ABL Semifinals: Alab Pilipinas battles Singapore Slingers

 

The seventh season of the ASEAN Basketball League kicks into higher gear as it starts its 2017 Playoffs this Sunday (April 2) with the Philippines’ Alab Pilipinas opening its semifinals series with the Singapore Slingers at 4pm. The match will be shown from the OCBC Arena in Singapore via livestreaming on sports.abs-cbn.com and will be aired via satellite on primetime at 8pm on S+A, ABS-CBN’s free TV sports channel.

 

Former UAAP MVP and Philippine basketball phenom Kiefer Ravena is set to make his debut for the third-seeded Alab, providing current Alab superstar Bobby Ray Parks Jr. some much needed help to win the team’s maiden championship against the 2016 runner-up and current second-seed, Slingers.

Singapore, on the other hand, looks to show the upstart Philippine contingent why they remain a strong title contender as they look to get over the hump and grab a diadem behind 2016 MVP Wei Long Wong.

 

Game 2 is set on April 7 at the Baliwag Star Arena in Baliwag, Bulacan, which will be aired LIVE on S+A at 8pm. If necessary, a third game will be played on April 9 at the Singaporeans’ backyard.

 

Don’t miss Alab Pilipinas’ journey to glory as it starts its Playoff round against 2016 ABL season runner-up Singapore Slingers on Sunday (April 2) at 4pm LIVE via livestreaming on sports.abs-cbn.com and at 8pm on S+A.

Mulawin Vs Ravena

The 2004 hit telefantasya "Mulawin" is about to get a remake this 2017. The Richard Gutierrez and Angel Locsin starrer will get a sequel this time following the plot of the 2005 MMFF entry Mulawin the movie were Alwina(Locsin) got pregnant with their first child of Aguiluz(Gutierrez), the movie is set to follow what happened to the first born of the two saviors of the Mulawin tribe and to what also happened to Avila after the war between the Mulawins and the Ravenas ended after Dakila died and Ravenum perished,

 

 

The characters from the original Mulawin series that will be returning for the 2017 sequel is Dennis Trillo, he will still play the role of Gabriel, the half mortal and half ravena who is the childhood friend of Alwina and he was also revealed to be the older brother of Aguiluz. Miguel Tan Felix is also returning as an older version of his original character Pagaspas  

 

 

Meanwhile, Heart Evangelista is set to reprise the iconic role of Alwina formerly played by Angel Locsin, Carla Abellana will play the role of Aviona that was played by Bianca King in the original Mulawin, Bianca Umali will recreate the role of Lawiswis that was played by Sam Bumatay before.

 

 

Though in the movie version of Mulawin,, where Aguiluz was shown to be reincarnated by Reyna Amihan, there was no Aguiluz presented in the announcement, rumors says that Richard Gutierrez will still reprise the role.

 

New characters will come to the 2017 series such as Lovi Poe's Magindara and Regine Velasquez's Sandawa who were both Goddesses, Derrick Monasterio plays the role of Almiro the son of Aguiluz and Alwina, Bea Binene will play Anya the daughter of Aviona, Kiko Estrada plays Rafael the half human- half ravena best friend/enemy of Almiro.

 

The support cast, starting off with the Mulawin, Roi Vinzon plays Daragit the elder Mulawin, Valerie Concepcion plays Tuka, and new comer David Licauco gets to play the half human Malik.

 

 

The Ravenas led by TJ Trinidad who plays Greco, followed by Dion Ignacio as Siklab, Chynna Ortaleza as Reyna Rashana, Wynwyn Marquez plays RIbay, and Charee Pineda as the half human Savanna.

 

On the side of the Humans, Bobby Andrews and Angelu De Leon plays Dionisio and Lourdes, Nova Villa Plays Lola Elo, and Joko Diaz plays the role of Antonio.
 

There will also be a special participation from the cast of Encantadia and also Ariel Rivera and Tom Rodriguez will also have special roles in the series as Dacero and Avilan who are both Mulawin.

 

Mulawin Versus Ravena is set to replace Encantadia this May so stay tuned for more updates and news.

#NCAA92: Sampung Kulay, Isang Laban Season Ender On S+A

S+A, ABS-CBN’s free TV sports channel, is taking viewers on a journey to NCAA Season 92’s most thrilling and inspiring performances in this Sunday’s (April 2) “Sampung Kulay, Isang Laban: NCAA Season 92 Season Ender,” airing at 11am.

Relive the season’s highlights across the different sports, from the San Beda Red Lions’ redemption tour on the hard court, to the San Sebastian Lady Stags’ domination on the sands, the Arellano Lady Chiefs’ upset in the indoor volleyball tourney, and the final toss of the closing event – the cheerleading competition early this March.

The action-packed documentary anchored by Anton Roxas will also highlight the various athletic achievements of student-athletes from the 10 member schools,  as well as the stories and values that make them not just stars but role models for the Filipino youth.

Relive the highs of victory and the heartbreaks that come with defeat in the 92^nd season of the Philippines’ oldest collegiate league. Don’t miss “Sampung Kulay, Isang Laban: NCAA Season 92 Season Ender,” on Sunday (April 2) at 11am.

To Infinity & Beyond: The Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+

After a failed Samsung Galaxy Note 7 to end 2016, Samsung is in it to win the smartphone battle again as they launch the eight iterations of their Samsung Galaxy S series smartphone, dubbed as the S8 and S8+ the phone features massive specs and features to pack it.

 

Physical Feature and Battery:

 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ come in two forms the glass and the metal frame, that is water and dust resistant, both smartphones sports an elegantly curved bezel-less screen that is overflowing on 8the edges like an infinity pool. The S8 features a 5.8 inch screen, while the S8+ showcases a bigger 6.2 inch screen, both screens are Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with a 2960x1440 dimension, the S8 got a higher pixel density with 570ppi as compared to S8+ 529ppi.

 

The S8 and S8+ pack an 3000 mAh and 3500 mAh non removable battery that went through Samsung's 8 point battery safety check to ensure that what happened in the Note 7 won't happen again, both devices also offer wireless and fast charging capability. 

 

New Feature:

 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ now features a wide lens 8megapixel front facing camera with autofocus and face detection for a superior selfie experience, meanwhile the rear camera now features a new and improve software that enhances the blur reduction and low light performance, though it still packs last years 12mp Dual Pixel lenses.

 

The Iris Scanner from the Note 7 returns on the S8 and S8+, given that the physical on screen button that serves as the fingerprint scanner was removed from the bottom front of the device and was placed in a not so comfortable backside just beside the rear camera, the Iris Scanner will be a more convenient security lock feature of the device. 

 

Speaking of the physical button, the S8 and S8+ now feature a customizable 3D on screen option keys that is customizable (You can change the color and swap the icons on where you prefer them to be).

 

The new Samsung flagship devices will also feature "BixBy" Samsung's newest virtual assistant that they say can perform whatever you can perform by touching the phone.

 

And last is the DeX, this feature will let your S8 and S8+ to become a desktop computer, but that will only happen if you will buy the DeX dock, basically the DeX is like Microsoft's Windows 10 Continuum turned android.

 

Release:

 

The Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are set to come late April here in the Philippines as the Pre Orders for local telcos like Globe and Smart begins on April 17, With the SRP here I guess it will be roughly around Php 30000 to Php 35000   

Review: "Northern Lights: A Journey To Love"

Norhern Lights: A Journey to Love (3-28-17)  

Starring: Piolo Pascual, Yen Santos, Raikko Matteo

Directed By: Dondon Santos

Genre: Romance, Drama

“Northern Lights: A Journey To Love” focuses on the stories of the three main character, first is Charlie Sr (Pascual), he’s an OFW in Alaska, he has a son out of wedlock which is Charlie jr (Matteo) conflict arise after the mom of the younger Charlie sent him to his dad in Alaska as both of them are distant to each other. The older Charlie will find himself troubled as he doesn’t know how to be a father to his son, he cannot catch the affection and love of his son.

Then he meet Angel (Santos) a young lass that also had conflict with her own father, both of them will fall in love with each other, but later on Charlie Sr. will realize that it’s his son that should be his priority more than anything else that’s why he let go of the love that he found.

 

Northern Lights is actually a good movie, it could’ve been better if the story line follows the father and son story rather than the romantic side. When I watched the movie I felt that it should be more of the Charlie Sr and Jr conflict that really made up the story, on how the older Charlie will win the heart of his distant son rather than the older Charlie chasing the love that Angel will give.

Piolo Pascual nailed another great performance in this movie, who would’ve thought that at 40 he is still at his prime when it comes to acting, I should say he hasn’t aged a bit he still look like 20-ish. Yen Santos delivered a good performance, though it wasn’t her best I can say it’s her bravest role and for a newbie doing a movie this big she was able to at least give justice to her role.

Raikko Mateo is really a brilliant child star, he delivered a stellar performance and actually he was the light of this movie, he was able to get at par with the veteran actors in his scenes. This kid has a bright future.

 

One thing I really liked about the movie is the cinematography, I really love the shots, I mean every scenic scene are all postcard worthy shots and that made this movie really beautiful. It will bring you closer to the northern lights. Plus I really like the way they make New Zealand looked like Alaska.

All in all the movie is perfect for the hot weather, the cold cinema will make you appreciate the movie specially it was mostly shot in the cold and icy Alaska and New Zealand, the story was good, the actors delivered better, not bad for your money, it’s worth watching.

 

One Music PH Launched Own Record Label

 

Filipino music lovers can look forward to new, exciting things from ABS-CBN’s music portal One Music PH – initially launched to offer Filipinos the total music experience with audio and video streaming, music news, and exclusive digital concerts featuring the brightest Filipino talents – as it introduces its very own record label this year.

 

One Music PH is only one of the digital initiatives of ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company, which is rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media companies, and a growing list of digital properties.

 

It recently welcomed into its family its first signed artist, singer-songwriter Volts Vallejo, best known for composing the Metro Manila Film Festival-nominated song “Hey Crush” for the blockbuster movie “Vince and Kath and James.”

 

As One Music PH’s first signed artist, Volts will record an album that will be produced by acclaimed producer and composer Rox Santos.

 

Volts had already joined numerous other music ventures, including a stint in “The Voice of the Philippines,” “MYX Mo!ment,” and other stages across the country.

 

But his big break came when he was noticed by One Music through its “Be Discovered” section where aspiring musicians can take a crack at stardom by allowing them to upload their work on the website.

 

As of now, One Music PH is currently growing its roster of signed artists and is looking for Filipino artists with extraordinary talent and potential.

 

The music portal is only one of the digital initiatives of ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ leading media and entertainment company, which is rapidly transitioning into an agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media companies, and a growing list of digital properties.

 

Don’t forget to log in to www.onemusic.ph. For updates, just like www.facebook.com/OneMusicPH or follow @OneMusicPH on Twitter and Instagram.

Mindanao art student tops 31st PLDT directory art contest

 

 

Artemio Bongawan Jr. of the University of Mindanao won the grand prize of the 31st Visual Arts Competition (VAC 31) of the Directories Philippines Corporation and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company.

 

Bongawan’s hyperrealistic entry "AGEnt of Success", which showed an old woman who dreams of finishing her studies, captured the interest of the judges with its rendering and clear, uplifting message. This year’s competition challenged fine arts students nationwide to interpret the theme “Habang May Buhay, May Pag-asa”.

"I wanted to show that as long as you have hope and you persevere, nothing comes too late. Age doesn't matter when it comes to aspiring for success," Bongawan explained.

Meanwhile, John Merick Eupalao of Adventist University of the Philippines of Cavite and Maria Teresa Ramos of Far Eastern University won second and third prizes, respectively. Eupalao won for his colorful acrylic on canvas painting entitled “Pag May Pagmamahal, May Pag-asa , while Ramos won for her painting entitled “Light of Hope”. FEU has been the winningest university through the years in the directory art competition.

Besides the top three winners, Arvin Cantalejo Jr.'s Reflection of Hope, a disabled man who paints himself as a whole person, won the People's Choice Award. The winning entries will be used for the 2017-18 White and Yellow Pages PLDT directories.

87 art works with different interpretations of the theme were submitted for the competition, with 30 entries moving up as finalists. The 30 finalist entries were exhibited at the Pasilyo Vicente Manansala at the Cultural Center of the Philippines prior to the final judging and awarding ceremony.

The final judging of VAC31 was held Thursday, March 23, 2017 at the Main Lobby of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay City.

Entries were judged on the basis of visual composition, originality, adherence to the theme, overall impact and suitability as cover.

Ding Villamayor, traditional artist and former Art Director at McCann Erickson; Jaime "Jim" Battad, Creative Director at PublicisJimenezBasic and Grand Prize Winner of the 2nd DPC-PLDT Visual Arts Competition in 1988; Ma. Rosario "Rica" Estrada of the CCP’s Visual Arts and Museum Division; Robert Alejandro, former host of TV art show Art is Kool, painter, award-winning graphic artist, crafter and one of the pillars of Filipino arts and crafts shop, Papemelroti; and James "Bong" Baual, Tape Art Pioneer in the Philippines and singer-songwriter of Filipino indie band Dystoria made up the panel of judges.

VAC 31 is an annual arts competition for student artists in the Philippines organized by DPC and PLDT. The competition has explored various art forms and media during its three-decade old history. Last year the competition deviated from painting entries to photographic images.

Mega Magazine's 25 Iconic Women

In celebration of their 25th year, leading fashion magazine Mega releases their 25 Iconic Women in the showbiz industry today led by ABSCBN's COO Charo Santos-Concio and the Megastar Sharon Cuneta, also included in the list are Teleserye Queen Judy Ann Santos-Agoncillo, Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Asia's Songbird Regine Velasquez, and Popstar Princess Sarah Geronimo.

 

Kapamilya Leading Ladies led by Angel Locsin, Maja Salvador, Kim Chiu, Liza Soberano, Kathryn Bernardo, Bea Alonzo, Anne Curtis, Julia Barretto, Erich Gonzales, Angelica Panganiban and Nadine Lustre were also part of the list. Kapuso Actress Maine Mendoza, Marian Rivera and Heart Evangelista were also in, along with TV Host Bianca Gonzales Intal, Ruffa Gutierrez, Lea Salonga and Leyte 4th District Representative Lucy Torres Gomez wrapped up the Top 25. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loisa Andalio sings classic Sharon Cuneta song "Highschool"

Listen to teen star Loisa Andalio's remake of Sharon Cuneta's classic hit "Highschool Life" from the 1981 movie High School Scandal.  

 

Watch the official music video here:

 

Ano Nga Ba Tayo -Jona

The Voice Teens Philippines

Top-rating singing reality show “The Voice” is letting the voices of teens be heard as it opens an all-new season for teens for the first time in Asia soon on ABS-CBN.

Talented artists 13 to 17 years old will take on a musical journey of a lifetime with the guidance of four superstar coaches: Lea Salonga, Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo, and Sharon Cuneta. The first edition of “The Voice Teens” recently began taping its blind auditions, the first stage of the competition where teen artists from different parts of the country and the world try to get the coaches to turn around for them with only their voice.

Like in previous seasons, the coaches have prepared “possible sales pitches” to woo the artists they want to draft into their respective teams. But according to coach Lea, unexpected things happen during the blind auditions that viewers pay more attention to. Returning coach and popstar royalty Sarah is excited to return to coaching and will do anything to win this season.

Which team will produce the next “The Voice” grand champion? From what part of the country or the world will the next Mitoy, Jason Dy, Lyca Gairanod, Elha Nympha, and Joshua Oliveros come from?

Watch out for “The Voice Teens” soon on ABS-CBN.