursues quest in Miami Open, faces World No. 2 Iga Swiatek in quarterfinals appeared first on CoverStory.

The demo you’ll see isn’t just for show; it’s the athletes’ training session as they prepare to compete at the Hong Kong International Wushu Championship scheduled on Feb. 28–March 3. It’s a first for the group and, says Corpuz, a pleasant surprise, too, because the athletes did not expect to join any competition, much less qualify for an international bout that will gather 80,000 participants from over 50 countries.

The Wushu Arena athletes representing the Philippines along with Corpuz are: Maica and Reena Cabugao, Diane Basa, Carl and Bede Ramirez, Ishy Pena, Sha Liwanag, Chloe and Lucas Maniquis, Anton Sesdoyro, and John Timothy Duran. “This is my first time, as head coach, to compete with my team; I had no idea I would be qualified to [do so] because we’ve been doing this for fun, for health,” Corpuz says.

Corpuz set up Wushu Arena in 2023 when she was invited initially to serve as aikido instructor at Arena Fitness Dojo in Fisher Mall. The dojo eventually expanded its program to include wushu, and appointed her as head instructor. Previously, she was part of a small wushu demo group, performing at events, mall shows, and even on TV starting in 2017 until the pandemic forced everything to a stop. 

‘Dream team’

With Wushu Arena, Corpuz had the same intent—to form a demo group—but priorities changed after receiving the invitation from Hong Kong in November 2024. Despite their being all first-timers in competition, Corpuz describes Wushu Arena’s 12 athletes, whose ages range from 5 to the mid-30s, as her “dream team.” They are competing in multiple categories and have a total of 46 entries, with some requiring the use of weapons.

“For traditional wushu, there are many bare-hand routines. I’m competing in the Huaquan and Piguaquan events,” says Corpuz.

The categories where traditional weapons are used include Single and Double Nunchucks and Fan. Then there are the modern wushu events: Taijiquan (Taichi), Nanquan (southern), and Changquan. Categories with modern weapons are Daoshu (broadsword) and Jianshu (straight sword).

The fact that the team is competing in so many events is unconventional, says Corpuz, because most typically join only one category, or a maximum of three events. So far, based on what she has seen during training, she says the team is fully ready for the competition, and now needs to mostly just polish routines.

With barely a month to go before the championship, a key challenge for the team is funding, especially because wushu continues to be less popular compared to other martial arts such as karate and taekwondo. The athletes continue to raise the money by doing special performances at events. (Visit https://www.facebook.com/wushuartsacademy for details.)

While they find it challenging to prepare for the competition, it has fueled their desire to further pursue the sport. The dream, says Corpuz, is to see wushu as a category in the Olympics—and, of course, for them to represent the Philippines should that become a reality.

Benefits

In the meantime, Corpuz, through Wushu Arena, will continue to advocate for the sport and to educate more Filipinos on its benefits, particularly that it can be taken up by anyone at any age.

“The health benefits are really the No. 1 reason [to take up wushu],” she says. “I’ve seen older people who are very strong, who do really high leg raises, thanks to wushu. It’s also good for memory, because you need to memorize the choreography.”

It likewise blends athleticism with artistry, she adds. 

Corpuz hopes that through her guidance, Wushu Arena will continue to make waves in the Philippine sports scene, and embody the spirit of perseverance and creativity that defines this ancient martial art.

Nervous and excited

Among the Wushu Arena athletes are Carl and Bede Ramirez and John T Duran.

During our online interview, it is easy to see the strong bond between 6-year-old Bede and his kuya (elder brother) Carl, 16. After all, the two share a love for wushu, which is why they joined Wushu Arena last year—Carl in April, and Bede in November. 

“I’m a bit nervous, but also excited to represent the Philippines,” Carl admits.

Carl, who has experience in taekwondo, says he joined Wushu Arena to try something new. A quick search online led him to Coach Corpuz’s team, where his training prepared him to be competition-ready in less than a year. 

He is participating in the Tajiquan (Taichi), Single Nunchucks, and Double Nunchucks events in Hong Kong.

Bede is practicing wushu at levels 1 and 2. His response is straightforward when asked what motivated him to join his kuya: “It’s because he uses weapons.” 

But for the brothers, wushu is not just about competition. Carl speaks passionately about the sport’s deeper benefits—improved stamina, memory, and a connection to his family’s historical roots. He sees wushu as a more holistic martial art, focusing on full-body movements and precise techniques.

While Bede was inspired by his brother to take up wushu, 10-year-old John T Duran was motivated by the Netflix film “Ip Man,” which tells the story of a Chinese martial artist, a grandmaster who eventually trained Bruce Lee, and overcame his struggles during Japan’s invasion of China.

John T will compete in the Daoshu, or broadsword, category in Hong Kong. Even at a young age, he says he is already learning about discipline, friendship, and the art of movement.

Together with their teammates, the three boys’ passion for and dedication to wushu are helping them get through the challenging and diverse training regimen. They look forward to becoming well-rounded martial artists capable of both competitive performance and practical application, and to represent the future of wushu in the Philippines.

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It was pure as pure could be: UP is the champion of UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball!

Exhibiting both depth and grit, it was an epic struggle between the two current titans of Philippine collegiate basketball: the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons and the De La Salle University Green Archers. 

It was Game 3 on Dec. 15, and like any other evenly matched struggle, the contest was not decided until the final buzzer sounded.

All throughout, it was basagan ng mukha, balyahan and asawahan, to use street lingo to describe the very physical game that culminated the rivalry two years in the making. Players were wrestling on the floor for the ball, falling and grimacing in pain after absorbing wayward elbows and flailing arms, bouncing off full body charges, limping away, and cramping up.

It was not even supposed to reach Game 3. It should have ended with Game 2, but La Salle survived by a hairline 76-75 edge because UP was less steady down that stretch. Now, there was no room to slacken, no excuse to flinch. It was do or die.

As he did in Game 2, La Salle head coach Topex Robinson did not begin with his best player, power forward Kevin Quiambao, in order to have the two big guys Michael Phillips and Henry Agunanne start and establish inside dominance early on. While it worked in Game 2, the adjustment may have led to pulling out Quiambao and subsequently not being able to reinsert him early enough during Game 3’s fourth-quarter closing minutes when the game was still in the balance. Nevertheless, even when on court, Quiambao was often locked down by the UP defense and had few scoring opportunities.

Right after tipoff, UP cranked up its offense in an effort to put the game away early. Employing fast breaks that La Salle tried to counter with full court presses and traps, UP attempted to score quickly with every possession. The intensity was at its height when UP was able to build a 14-point lead in the third quarter, with Gerry Abadiano racking up 7 straight points. (It was Abadiano who could have won Game 2 when he took a last-second heave—that missed.) But then, led by Quiambao, La Salle’s 3-pointers started falling and Phillips scored at will, enabling La Salle to pull abreast at 56-56 early in the fourth quarter. That’s when the UP triumvirate of Quentin Millora-Brown, JD Cagulangan and Francis Lopez combined for 8 points to pull ahead and give UP the cushion it needed. Lopez’s final 3-pointer was the dagger to La Salle’s heart and his shot to full redemption after his 4 missed free throws and turnover that enabled La Salle to hang on in Game 2.

UP did not reach the level of success it now commands in men’s basketball overnight. It was not even years. It was decades. There was a time when UP was the cellar-dweller in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was so bad that finally winning a game after 27 straight losses merited a bonfire at UP’s Sunken Garden, apparently because a single win was just as hard to come by as a championship. (Of course, there was a roaring bonfire at the Sunken Garden on Dec. 16.)

Now everyone is all praise and thankful for the support of alumni, sponsors, the school administration and the entire UP community to afford a basketball program that attracts top-notch coaching and nurtures talented players.

Over the past four seasons, UP won the championship in the first, placed a close second (losing in Game 3s) to Ateneo de Manila University and La Salle in the second and third, and claimed dominance once more in the fourth. Not bad in a league where UP is the only state university and all the others are the country’s top private universities. It is, hopefully, a dynasty in the making.

“Is it the players or the coach?” my wife said when I gleefully shared the news that UP had won. She was wondering who was responsible for the victory and was voicing the basketball version of the “Is it the chicken or the egg” question. “The players,” I said. Actually, “both” would have been a fair answer, but that would not have sat well with her, as she does not like me taking a noncommittal stance.

In a sporting world where the level of competition is so high that victory is determined by a split second or the “breaks of the game,” the way basketball is, the winning edge is often determined by mental toughness and the all-consuming desire to win. “Second is bottom. Second is last,” I vaguely remember some win-obsessed movie character saying.

UP’’s coach, the aptly named Goldwin Monteverde, underlined the importance of mental toughness when he told his team: “Walang bibitaw. Let’s not stop. Just keep pounding.” Game adjustments were no longer paramount. It was mindset. Clearly, it is true that the formula for success is “99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.” That 1% is the mental toughness that provides the winning edge. 

Put in the drills, the hard work, and they will all bear fruit. Or not. As the player executes, there is no time for thought. Hit or miss. Win or lose. Play ball!

Read more: UP admin and University Council still at odds on UP-AFP accord

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Allianz PNB Life (AZPNBL) helps to secure the future of the Creamline Cool Smashers and Choco Mucho Flying Titans with its eAZy Health coverage package, which covers most of their potential health issues as professional athletes. 

The package provides life insurance coverage with protection against critical illnesses, accidents, and disability. It is well-suited for the players and coaches’ age group and profession, and includes the Healthbox, a one-stop shop that offers easy access to AZPNBL’s health, lifestyle and wellness partners nationwide. Among the benefits of Healthbox are medical home consultations, health tests and preventive services for wellness.

“The Allianz commitment to supporting athletes has a long-term point of view — while they are still playing and when they retire as professional athletes,” said AZPNBL president and CEO Joe Gross. “This plan was specifically chosen for the Creamline Cool Smashers and Choco Mucho Flying Titans because it assures them that health issues that may arise from their profession are covered, and that they have life protection.”

The eAZy Health package is designed for easy understanding even by beginners in financial planning. It is also the first plan in the Philippines that can cover health conditions such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, and CABG (coronary artery bypass graft). In addition, plan holders can get up to 30% cash back of the total premiums if no claims are made after five years.

The volleyball teams are guided by a “life changer” who assists them throughout their journey of financial well-being. “Life changers” are Allianz financial advisors dedicated to helping clients secure their future by guiding them in wealth accumulation and management and in well-being aspirations.

“We are grateful for the generous contribution of Allianz PNB Life to the players and coaches, given that volleyball is physically demanding for the players and can be stressful to the coaching team,” said Creamline Cool Smashers manager Alandel Acero.  

He added: “Through this partnership, coaches and players can now focus on what matters to them– developing the athletes and helping them play at their best. This gift is proof that Allianz PNB Life believes in the athletes, supports sportsmanship, and is true to their dedication to the partnership.”

Choco Mucho Flying Titans manager Rollie Delfino noted that about 90% of the team members have become financially mature and are investing in their future as a result. 

“Like the way the players prioritize their learning and their love for volleyball as individuals, it’s also important for them to take their future and financial stability seriously. It’s not just about the benefits that Allianz generously provides, but also about the wealth of knowledge in financial products that it shares with the team,” Delfino said.

The players themselves said the partnership between their teams and AZPNBL is game-changing. Creamline starter Michelle Gumabao candidly talked about the protection and peace of mind offered by the eAZy Health package. “The very basic insurance plans don’t cover a lot of things. Now we have coverage that goes as far as death and critical illness,” she said. “We can rest easier now because we have these kinds of benefits. I have been in the pro league for 11 years already, and no matter how careful we are, we don’t know what will happen in the future. It is reassuring that we are covered no matter what happens. I can play more confidently because we have a guarantee that we will be protected, and there will be help in case of an accident or injury.”

Choco Mucho team captain Maddie Madayag expressed a similar sentiment: “Life happens, and you never know what can come and how much it’s going to cost you. In a snap you may be facing a health issue. It is very reassuring to have this kind of protection. I’m grateful that Allianz PNB Life introduced us to insurance.”

Creamline star Bea De Leon added: “It’s very reassuring to have this kind of coverage because you know you won’t be a burden to your family [if something happens]. It is important for us as athletes that we live our lives thinking of our health, so I am thankful to Allianz PNB Life for the eAZy Health coverage. It allows us to continue doing what we love to do, with less worries. Knowing that you will be protected even as things might change in the future gives you peace of mind.”

For more information, visit www.allianzpblife.ph.

Read more: Postscript to the Paris Olympics: The games at home

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When Hidilyn Diaz came home a gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021, then President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration scrambled to make the most of the moment. They mounted an online courtesy call in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic in which they promised Diaz a house and lot in Zamboanga City and P3 million, apart from the cash incentives guaranteed under Republic Act No. 10699. 

In that same courtesy call, Duterte’s message to Diaz included thanks and a request to forget (an apparent reference to the Palace’s adverse reaction to her call for public assistance for her training): “We are extremely proud… pero salamat naman sa pagtitiis mo. I hope that the years of toil, the years of disappointments, and the years na hindi maganda nangyari in the past, we will just forget them. You already have the gold. Gold is gold and it would be good for you to just let bygones be bygones.”

Sports appreciation in the Philippines has largely been kept within the lenses of entertainment, an opiate, showbiz’s distant cousin, and hardly a celebration of the human physique, strength, and determination. Only a few hours after Carlos Yulo’s first gold medal win, social media platforms were already pumped with vitriol over the drama between him and his mother. The posts had little to do with gymnastics, Yulo’s brilliance, or sports, for that matter. (If there were any, they were directed against basketball, for which the Philippines didn’t even qualify to join the Olympics competition. Ironically, while the limelight shone on gymnastics, these posts alleged that we pay too much attention to basketball… because we short folk, un-ironically, believe that we are tall enough to contend with the likes of Nikola Jokic.)  

In Paris, the Philippines would go on to win two bronze medals in boxing care of Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas’ fists, pole vaulter EJ Obiena would apologize for a beautiful 5.90m leap, and Bianca Pagdanganan would swing valiantly to fourth place in golf. And yet public attention would still be glued to the Yulo household, the royal rumble having now recruited Yulo’s girlfriend Chloe San Jose and his mother’s lawyer Raymond Fortun into the ring. Over social media’s thin veneer of appearances and impressions, “netizens” (a cumbersome word) would chime in at length on the tangentially related topics that media’s laser focus on their personal lives had managed to unearth. But I would argue that this problem is beyond the media, and Filipinos do little to understand sports simply and precisely because we want little to do with sports.

2022 study 

There was an important study that fell between the cracks: “Results from the Philippines’ 2022 report card on physical activity for children and adolescents,” published in October 2022 by the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. The 9-page paper, citations included, was written by 16 scholars—15 from different colleges of the University of the Philippines (Diliman and Manila) and one from the Education University of Hong Kong. It was intended to “provide a comprehensive assessment of physical activity and other related behaviors, including the various factors and settings that influence these behaviors.” 

After the identification and review of the “best available nationally representative data,” grades were assigned to five indicators: “F” in overall physical activity, “D” in active transportation, “B” in sedentary behavior, “C-“ in school, and “B” in government. The study’s conclusion was that “despite government policies related to physical activity in the country, the majority of children and adolescents in the Philippines do not meet the recommended amount of physical activity for health.”

Even with the paper’s bleak assessments, I enjoyed reading it because of the way it was able to triangulate its analyses and arrive at its conclusion. It was holistic, and its view of sports and exercise was one which included day-to-day movement, taking a snapshot of a sizeable population over an expanded period; it was not just spurred by the occasional medal finish or close fight. 

The primordial mistake we are making in understanding and appreciating sports is how, over the past decades, we do not go beyond seeing them only in terms of their rewards, as tickets out of poverty, or a promise of heaven after a long and difficult life. Anything less difficult, or anything less rewarding, and we no longer see sports as good or worthy. 

When Diaz lifted us to a gold medal in 2021, the dire lack of funding and political patronage in the Philippine Sports Commission became the subject of Atom Araullo’s two-part report for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. But we hardly followed this through, the slapdash solution being only more funding from more private donors. And when the grandmaster Wesley So became an American citizen in February 2021, the focus remained on his personality—some would note his choice for a “better life” in the United States—and not on his genius and hard work as a winner of many chess championships. And, of course, Manny Pacquiao’s boxing defeats after being KO’d hard by Juan Manuel Marquez, as well as his countless falls from grace in politics, could do nothing to tarnish his rags-to-riches story. 

Different view

For a long time now, we’ve been viewing sports only as a linear progression, as if they’re the proverbial tests in many of our folk legends.

There must be a way to view sports differently. In following this one-dimensional narrative template for sports—in which athletes can only win or lose—we have lent a lot of room for corruption and other evils to be seen as mere hurdles to overcome. Or, worse, all these wrongs become default conditions which athletes must simply accept should they want to achieve greatness in their sport. But we can gain so much from more detailed and more complex readings into sports.

We must move toward making these sports easier to understand. One of the remarkable things in Yulo’s two gold medals is that they were won in events which required judges to look critically and to apply their technical expertise in floor exercises and vault gymnastics. In other words, these events can be said to be subjective, their scoring highly dependent on what the judges thought. We Filipinos are often allergic to these “subjectivities” and tend to cheer more for more quantifiable, points-based sports, like basketball or volleyball. But now, with Yulo’s win, we find that our subjective natures can be causes for celebration, too. Grace, timing, beauty, mystery, consistency, decisiveness in motion—all of these are often lost on us when we see only the reward aspect, only the supposed conclusions, of playing sports. 

All the medals have been awarded and the 2024 Olympics has finally ended. But what still interests people are the discussions it opened: the cultural clash in the Dionysian Bacchanalia aka reworking of the Last Supper, the colossal cyberbullying around Imane Khelif and her gold-medal finish, Rachael Gunn’s deliberate flopping and her mockery of breakdancing, the running titan Eliud Kipchoge’s DNF, and now, Carlos Yulo and how everyone just wants a piece of any of his two gold medals. Sports are at the core of all of these. 

Many would say that these are issues which are far from the gut and can hardly put food on the table. Yet there’s a way to see sports differently. Lest we forget, since forever, from the myth of Greek gods playing games in Olympia to the reality in front of us, sports have always been a way to make sense of our lives and a way to arrange the society we live in.

DLS Pineda is a member of the UP Mountaineers and an assistant professor at the Department of English and Comparative Literature – College of Arts and Letters, University of the Philippines Diliman.

Read more: Quest for gold: Gymnast Carlos Yulo seeks revenge in Paris

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