The northeast monsoon continues to be the dominant wind system today affecting Luzon and Eastern Visayas. Expect cloudy skies with light rains in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas, including the provinces of Quezon and Aurora.
In the rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, isolated light rains will be experienced within the day. Meanwhile, the rest of Visayas and Mindanao will enjoy fair weather.
At 5 AM today, the PAGASA Science Garden in Quezon City recorded its lowest temperature this year at 20 degrees Celsius, while Baguio City recorded 13 degrees Celsius.
Weather Forecaster Meno Mendoza said that February is the peak of the northeast monsoon season, so better be ready with your blankets and jackets, especially at night and during early morning.
Le Tour De Filipinas 6th Edition
Le Tour De Filipinas ended successfully yesterday with its final leg composed of a101-kilometer distance of mountainous terrain from Pangasinan all the way to Baguio City.
Cyclist endured the surge of the northeast monsoon, which added to the challenge, before they reached the finish line.
Below were the winners for Le Tour Stage 4.
1st Place: POURSEYEDIGOLAKHOUR, Mirsamad of TPT Cycling Team
2nd Place: ASKARI, Hossein of Pishgaman Yazd Pro Team
3rd Place: LEBAS, Thomas of Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team
Stage 4 Jersey Winners
Yellow Jersey – LEBAS, Thomas of Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team
Green Jersey – AMBROSE, Scott of Team Novo Nordisk
Polka Dot Jersey – ASKARI, Hossein of Pishgaman Yazd Pro Cycling Team
White Jersey – ZEMIAKOV, Oleg of Kazakhstan National Team
Best Philippine Rider – GALEDO, Mark of Team 7-Eleven
More Filipinos are now well acquainted with the International Basketball Federation or FIBA, an independent association established by 214 national basketball federations worldwide in Geneva in 1932.
Even though the Philippines wasn’t one of its founding member-countries, composed of Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland, last year’s FIBA World Cup held in Spain made Filipinos feel that their players have garnered a well-earned spot in the international basketball scene.
Managed by Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), Gilas Pilipinas was composed of Jimmy Alapag, LA Tenorio, Jayson Castro, Paul Lee, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Ranidel De Ocampo, Marc Pingris, Japeth Aguilar, Junemar Fajardo and Andre Blatche with Chot Reyes as head coach. It made history after winning against Senegal in an overtime game, ending with the score of 81-79— the country’s first FIBA win in 40 years since the 1974 tournament. Gilas Pilipinas ranked 21st, while FIBA rewarded the team’s supporters with the Most Valuable Fans (MVF) Best Country Award.
Philippines to play host
Last year’s event captured the heart of FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann to bid the Philippines to host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. In a press conference held at Makati Shangri-La, Baumann said, “It is a pleasure for us in FIBA to see the Philippines in the international level, in Spain last year, in the event here in 2013, and in the ambition to host the 2019 World Cup.”
The FIBA Special commission visited the country last January to inspect the country’s possible venues, as well as accommodations and other requirements needed for hosting the grandest basketball tournament. The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) has spent close to 5 million pesos in its bid to impress and meet FIBA’s standards.
But beyond the technical requirements, FIBA considered the Philippines because of its people’s passion for basketball. As Baumann pointed out, “You’re probably the only country that breathes basketball day in and day out. This is the best possible asset you have and we are pleased that a country like yours with fans that are all experts and all complaining to the referees, this is something extraordinary and we’re very proud to have you as a member.”
Potential Venues
The FIBA requires at least four venues mirroring those that hosted the 2014 match in Bilbao, Granada, Seville and Gran Canaria in Spain.
The Philippine Arena, SM Mall of Asia Arena and Smart Araneta Coliseum are among the five venues that passed the standards of FIBA’s evaluation commission. Meanwhile the other two venues are still in the planning process—the Solaire Group to build the venue within Metro Manila and the SM Group to build another in Cebu to be completed by 2017.
In 2019, the FIBA plans to hold simultaneous basketball tournaments in different venues.
PH VS Other Countries
Six countries are on the shortlist to host the 2019 FIBA World Cup: China, Qatar, Germany, France and Turkey.
SBP executive Sonny Barrios said PH is in a tight competition from other countries that are well equipped. Most of the prospective countries are ready in terms of infrastructure. Barrios said, “Halimbawa, kung ikaw si Brazil, sa iyo yung 2016 Olympics, ready na yung infrastructure mo, ready na ‘yun for 2019 World Cup. Turkey, nag-host na sila ng World Cup noong 2010, ready na rin sila. Yun ang lamang nila, ready na ‘yung mga infrastructure nila. Tayo, may itatayo ang SM Group sa Cebu, may itatayo ang Solaire Group sa may Resorts World, pero so far plano pa lang ‘yan.”
To host the biggest basketball tournament in the world, the SBP will formally submit its bid documents in April, which will be forwarded to the FIBA board for final evaluation and voting. The final announcement will be made on its next meeting on June 18 to 19, 2015.
The cold and dry air of the northeast monsoon or amihan will bring cloudy skies with light rains in Cagayan Valley, Cordillera, Ilocos, Bicol, and Eastern Visayas, and in the provinces of Aurora and Quezon. Meanwhile, the rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, may experience drizzle due to the same weather system.
The rest of Visayas and Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers and thunderstorms.
Since the start of northeast monsoon, PAGASA has recorded a significant drop in temperature. Expect a gradual decrease in temperature in the coming days as the country continues to experience the presence of the amihan, Weather Forecaster Jun Galang said.
Le Tour De Filipinas 6th Edition: Who will triumph in the final stage?
The sixth edition of the road cycling tournament, Le Tour De Filipinas, is now on it’s final leg. Cyclists will face the mountainous terrain of Kennon road from Lingayen, Pangasinan to Baguio City with a distance of 150.10 kilometers.
Yesterday on its Stage 3–Iba, Zambales to Lingayen, Pangasinan, which took three hours of racing– RTS, Santic Racing Team member Tino Thomel from ___ (state which country) won 3rd place.
2nd place on the leg is Mehdi Sohrabi of TPT Cycling Team from Iran, while Hariff Salleh of Terengganu Cycling Team from Malaysia was the first placer.
Watch the highlights of Le Tour De Filipinas Stage 3 on the link below: