The Stands: An INQUIRER Sports Newsletter

 

April 5, 2024

Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo says au revoir to Paris bid. (REUTERS)

Hey there sports fan, Calvin Abueva has been fined again, this time for flipping the bird. But since we've all cleansed our inner selves over the Holy Week break, let's do away with that story. Instead, this bittersweet update from the world of weightlifting. The Philippines has qualified three lifters to the Paris Olympics: Rosegie Ramos, John Febaur Ceniza and Elreen Ann Ando.  Catching Ando's name there may have given followers of the sport, and of the country's Olympians, a jolt. Could it be? Sadly, yes. Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo failed to make the grade for the Paris Games. Diaz-Naranjo and Ando, both of whom saw their pet divisions scrubbed off the olympic calendar this year, found themselves caught in the same weight class: The women's 59-kg division. And since Olympic rules limit each country to one qualifier per weight, that meant the two lifters would have to go head-to-head. And in the final Olympic qualifier in Thailand, Ando managed to slip past Diaz-Naranjo to book her Paris ticket. “I love this sport, I don’t want to stop,” Diaz-Naranjo told the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF). “But what I have to do now is take a good rest and think about the priorities in my life. Today wasn’t my day. Paris was not to be.”

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Angeline Poyos is on fire.  (UAAP MEDIA)

oMeanwhile... There have been some awesome performances in the UAAP women's volleyball tournament. With Angel Canino struck down by injury, La Salle turned to its bench to show that it is not a one-woman show. National U, meanwhile, has hit its stride and Bella Belen knows why: The Lady Bulldogs have been trying too hard to make this season a redemption tour that they forgot the joy of playing their game. Not anymore. And oh, Angeline Poyos! The early days in the UAAP calendar may have been filled with Casiey Dongallo highlight reels but the University of Santo TOmas rookie is slowly emerging as a star-in-the-making after punching in a season-best 31 points. What we're up to next: UAAP women's volleyball, PVL All-Filipino Conference, PBA Philippine Cup. Need we say anything more? Stick to our platforms for the most in-depth and engaging sports content. Number of the Week: 41 Points scored by Caitlin Clark in the Iowa-LSU Elite Eight showdown in the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK “I’ve given a lot to this sport and it’s given a lot to me.” —Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, after missing out on the Paris Olympics.

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There are two answers to our weekly sports quiz in this newsletter. Think you can ace the rest of the quiz? head over to our Viber community and try the test out! Buy the Inquirer at newsstands, subscribe to our digital edition, Inquirer Plus, visit our online site and follow us on socials (Twitter: @inquirersports; FB: facebook.com/inquirersports) for more stories and updates—or to send us questions or suggestions of stories you'd want to read. See you next Friday! Francis Francis T. J. Ochoa is the Sports Editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For comments, suggestions and questions, hit him up on Twitter (@ftjochoaINQ).The Stands

Air Supply getting biopic to mark 50th year

 

Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com

April 5, 2024 | 9:30am

MANILA, Philippines — Soft rock duo Air Supply will mark its 50th year since its formation with a biopic detailing the years Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock spent together in the industry.

The biopic will carry the title "All Out of Love: The Air Supply Story," aptly borrowing from one of the duo's most popular songs.

The movie will explore "the highs and lows of the band's career and their rise to international fame," from Russell and Hitchcock's early beginnings in Australia to their breakthrough in the United States.

Altit Media Group will serve as producers through Dean Altit with Barry Siegel, Jesse Weiner, and Julia Xu as executive producers.

Shooting is eyed to begin later this year in Australia and the United Kingdom in hopes of a 2025 release.

"What a great occasion to celebrate our 50th Anniversary! And a personal thrill for me to see Graham's songs be the basis for the biopic," Hitchcock said in a statement which Russell reciprocated and added, "The timing is so perfect."

Biopics of musicians have been popular in recent years like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Elvis," "Rocketman," "Respect," "Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody," and most recently "Bob Marley: One Love."

Apart from "All Out of Love," Air Supply is best known for hits such as "Making Love Out of Nothing at All," "Every Woman in the World," "Here I Am," "Two Less Lonely People in the World," "Just As I Am," "Come What May," "The One That You Love," "Lonely Is The Night," "Lost in Love," and "Even the Nights Are Better."

Air Supply have performed in the Philippines several times over the years, the duo's most recent visit was just last December.

Eid'l Fitr on April 10 declared a regular holiday

Members of the Muslim community near the Golden Mosque in Quiapo, Manila prepare for morning prayers in celebration of Eid’l Fitr, or the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Miguel De Guzman

Ian Laqui - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday declared April 10, 2024, Wednesday a regular holiday throughout the Philippines for the observance of the Islamic holiday of Eid'l Fitr. 

This has been declared through Proclamation No. 514 signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following the recommendation from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).

“WHEREAS, in order to bring the religious and cultural significance of the EidT Fitr to the fore of national consciousness, and to allow the entire Filipino nation to join their Muslim brothers and sisters in peace and harmony in the observance and celebration of Eid Fitr, it is necessary to declare Wednesday, 10 April 2024, a regular holiday throughout the country,” the proclamation read. 

Eid'l Fitr is an Islamic holiday that marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan.

The date of the said holiday is calculated following the sighting of the new moon by a moon sighting committee by the NCMF.