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Philippines, 17 Mar 2026 |
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MORE SPORTS SCENE OF EASTERN VISAYAS AFTER YOLANDA By Maloney L. Samaco PhilBoxing.com Fri, 27 Dec 2013  The triumph of Southeast Asian Games karate gold medallist Ramon Antonio Franco was a picture of victory against the wrath Super Typhoon Yolanda which destroyed a great part of Eastern Visayas, including his hometown in Tacloban City. He was training in Iran when tragedy struck his place and Franco said he was worried about the life of his parents and three siblings. He was afraid of their safety because he had no contact of them for days. He even thought of leaving training camp and go home after knowing the vast destruction brought by Yolanda. After two weeks, the 28-year-old Franco said he received a text message bringing the good news that his parents and siblings were safe. Likewise their residence withstood the fury of the typhoon. The calamity motivated him to win the gold medal. ?All my anger of Yolanda, I trashed it out during my fights,? said Franco. ?They even called us the Typhoon Team." But no other sports scene at the typhoon-ravaged Tacloban is more heart-touching than the world-renowned teenage singing heart-throb Justin Bieber playing basketball at a makeshift goal against coach Chot Reyes and some survivors.  Justin Bieber playing basketball in Tacloban. This aside from singing Christmas songs rendering a mini-concert for the children at a school turned into an evacuation center. It provided instant entertainment for the kids and grown-ups alike. Bieber's arrival came as a surprise and he immersed himself well to the typhoon victims, hugging singing and dancing with them. Bieber said that the Tacloban stopover is "the most important one" in his "Believe" world tour and "the most important trip of my life." His visit was in coordination with UNICEF to raise funds for the Yolanda victims and was sponsored by Smart and TV5. Philippine Basketball Association players and officials also went to the Yolanda-struck places and brought with them six portable basketball sets, six dozen basketballs, food and other relief goods. The PBA was moved by the TV interview of a 12-year-old typhoon survivor Elvin Adesma of Samar that he wanted to see his PBA idols especially Mark Caguioa. Asi Taulava, LA Tenorio, Danny Siegle, Jimmy Alapag, and Caguioa met some 30 kids in Tacloban including Adesma who was brought all the way from Samar. They comforted the survivors, posed for photos, handed them goods. Then they went to the Tacloban Coliseum and were cheered by some 2,000 refugees there. The once modern basketball court where PBA played several games is now filled with mud. The PBA delegation was warmly welcomed by Mayor Alfred and Cristina Romualdez. The mayor said that what the PBA gave to Tacloban was priceless as they momentarily cheered the typhoon victims from their trauma. Miami Heat Fil-Am Coach Eric Spoelstra spearheaded a fundraising campaign by the National Basketball Association and the UNICEF for Yolanda hit Philippines. All of the sporting world sent messages of sympathy via social media and some of them led the move of raising donations. Nonito Donaire won over his rematch with Vic Darchinyan two days after Yolanda and dedicated the win to his suffering countrymen. Ditto for Manny Pacquiao when he won over Brandon Rios in Macau where typhoon victims cheered his rise back to winning form. Even with the electric power loss, the survivors were able to see their fights through the generator powered TV sets. The year 2013 will come to an end with tragic memories of the strongest typhoon in history. But with a lot of countries and organizations and sports people sympathizing and helping the plight of the victims and survivors in the Visayas, we can conclude that the world is still a better place to live. Still a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.  |
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