Tennis Clinic with Coca-Cola IPTL stars through PLDT HOME Fibr

The lucky tennis clinic participants

The Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) just had their second stop in Manila, and with broadband provider PLDT HOME Fibr being one of the tournament presenters, they kicked off the Manila festivities with an exclusive tennis clinic with some young Pinoy athletes, as well as lucky Fibr subscribers.

The clinic featured three players from the defending champion Indian Aces (team skipper Fabrice Santoro, Rohan Bopanna, and newcomer Ivan Dodig) serving as mentors for these lucky participants, who had the chance to have warm-ups and exhibition matches, alongside teaching moments that will be of help for these kids as they grow into the sport.

Indian Aces stalwarts Rohan Bopanna, Fabrice Santoro, and Ivan Dodig
with the lucky participants of the PLDT HOME Fibr tennis clinic.

IPTL set to take place

The International Premier Tennis League had packed 30,000 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for three days last year, and gave them a spectacular showcase involving some of the most iconic names in tennis.

This time, PLDT HOME Fibr is honored to bring that experience back with this year's edition, with the Philippine Mavericks set to lead the way. PLDT VP and Home Marketing Head Gary Dujali is expecting more this year, especially with the larger roster of tennis stars. He adds that it continues to "commit to bringing optimal world-class experiences to its customers."

The rebranded Philippine Mavericks will be led by the top-ranked woman in the world, Serena Williams, with Richard Gasquet, Sabine Lisicki, Jarmila Gajdosova, Borna Coric, and Filipino tennis icon Treat Huey. Serving as the team skipper is Mark Philippoussis.

The Philippines is the second leg of the IPTL's 5-stop tour, with Kobe kicking off this year's edition. Stops in Delhi, Dubai, and Singapore complete the tour.

IPTL set to return to Manila later this year

From L-R: Chris Quimpo (SMART Sports Marketing), Gary Dujali (PLDT VP and HOME Marketing head)
Edgar Tejerero (SM Lifestyle Entertainment President), Abishek Ponia (IPTL VP for Operations)
Jean Henri Lhullier, Kevin Belmonte, and Haresh Hiranand (Philippine Mavericks co-owners)

The Mavericks are seeking to be better in the second iteration of the International Premier Tennis League.

Known last year as the Manila Mavericks, they rebranded themselves as the Philippine Mavericks to be consistent with the other teams (UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers, Indian Aces, and the newly-established Japan Warriors) who are national in scope, according to tennis patron Jean Henri Lhullier.

Lhullier co-owns the team, alongside Kevin Belmonte, Haresh Hiranand, and SM's Hans Sy.

The squad will have some changes from last year's edition, with just three holdovers in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Mark Philippousis, and Treat Huey. Leading the cast of newcomers are women's world number 1 Serena Williams, Richard Gasquet, Sabine Lisicki, Jarmila Gajdosova and Borna Coric.

The Mall of Asia Arena served as the host for the inaugural leg of the first IPTL season last year, with the venue virtually sold out for all three days in late November.

Fans were intrigued with the league's novel concepts not seen in conventional tournaments, as well as the presence of well-known tennis stars and legends.

The same venue will host the 2015 edition. This time, it would cap off the season, serving as the final leg on December 6-8 after it kicks off in September. Tickets for the Manila leg will be available starting July 15.

PLDT HOME Fibr will once again serve as a presenter for the IPTL Manila leg, alongside sister company SMART Communications, in a move the highlights the desire to bring only the best (in this case, world class sporting events and entertainment) for Filipinos.

PLDT VP and HOME Marketing Head Gary Dujali expressed pride, noting that "Last year was a great experience for everybody, seeing the best tennis athletes in the world in one venue playing right before your eyes is indeed a spectacle."

NU completes UAAP dominance in lawn tennis

The Patrimonio siblings ensured National University will take home the tennis crown in UAAP Season 77 this past weekend at the Olivarez Sports Center.

The Lady Bulldogs swept their way to the championship, making quick work of UST, 3-0, to sweep the finals, 2-0, at the Paranaque facility.

Clarice, who was named as this season's MVP, defeated Macy Gonzales, 6-2 6-2 in the first singles, while Hannah Espinosa and Junnelyn Polito took care of Lenelyn Milo and April Santos, 6-2 6-1 in the first doubles. Tin, on the other hand, clinched the trophy with a 6-2 6-0 victory over Kendies Malinis in the second singles.

It was during the previous week that their male counterparts, led by MVP Fritz Verdad, took home the championship with a perfect 11-0 season and 33 straight match victories.

Second-semester UAAP updates

Bat-related sports kicked off their respective seasons this past weekend, with perceived contenders opening with positive results.

Defending champions Ateneo began their quest for a three-peat with a victory over Adamson at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. The Blue Batters took a 4-0 lead before holding on to a 5-3 win.

Ateneo relied on the arm of last season's MVP, Andy Tan, who fanned five Falcons, to lead the charge.

The other results saw the Green Batters of La Salle defeat UP, 19-5 in seven innings, while UST took care of NU, 8-3.

In softball, NU invoked the "mercy rule" against Ateneo with a 15-5 victory. The Lady Bulldogs needed just six innings to secure the opener.

La Salle defeated last season's third placers UST, 7-3, while UE bested UP, 10-4.

As for Adamson, they extended their winning streak to 49 games with a 11-1 victory against UST. 

At the Olivarez Sports center, NU continues its dominance in collegiate lawn tennis, losing just one match over the four games this past weekend.

Led by last season's MVP Fritz Verdad, the Bulldogs dispatched La Salle, 5-0, before taking care of things against UST, 4-1. On the distaff side, the Patrimonio siblings (Christine and Clarice) swept La Salle and Ateneo, 5-0.

Trying to chase NU down are UST and UP in the men's division (both toting 3-1 records), while UST totes the same win-loss record as the defending champions in the women's division.

NU, UST hold serve in UAAP Season 77 tennis

The Olivarez Sports Center played host to the UAAP lawn tennis tournament, with a triple tie atop the men's leaderboard after the opening weekend.

Three-peat seeking Fritz Verdad and National University opened their Season 77 campaign on a rousing note,  dispatching UE and Ateneo with 4-1 victories to extend their winning streak to 24 games.

Joining NU on top are UP and UST. Both schools needed close 3-2 victories (both over La Salle) to complement their 4-1 wins (against Ateneo for UP and against UE for UST).

On the women's side, UST secured the early 2-0 lead to temporarily forge ahead in the standings.

Anchored on Kendies Malinis, the Female Tennisters from Espana defeated UP, 4-1, then squeaked past La Salle, 3-2.

Meanwhile, the Patrimonio siblings (Season 76 MVP Tin and rookie Clarice) powered National University to a 4-1 win over UP to kick off their title defense.

La Salle is in third place with a 1-1 record after defeating Ateneo, 4-1. The Katipunan schools have lost all of their matches so far (Ateneo 0-1, UP 0-2).

Smash it Up to complement IPTL Manila leg

Smash It Up

Complementing the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League's Manila leg is a FREE outdoor festival called #SmashItUpMnl.

Set to take place at the Pacific lot beside the Mall of Asia Arena on all three days of the leg, tennis patrons and fans alike will be enthralled with games and entertaining performances, and even the chance to mingle and see their favorite tennis star.

Among the musical performers during #SmashItUpMnl are DJs Gandhi and Ron Poe, Razorback, Paolo Valenciano, She's Only Sixteen, Taken by Cars, Quest, Blue Jean Junkies, Kat Agarrado, the Zombettes, Reese and Vica, Julianne, Malay, and ANTM's Sophie Sumner.

For more details, you can check their Twitter account, @smashitupmnl.

PLDT-HOME Fibr powers IPTL

Your Manila Mavericks of the IPTL

PLDT HOME Fibr is no stranger to attaching its name to major sporting events. The country's most powerful broadband provider's latest sporting endeavor is now a presenter in the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League.

PLDT VP and HOME Marketing Head Gary Dujali expressed "pride and joy" to be part of this "prestigious and world-class sporting event," adding that this is "an opportunity for us to reaffirm our dedication to provide top-notch sports entertainment experiences for our consumers."

The IPTL brings together some of the best tennis stars together in a new kind of team competition. Representing Manila, UAE, India and Singapore, the IPTL promises to honor its motto of  "Breaking the Code."

For more details on PLDT's involvement with the tournament, check this link -> http://pldthome.com/fibr/iptl.

Phase 3 for Coca-Cola IPTL New Delhi leg tickets available on November 15

The Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League announced on Friday that Phase 3 of its tickets sales for those interested in watching the IPTL leg at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi will begin at noontime on November 15, Saturday.

Fans just need to go to www.bookmyshow.com to purchase tickets for the third leg of the tournament, which will take place on December 6-8.

Prices range from INR 3,240 (US $52.41) to INR 49,680 (US $803.56), for the chance to watch two matches. Much like the Manila leg, it begins at 430pm and 730 pm local time.

Representing New Delhi are the Micromax Indian Aces, led by the iconic Roger Federer and tennis legend Pete Sampras. Complementing the duo are French tennisters Gael Monfils and Fabrice Santoro, Ana Ivanovic, and India's very own Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

You can check out more details on the Coca-Cola IPTL on these links -> http://www.iptlworld.com / http://www.youtube.com/premiertennisleague / http://twitter.com/iptl / https://www.facebook.com/iptl

Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League reveals global broadcasting reach

The Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League will have a global reach when it opens at the end of the month.

The IPTL revealed that it will be telecast in more than 125 countries, to over 300 million households worldwide in HD quality, ensuring a global footprint in its inaugural year of existence.

“We are thrilled to take the inaugural Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League to global audiences through many of the world’s leading broadcasters. In an era in which the media is at the forefront of all live action, we are pleased to offer an unmatched viewing experience to audiences across the world and believe the event will change the way the world looks at the sport of tennis in the seasons to come,” according to founder Mahesh Bhupathi.

For the Philippines, ABS-CBN has secured the rights to the competition.

The competition puts together 21 Grand Slam champions and 14 current and former World #1's into four franchises (Manila Mavericks, UAE Royals, Singapore Slammers, and MicroMax Indian Aces) with some spice added to the original rules of the sport (time outs, power points, shootouts, a running shot clock, HAWK eye, etc.), highlighting its mantra of "Break the Code."

IPTL to hold Twitter contest for tennis fans

Staying true to its "Break The Code" mantra, the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) launched a contest set to thrill tennis fans in the region.

Titled "The Great Big IPTL Contest," it allows for tennis fans to have a chance to be with their favorite stars within the four legs of the competition.

To be run via Twitter, fans (with a companion) will have the chance to be flown to a particular venue (Manila, Singapore, New Delhi, Dubai), stay in a 5-star accommodation, and enjoy three days of high-quality tennis, with a chance to sit with a team in the dugout for a match.

The contest will run for two weeks, with four winners to have their moment of a lifetime and have something they can brag about with their friends.

Details on this contest are on www.iptlworld.com/contest. So check it.

Coca-Cola emerges as International Premier Tennis League Title Sponsor

The International Premier Tennis League on Monday officially welcomed the world's largest beverage company into its fold.

Coca-Cola is now a title sponsor of the tournament, which will now be called the Coca-Cola International Premier Tennis League.

Being a part of the IPTL is in line with the company's commitment to promote sports and create a future generation of sports enthusiasts worldwide, something they have been consistent with over the years with their support during the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup, NASCAR, the NBA, and the NCAA.

Founder Mahesh Bhupathi welcomed the company's participation in the tournament, noting that the tournament is looking forward to providing Coca-Cola with "superior recognition" and "visibility among its fans."

Coca-Cola India VP for Marketing and Commercial Mr. Debabrata Mukherjee expressed excitement with the company's association with IPTL. He feels that the partnership allows them to "further catalyze their efforts to promote healthy, active lifestyles."

To add, he sees this not only as a chance for fans to watch and enjoy their favorite tennis stars, but also views this as a "perfect platform" to launch a "Culture of Tennis" in India, allowing youngsters to be inspired by some of the world's best players and take up the sport and follow the footsteps of great Indian tennisters like Bhupathi, Leander Paes, and Sania Mirza. 


Among the benefits they receive as a title sponsor:

Coca-Cola will be handling a special promotion to determine three lucky kids for the Coin Toss in three matches.

They will also handle one of the IPTL's new innovations: the PowerPoint. To be called the "Happiness PowerPoint," each team has a chance to use it once per set. Once called, the team can gain an additional point if they win it, or else they lose a point if they are unsuccessful.

Ticketing details for IPTL leg in New Delhi revealed

Tennis fans will have the chance to see their favorite stars in person this December, as the Micromax Indian Aces of the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) revealed details about ticket sales for the Indian leg of the competition, which is set to take place from December 6-8.

Starting at 9am IST on Friday, October 31, fans can purchase tickets via its official online ticketing partner www.bookmyshow.com. Ticket availability will be conducted via phases, with 6,000 tickets across different prices to be sold for Phase 1.

Leading the Aces are Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer and 14-time Grand Slam winner Pete Sampras.

Completing the crew are Ana Ivanovic and Frenchmen Gael Monfils and Fabrice Santoro, while giving it a local flavor are Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna.

Hosting the Indian leg of the IPTL is the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi, the country's largest indoor sports arena, seating 15,000.

With the intent of making the tournament accessible to as many fans as possible, tickets will be sold for as low as RS 3,240 for the Category 3 seats (South, West, North West, South East, and South West).

Premium Seats On Court (North & South) and Off-Court (North, South, East, West, and North West) are priced at RS 49,680 and 29,160 respectively.


Category 1 seats are priced at RS 25,920 (South- Cushion Seats), RS 22,680 (North), RS 19,440 (East and West), RS 19,440 (South West – Cushion Seats), and RS 16,200 (North West, South East, and South West – Plastic Seats).

Category 2 seats are priced at RS 22,680 (South – Cushion Seats), RS 19,440 (North and South – Plastic Seats), RS 16,200 (East and West), RS 16,200 (South West – Cushion Seats), and RS 12,960 (North West, South East, and South West – Plastic Seats).

Ticket Packages now available for Dubai leg of IPTL

Details on ticket packages for the final leg (December 11-13) of the highly-anticipated International Premier Tennis League have been revealed.

Set to be released on September 15 (today), two kinds of passes will be made available on www.ticketmaster.ae and www.platinumlist.net: day passes and season passes.

Season passes encompass all three days of the competition at the Hamdan Sports Complex, allowing fans to be able to watch all six matchups. Day passes will allow you to watch one day's worth of matchups. To encourage more people to avail of the season passes, they come with a 10% discount. Fans can purchase them in three locations: Regular, Corner Prime, and VVIP.

Regular day pass tickets are priced at AED 200 (tier 1), AED 120 (tier 2) and AED 70 (tier 3).
Regular season passes will be available for AED 540 (tier 1), AED 324 (tier 2) and AED 189 (tier 3).

Corner Prime day pass tickets start at AED 450 (tier 1), AED 250 (tier 2), AED 150 (tier 3).
Corner Prime season passes are priced at AED 1,215 (tier 1), AED 675 (tier 2), and AED 405 (tier 3).

VVIP ticket day passes are available at AED 2,000 and AED 2,500.
VVIP season passes are priced at AED 6,000 and AED 7,500.

FOX Sports Philippines to telecast 2014 Wimbledon

Starting tonight at 6:30pm, Fox Sports Philippines will be showing the third tennis Grand Slam of the year, the 2014 Championships at Wimbledon.

Andy Murray is looking to repeat his title conquest last year, a triumph long overdue for British tennis fans, who had been waiting for the chance to extinguish the ghost of 1936, until the Scot's clincher against Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic has a chance at redemption this year, with the World #2 seeded first at the All-England Club. Top-ranked Rafael Nadal is seeded second. Roger Federer is seeking his eight title, this time seeded fourth behind the two aforementioned and the third seed Murray.

On the distaff side, there is will be no title defense, as reigning champion Marion Bartoli retired from the sport not long after her triumph over Sabine Lisicki. The German is seeking a return trip to the finals as the 19th seed.

Serena Williams is seeded first in the draw, with Li Na seeded second. Newly minted French Open champion Maria Sharapova is seeded fifth, behind the lady she beat in Roland Garros, Simona Halep (3rd) and Agnieszka Radwańska (4th).

Meanwhile, Filipino tennister Treat Huey (alongside his British partner Dominc Inglot) is seeded tenth in Gentlemen's doubles.

Fox Sports PH coverage starts with the first round tonight, with the Quarterfinals pegged to begin on July 1. The final will take place on July 5 & 6. They will have daily highlights at 8am.

Fox Sports is seen on channel 31 on Sky and Destiny Cable, channel 48 on Cignal TV and in over 200 local cable operators nationwide. For high definition viewing, Fox Sports Plus HD is on channel 176 on Sky and channel 121 on Cignal TV. Full telecast schedule is available via tv.foxsportsasia.com.

Fox Sports PH with exclusive coverage of the 2014 French Open

The second event of the Tennis Grand Slam already started yesterday with the 2014 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris.

Rafael Nadal is looking to maintain his dominance in the men's singles competition, with the King of Clay trying to nab his ninth title in the last ten years. The only man to break Rafa's stranglehold in Roland Garros is Roger Federer, back in 2009. Seeded 4th, the Swiss already booked his seat in the second round, winning his opener.

Other possible challengers to the Spaniard are Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. Nole won the Italian Open, beating Nadal, while the Australian Open champion Stan won at Monte Carlo.

In the women's singles, Serena Williams is rounding into form after winning the Italian Open, while looming in the horizon is Stuttgart and Madrid Open winner Maria Sharapova.

Filipino fans will also have something to look forward to in this Grand Slam event, with Treat Huey participating in the men's doubles with Dominic Inglot.

The Philippine telecast of the 2014 French Open will be on Fox Sports Philippines and on FOX Sports HD. As a consequence of the coverage that will last until the finals scheduled on June 7 and 8, no PBA games will be shown on May 28 and June 4.

2013 Australian Open coverage on AKTV begins Jan 22

Tennis fans in the Philippines will have the chance to watch their favorite players on free tv, as AkTV will be presenting coverage of the 2013 Australian Open.

Starting on January 22, AkTV will be kicking off their coverage of the Grand Slam of the Asia-Pacific with quarterfinal action in the men's singles, starting at 5:30 PM (via satellite) that day and on January 23. They will then show the men's semifinals on the 24th and 25th at the same time.

The women's final will be shown live on January 26, at 4:00 PM, with the men's final to be shown at the same time on January 27.

The coverage will be accompanied by local commentators and analysis. AkTV Sports Manager Vitto Lazatin notes the thrust that AkTV has in providing a Filipino perspective on international sporting events. Vitto adds that this will broaden the appeal of the sport to the Filipino audience.

Already booking his seats in the quarterfinals is top-seed Novak Djokovic, who virtually needed everything he got to take care of Stanislaus Wawrinka. Awaiting him in the quarters is Tomas Berdych. Also in the quarters is Olympic champion and US Open winner Andy Murray, who will be facing the unseeded Jeremy Chardy.

The women's draw has some familiar names in the quarters, like defending champion Victoria Azarenka, who faces Svetlana Kuznetsova, and former Aussie Open losing finalist Li Na, who faces Agnieszka Radwanska. Also in the bracket is Maria Sharapova, who will be facing countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova. Maria had earlier dispatched Venus Williams, and might have the chance to dispatch sister Serena, if the American can take care of her quarterfinal opponent, Sloane Stephens.

Awaiting the singles' champions is $2.5 million in prize money, the biggest that they have offered.

Blog Outsourcing - January 15, 2013 edition

The Professional Football Hall of Fame released its finalists for the Class of 2013.

The PFBHoF Selection Committee, whose composition can be seen here, selected fifteen players from the modern era, and two players from the pre-1988 era (chosen by the Senior Committee, a subcommittee within the Selection Committee)

They can select a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 7 to comprise the incoming class, so if you were there, who would you bat for inclusion from these guys?

Larry Allen (OL for Dallas)
Jerome Bettis (RB for Pittsburgh)
Tim Brown (WR and Returner for Oakland and Tampa Bay)
Chris Carter (WR for Philadelphia, Minnesota and Miami)
Curley Culp (DT for Kansas City, Houston and Detroit)
Eddie DeBartolo (Owner, San Francisco 49ers)
Kevin Greene (LB/DE for Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Carolina and San Francisco)
Charles Haley (DE/LB for San Francisco and Dallas)
Art Modell (Owner, Cleveland Browns / Baltimore Ravens)
Jonathan Ogden (OT for Baltimore)
Bill Parcells (Coach for New York (NFC), New England, New York (AFC) and Dallas)
Andre Reed (WR for Buffalo and Washington)
Dave Robinson (LB for Green Bay and Washington)
Warren Sapp (DT for Tampa Bay and Oakland)
Will Shields (OG for Kansas City)
Michael Strahan (DE for New York)
Aeneas Williams (CB/S for Arizona and St. Louis)

Here forth are the links after the jump.

Darth Novak has arrived

Novak Djokovic is well known to be one of the funny guys on the ATP circuit. Before he racked up the Slams and titles, he pulled off these kind of shenanigans.



This year's edition saw him don a Darth Vader mask as he entered the court for the Paris Masters. Mask-wearing Nole did this before with this.

Unfortunately, the Force was not with him, as Sam Querrey sent him packing with a 0-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 scoreline. Nole could care less, I would think, as he will retake the Number 1 ranking from Roger Federer on Monday.

Blog Outsourcing - September 17, 2012 edition

The alma mater just finished its regular season with a win and a 12-2 record, sealing the 1st spot after 14 games.

It was a solid one, too.

 

Now we wait for our Final Four opponent.

Here forth is the Storify after the jump.