Ramon Gonzales looking to keep the Filipino momentum going at ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES in Bangkok

Filipino mixed martial arts has enjoyed somewhat a resurgence in the last few years, and at the forefront of it all is the famed Team Lakay stable.
Based in La Trinidad, Benguet, Team Lakay has accounted for five of the six ONE World Champions that represent the Philippines, including Honorio Banario, Eduard Folayang, Geje Eustaquio, Kevin Belingon, and most recently, Joshua Pacio.

And while these Igorot warriors have done a lot in putting Philippine mixed martial arts on the map and making the Philippines one of the biggest martial arts markets in Asia, a number of other Filipino fighters have all put in the work and have done well in bannering the Philippine flag on the ONE Championship stage.

From Rene Catalan to Jomary Torres, Eric Kelly to Jeremy Miado, Filipino martial artists have done their part in building the reputation of Filipino mixed martial artists as some of the world’s best competitors. At ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES just this past 22 September in Jakarta, Indonesia, a pair of Filipino stars emerged with their arms raised in victory as Danny Kingad defeated Yuya Wakamatsu in a flyweight showdown, while Joshua Pacio became the newest ONE titleholder after defeating Yoshitaka Naito to become the new ONE Strawweight World Champion.

At ONE: KINGDOM OF HEROES on Saturday, 6 October in Bangkok, Thailand, another Filipino martial artist aims to keep the country’s momentum going.
Kicking things off at the Impact Arena in Bangkok will be a flyweight bout between Filipino Kyokushin Karate black belt Ramon “The Bicolano” Gonzales and Indonesian Dodi “The Maung” Mardian. Gonzales is coming off an extended layoff due to work outside of competition, but now is nothing short of excited to make his return to the ONE Championship ring and get his second consecutive win.

“I’m really excited to be competing in ONE Championship again,” Gonzales shared. “I had to focus on work overseas for a while, but I’m back now and I can’t wait to feel the rush of competition again.”Gonzales boasts a 2-2 professional mixed martial arts record, and is coming off a second-round submission victory over Deligherihu Liu back in September of 2017. For the Albay, Bicol native, there’s nothing quite like being able to represent the Philippines in the biggest martial arts organization in the world.

“I can honestly say that nothing compares to carrying the Philippine flag in international competition. This is something that will always give me great pride, it is definitely an honor.” Gonzales added that seeing his compatriots succeed in ONE Championship is definitely a source of motivation and inspiration. “I’m happy to see my fellow Filipinos go far in this sport and in ONE Championship. It gives me the confidence to believe in myself and also aspire for the same level of success. It is definitely inspiring to see them succeed,” he added.

Aside from Gonzales, another Filipino will be competing on the card, as former IFMA Muay Thai world champion Robin “The Ilonggo” Catalan takes on Japanese submission specialist Hayato Suzuki in a preliminary flyweight contestFor more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

Team Lakay’s Joshua Pacio and Danny Kingad dedicate victories to the victims of Typhoon Mangkhut

ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES last 22 September in Jakarta, Indonesia proved to be a big night for famed Filipino mixed martial arts stable Team Lakay.
That night at the Jakarta Convention Center, a pair of Team Lakay’s young guns in Joshua “The Passion” Pacio and Danny “The King” Kingad scored landmark victories.

In the main event, Pacio dethroned Yoshitaka Naito via unanimous decision to capture the ONE Strawweight World Championship and avenge his 2016 defeat at the hands of the Japanese submission specialist. It was the third world championship win in 2018 for Team Lakay, as Pacio joined the likes of reigning ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon and undisputed ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio.

Certainly, Team Lakay had all reason to celebrate that night, but not before giving a special shout out their fellow Cordillera natives who were recently affected by the wrath of Typhoon Mangkhut, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ompong, just a week prior to the event.
During the post-bout interview with Mitch Chilson, Pacio dedicated his championship win to the people who were still reeling from the typhoon.

“Last week, typhoons struck Baguio City, Benguet, and the Cordilleras. A lot of places were hit hard. Many people died and some are still missing. This is for all of them. I know that the Cordilleras will come back and rise again soon as one,” Pacio expressed.
During the post-bout press conference backstage, Pacio continued to show solidarity with his brothers and sisters from the Cordillera Region.

“This bout is really for those who were severely affected by the typhoon in Baguio,” he added. “In the municipality of Itogon, that’s where a lot of my family is. A lot of my cousins are there, and thank God that none of them were hit hard.”
“However, we do know a lot of people who were badly affected and still trying to recover from this. My heart goes out to all of them. This championship is for them,” Pacio continued.

Earlier that night, Kingad bucked a slow start to earn a dominant unanimous decision win over Japanese newcomer Yuya Wakamatsu in a three-round flyweight contest.
Like Pacio, Kingad also had some words of hope for the people in Itogon, Benguet.

“I’m really happy with my win, but it isn’t just mine. This win is for my family and for the people that were affected by the typhoon in Itogon,” he stated.
Pacio and Kingad have both faced adversity and setbacks in their careers, but have bounced back stronger and in spectacular fashion.

Kingad believes that the people of the Cordilleras can do the same as well.
“People from Benguet, people from the Cordilleras, we are strong. We are warriors. I have no doubt in my mind that they will be back on their feet and recover from this like champions,” he proudly concluded.

JOSHUA PACIO

JOSHUA PACIO DETAILS HOW HE OVERCOME YOSHITAKA NAITO TO BECOME ONE STRAWWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION

It took two tries, but finally, Filipino strawweight star Joshua “The Passion” Pacio is now the ONE Strawweight World Champion. The 22-year old Team Lakay stalwart used his superior striking and much-improved grappling defense to outpoint erstwhile champion Yoshitaka “Nobita” Naito of Japan by unanimous decision in the main event of ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES at the Jakarta Convention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia last 22 September.

It was the perfect sequel to their 2016 encounter, as Pacio and Naito brought out the best in each other for an action-packed five round affair. At the end, it was Pacio who left with his hand raised and the world title on his shoulder after earning the victory on all three of the judges’ scorecards.

“Yoshitaka Naito is a very patient inside the cage,” Pacio said after 25-minute bout. “Plus, he can absorb some hard shots without slowing down. He’s really hard to go against because he keeps moving forward, no matter what you throw at him.”
And while it was something that Pacio had to deal with, Naito’s toughness was not an unexpected aspect of the Japanese star’s game.
“I expected for him to be able to take my hardest shots,” Pacio explained. “If you look back at his match with Dejdamrong Sor Amnuaysirichoke, he absorbed a lot of kicks and punches but he kept powering forward, so I expected that he’d be able to do the same against me.”

“I hurt him with a kick to the body in the first round and while it did have him on the defensive for a bit, he’s really strong and he kept pushing for the takedowns. I knew he could take those hard shots.” he added. While Pacio did impose his will on standup department, it was his ground defense that ultimately may have secured him the championship. Pacio did a good job of defending takedowns in the early rounds, but Naito eventually managed to take the Filipino down. From there however, Pacio managed to stifle any attempts at offense that Naito attempted.

“Yes, he did manage to take me down, but I kept him from passing my guard and gaining any positional advantage,” he elaborated. “Even if he scored the takedown, if he couldn’t pass guard or move into a better and more advantageous position, he wouldn’t be able to score any points because he was just stuck in guard.” And even on his back, Pacio made sure to stay busy by punishing Naito with strikes from the bottom position.

“While on top, he was punching me a bit, but I was answering back with some elbows of my own, so I believe it was a close fight on the ground. Standing up, Naito was able to tag me a few times, so it shows that he really worked on his striking as well.”
That night however, belonged to Pacio, who becomes the third member of Team Lakay to become a ONE World Champion in 2018, joining reigning ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon and reigning ONE Flyweight World Champion Geje Eustaquio.
“I’m so happy, I can’t explain what I’m feeling right now,” and elated Pacio admitted. “I did not know whether I was going cry or laugh when they announced the decision after the bout. It was an unexplainable feeling.” For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

CONQUEST OF HEROES

Danny Kingad banked on continuously-improving grappling game to ground hard-hitting foe at ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES Filipino flyweight phenom Danny “The King” Kingad recorded another impressive victory as he edged out Japanese newcomer Yuya “The Little Piranha” Wakamatsu at ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES last 22 September in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Team Lakay stalwart claimed his third-straight win and his eleventh mixed martial arts career win overall.Making Kingad’s performance all the more impressive was that he had to weather an early striking storm from the hard-hitting Wakamatsu to grind out a unanimous decision victory after three rounds of action.

In the first round, Wakamatsu showcased his much-talked about power as he rattled the Filipino with a hard low kick and then followed that up moments later with a right straight that dropped Kingad. “That punch caught me off-guard,” Kingad admitted. “I really felt his power in that punch. That’s when I knew I had to switch things up.”
Looking to survive the onslaught, Kingad relied on his wrestling to grab hold of Wakamatsu and take the Japanese striker down to the mats.

On the mat, Kingad imposed his will and took over the match.
“When I got hit hard, I decided that I need to shoot for his legs,” he explained. “When I was able to get him down with relative ease, I saw that I probably won’t be having any trouble trying to take him down, and I stuck with that game plan for the rest of the match.”
“Coach Mark Sangiao drew up a game plan, and that was to throw strikes to set up a takedown, because we knew that wrestling would be my advantage,” Kingad added.

After the tumultuous opening moments of the first round, Kingad executed the game plan perfectly, mixing up his punches and kicks to time his takedowns well and get the action to the ground almost at will. Having it his way on the canvas, Kingad displayed his continuously-improving ground game as he threatened to end the bout with a submission on a number of occasions.

“We knew coming in that he was a striker, a knockout artist,” he expressed. “After taking him down the first time, I felt that my power over him was my wrestling and my ground game, so that got me energized, and that’s where I attacked him throughout the whole match.” After a hard-fought fifteen-minute contest, it was Kingad who had his hand raised in front of the martial arts fans at the Jakarta Convention Center.

“I’m really happy with this win. It was a tough one, but God is good and He helped me get this win,” he claimed.With a winning streak going, the former ONE Flyweight World Championship contender is inching closer and closer back to top contender status in the stacked 61.2-kilogram weight division. “I’m ready for anyone. Whoever ONE Championship wants to put in front of me, that’s who I’ll prepare for,” he concluded.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™

ONE Championship is the largest global sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts and is the world's largest martial arts organization, hosting bouts across all styles of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Karate, Kung Fu, Silat, Sanda, Lethwei, Mixed Martial Arts, Tae Kwon Do, Submission Grappling, and more. The world’s most exciting martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world's best martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1.7 billion potential viewers across 138 countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including Fox Sports, ABS-CBN, Astro, ClaroSports, Bandsports, Startimes, Premier Sports, Thairath TV, Skynet, Mediacorp, OSN, and more.

PASIG RIVER MASTER PLAN COMPLETED

The PRRC, in collaboration with UP PLANADES, designed the Pasig River Integrated and Strategic Master Plan (PRISM) with a vision that by 2032, the Pasig River and its surrounding basins are resilient life-sustaining ecosystems that are able to support diverse human needs and biodiversity towards inclusive, harmonized, and balanced development co-managed by competent and adaptive institutions with responsible and empowered communities.

This new restoration strategy covers water quality management, stream flow management, catchment management and riparian management so that the Pasig River will again enshrine socioeconomic, aesthetic, environmental, recreational and cultural values amid changing risks and natural perturbations.
The illustration below provides a brief summary of the integrated wastewater treatment systems, one of the 19 priority projects proposed in the PRISM to help improve the water quality of the Pasig River, and for concerned agencies to comply with concession agreement, and other environmental laws.

PH’S PASIG RIVER VIES FOR ASIA RIVER PRIZE AWARD; COMPETES WITH CHINA’S YANGTZE RIVER

The Philippines' Pasig River, the cradle of early Manila civilization, has been selected as a finalist in the first ever Asia Riverprize by the prestigious International RiverFoundation (IRF) which recognizes and rewards organizations who are making a difference through effective river basin restoration and management programs.

It is a back-to-back nomination for the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) who just came from a successful campaign in the 2017 Thiess International Riverprize competition where the Pasig River was hailed as runner-up to the winner, San Antonio River of Texas, USA.

PRRC Executive Director Jose Antonio E. Goitia says that “the consecutive entries of the Pasig River as a finalist in the 2017 and 2018 Thiess International and Asia Riverprize, respectively, is a testament that the world recognizes the efforts of the Philippine government to restore the Pasig River and its environs since PRRC was established in 1999.”

Initially, the competition was called the Asia-Pacific Riverprize Awards which was opened to entrants from New Zealand, Australia, and 45 other countries. However, according to the IRF, due the to the high number and quality of entries received, they have made the decision to split the promoted Asia-Pacific Riverprize into two: Asia Riverprize and another category for the Australasia Riverprize.

After a series of tedious deliberations, the IRF has announced and congratulates the organizations chosen as Asia Riverprize finalists with the highest honors in river restoration and protection namely: the Pasig River (Philippines) and the Yangtze River (China).

Goitia adds “last year, the Philippines is the only third world and developing country that made it into the international finals and bravely competed with the US and the United Kingdom. In this year’s Asia Riverprize, we will be facing another super power – the red dragon, China. However, with an indomitable spirit, we remain steadfast and optimistic that we will stand triumphant in the end.”

In behalf of the IRF’s board of river basin experts, IRF Director Professor Bill Dennison says that “these different river stories are united by a common theme: excellence in river management.”

The Riverprize is not a competition of which river is more beautiful or cleaner. This is the reason why the IRF, comprised of river management experts and professionals from around the world, has given importance and consideration to the rehabilitation efforts of the PRRC to bring back the Pasig River system to life. It has acknowledged PRRC’s commitment in delivering quality projects, programs, and activities in easement recovery, housing and resettlement, riverbanks development, waste and water quality management, and public awareness.

Compared to the 1990s when it was declared "biologically dead," the Pasig River's condition now has significantly improved. Although the Pasig River development is a work in progress, many areas along the historic river have already shown signs of aquatic life and it has already become conducive for transport, recreation, and tourism.

PRRC’s Executive Director Jose Antonio E. Goitia, together with Public Information, Advocacy and Tourism Division Head George Oliver G. De La Rama, will be presenting and defending the Philippines’ Pasig River entry to a panel of esteemed judges in the upcoming 21st International Riversymposium on October 14 to 18, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Members of PRRC’s Management Committee will also form part of the Philippine delegation.

The winner of the 2018 Asia Riverprize will receive widespread global recognition which can build new partnerships, provide opportunities for exchange of knowledge and best practices, and open doors for international support. Furthermore, the winner will automatically qualify for Stage Two of the Thiess International Riverprize in 2019.

As one nation, the PRRC seeks everyone’s support to its Pasig River entry in the 2018 Asia Riverprize. The Pasig River's victory is the victory of the Philippines and every Filipino who works hard and shares the same vision of saving our waterways and the environment. It will be the triumph of all who believe that the dream of a clean and alive Pasig River is within reach!

The Grand Concert ALIW @40

The Grand Concert “Aliw@40” with two Young and Top Directors

To celebrate the 40th Year Anniversary of Aliw Awards Foundation, a benefit concert is set and dubbed as “Aliw@40 Concert” ‪on October 4,2018‬ at Aliw Theater with more than 10 performers to make the celebration grand and in full force to give you a night that you willnever forget, here are the performers in this one night concert:

• Pilita Corales
• Hajji Alejandro
• Jun Pulistico
• Rico J. Puno
• Imelda Papin
• Liza Macuja Elizalde
• Ballet Manila
• LA Santos
• Kuh Ledesma
• Keith Martin
• Val John
• The Infinite
• 3rd Avenue
• Asia’s Best Singing Competition Winners

What makes the event interesting is the combination of two young, amazing and top directors who are making a difference in their own ways both locally and abroad. The musical director is no other than Direk Adonis Tabanda who just arrived from Dubai for the sold out concert of Morrisette Amon. Concert Director Direk Frank Lloyd Mamaril on the other hand directed the 2016 Concert of Lani Misalucha, the Star Awards Concert of the Year. Both directors are in their early 30s and we’re excited for this collaboration. For them, they will make this event another showcase and a masterpiece for their careers.

Produced by Tag Media Group headed by Engr. Grace Bondad Nicolas and Co presented by Ballet Manila, Manila Broadcasting Company and Star City under Liza Macuja Elizalde, the event is a fundraising event for Aliw Awards Foundation to help entertainers who are in need. The Aliw Awards Foundation also was created to give due recognition to entertainers who perform live in the Philippines and abroad by the renowned journalist, Alice Hernandez Reyes.

For tickets and inquiries, please call ‪09778978877‬ or buy it directly via Ticketworld. The event is still accepting sponsors and exhibitors.


Meet our Aliw@40 Concert 2018 Concert Director. He is only 33 years old but Communication Arts graduate Frank Lloyd Mamaril has already directed some of the top OPM artists in concert and music videos in the most memorable way.

If you watched Lani Misalucha’s “Love Catcher” concert in 2016 at Resorts World Manila and enjoyed it, the diva and her audience have Mamaril to thank for directing what eventually became Star Awards’ “Concert of the Year” winner. He is also behind “The Voice” discovery Morisette Amon’s first solo self-titled concert at the Music Museum, which sold out seats in the same year, among other live music events. (Manila Times)