Ni EDWIN ROLLON

IDADAGDAG ang three-point shooting sa sports na may malaking tsansa ang Pinoy sa international championship.

Bilang paniniguro na maproproteksyunan ang mga Pinoy athletes sa naturang sports, hindi lamang ang tournament organizers ng kauna-unahang three-point championships sa bansa ang binigyan ng lisensya ng Games and Amusements Board (GAB).

Goodbye PBA? John Amores, tinanggalan na ng professional license!

Inisyuhan din ng pro licensed ng GAB ang Pinoy shooters na sina Benjie Zamora, 39, at Jan Carlos Cifra, 25, matapos manguna sa elimination phase ng ‘Kings of Threes’ kamakailan sa Buendia Makati City.

Hindi na bago sa sports si Cifra na tinanghal na ‘Guinness World Record’ na may pinakamaraming naisalpak na three-point shot sa loob ng isang minuto (26).

Ayon kay Mitra, hindi lamang ang professionalization ng three-point ang concerned ng GAB bagkus maging ang kalagayan ng mga atletang Pinoy.

“This is a step in the right direction. This is an event that anybody can join. People from different walks of life. So we encourage them to join events like the Kings of Threes,” pahayag ni Mitra.

“Where the public interest is at stake, GAB should be there. It gives leagues legitimacy and credibility. But, more importantly, it protects the athletes and organizers as well, be it legal or even medical,” aniya.

Ayon kay Mitra, unti-unti na nilang inaayos ang guidelines para sa licensing of three-point shooters para higit itong maging kompetitibo at mapalapit sa iba pang stakeholders.

“I’m very happy to be given this license by GAB. I have been doing this for sometime now, doing the rounds of tournaments, so I think it’s about time we have this,” pahayag ni Peralta, isa sa organizers ng torneo.

Ang ‘Kngs of Threes” ay taunang torneo na inorganisa ng ubic Bay Development & Industrial Estate Corp. (SUDECO).

“As basketball enthusiasts we see that three-point shooting is the future of basketball. We hope through Kings of Threes and the professional licensing we give added dimension to the basketball scene here,” pahayag ni Paul A. Elauria, pangulo ng organizing SUDECO.

Vermosa: Bagong tahanan ng Patafa

WALANG butil na maiiwan para maisakatupan ng Ayala Corp. ang suporta sa pagsasanay ng atletang Pinoy para sa katuparan ngh pangarap na gintong medalya sa Asian Games o maging sa Olympics.

Pinasinayahan nitong Biyernes ang bagong gawang state-of-the-art Vermosa Sports Hub sa Imus, Cavite.

“We are also looking at building an archery facility. We have 800 hectares here and there’s a lot of space to develop. We are continuing our dialogue with other sports,” pahayag ni Jay Teodoro, estate head of Vermosa Sports Hub.

Ang Vermosa ay binuo para sa pagsasanay ng atletang Pinoy. Nakapaloob sa 800-hectare property ng yala Corp. ang bagong gawang track oval na may siyam na linya, kauna-unahang sa bansa.

Nakatakdang sumabak ang Philippine delegastion sa 18th Asian Games sa Agosoto sa Jakarta, Indonesia. Meron ding full-size football pitch na nababalutan ng natural na damo at Olympic-size swimming pool.

Mula sa Rizal Memorial at Philsports, ang Vermosa ang magiging bagong tahana ng Philippine athletics team.

“Ayala Corp. is spending time, money and effort because they want to do their share in helping our athletes. I am very thankful to Ayala Corp.,” pahayag ni Patafa chief Philip Ella Juico.

Kasamang dumalo sa programa sina national track and field members Marestela Torres-Sunang, Riezel Guarte, Mervin Guarte, Rosie Villarito at Eduardo Alejan.

Ikinatuwa ni Torres-Sunang, ang SEAG long jump queen, ang Vermosa na halos 10 minuto lamang ang biyahe mula sa kanyang tahanan sa Bacoor, Cavite.

“It doesn’t help my training. I spend hours sitting. It’s not good for me,” pahayag ng three-time Olympian, patungkol sa mahabang biyahe mula sa Cavite patungo sa Manila para sa ensayo.

“Philsports is too crowded for us because it’s open to the public. It’s not conducive to training national athletes. There’s (human) traffic in the oval,” aniya.