MANILA, Philippines – Eric Jed Olivarez reasserted his dominance over Fritz Verdad, coming away with a resounding 6-2, 6-0 victory to secure the Rep. Edwin Olivarez Cup at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat, Parañaque over the weekend.
Olivarez, 25, showcased his commanding skills by breaking Verdad twice in the opening set and delivering an impressive all-around performance throughout, turning what was anticipated to be a closely contested match into a virtual workout.
The lopsided victory came on the heels of the Western Michigan U product’s triumph in the MITF Open in Iloilo last month where he also defeated Verdad, 6-3, 6-4. Olivarez also ruled the Rep. Edward Hagedorn Open in Palawan last August.
After dispatching Marco Macalintal, 6-2, 6-0, in the quarters, Olivarez foiled Eric Tangub, 6-2, 6-5, while Verdad thwarted Andre Alcantara, 7-6(1), 6-1, then ripped Vicente Anasta, 6-3, 6-0, as the duo forged another title clash.
Not only did Olivarez shine in singles play but he also flourished in the doubles, teaming up Nilo Ledama to hold off Anasta and Noel Damian, 6-2, 7-5, in the semis before blasting Verdad and Rolly Saga, 6-3, 6-2, in the Group A tournament presented by D unlop.
Action shifts to City of Naga, Cebu this week for the Dagitab Festival featuring the Open, juniors, classified and legends categories. For details, contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 09154046464.
The 10-day tournament, backed by Mayor Eric Olivarez, San Jose Salt’s Ivan Ong, Kaizan Steel Trading, Annie Cheng, Brodeth Marketing, Kap Eli Tadeo Demafelis, M ITF Group, Norma Clarino and PPBCC Veterinary Hospital, also featured a diverse range of talent.
In the juniors division, Fil-Am Andre Alcantara enhanced a promising career by beating Ariel Cabral, 6-0, 7-5, to pocket the boys’ 18- and-under crown while Quezon City’s Chloe Mercado survived Joy Ansay, 6-0, 4-6, 10-8, to top the distaff side of the tournament held as part of the Palawan Pawnshop National Tennis Championship circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro,
Brice Baisa of Puerto Princesa and Lanao del Norte’s Kale Cyd Villamor bag ged the boys’ grand slam doubles with an 8-4 victory over siblings France and Frank Dilao of Sta. Rosa, Laguna, while Digos City’s Juliana Carvajal and Mercado clipped Ave Maria Policarpio of Muntinlupa and Bulacan’s Xophia Oliveros, 8-2, for the girls diadem.
Other winners in MTE C lassified team category were Team Barda (A&B), Team Topspin Titans (C) and Team TMK VVMAX 1 (B&C), while Chat Conta won the 35s and 45s Legends men’s singles titles.
In the Legends men’s doubles, Mark Alcoseba and Noel Salupado bagged the 30s crown, Jomar Arcilla and Luis Arcenas snared the 40s title and Noel Lontok and JD Benitez won the 50s trophy.
MANILA, Philippines — Amid speculation about Richard Gutierrez and Sarah Lahbati’s relationship, Annabelle Rama intriguingly suggested watching Hollywood film “Gone Girl.”
On her Facebook, Annabelle drew parallels between the character played by Rosamund Pike in the 2014 psychological thriller and what she referred to as the embodiment of a “Devil Woman.”
“Devil Woman, makamandag, manipulative, BEST LIAR,” Annabelle wrote.
“Please watch Gone Girl sa Netflix, makita nyo ang leading lady ni Ben Affleck. I watched it 3 times. Hulaan nyo kung sino ang tinutukoy kung babae na DEVIL WOMAN,” she added.
Under the direction of David Fincher and adapted from Gillian Flynn’s gripping 2012 novel, “Gone Girl” features a stellar cast including Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Carrie Coon. In the film, Nick Dunne (Affleck) becomes the prime suspect in the sudden disappearance of his wife, Amy (Pike).
Recently, Annabelle spit strong words anew, but reiterated that she does not want her son Richard Gutierrez and his wife Sarah Lahbati to part ways.
“Mga Chismosang Marites, tigilan nyo na ang gumawa ng maling kwento. Lahat ng lumabas sa sosyal media is all fake news.”
“Wag nyo ng dagdagan ang mga maling balita malalaman nyo rin ang katotohanan in due time.”
RELATED: ‘Ayaw ko sila maghiwalay’: Annabelle Rama on Richard Gutierrez, Sarah Lahbati
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — UN climate talks enter their endgame on Monday as negotiators seek to convince an increasingly isolated Saudi Arabia and other holdouts to give up their opposition to a historic phase-out of fossil fuels.
With 24 hours to go before the official end of COP28 in Dubai, a new draft deal was expected in the morning in the hope that the right language may have finally been found to achieve a consensus among nearly 200 countries.
The annual Conference of the Parties, or COP, has rarely finished on schedule in its 28-year history, but COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber has called on countries to wrap things up on time on Tuesday.
It would coincide with the anniversary of the 2015 Paris Agreement, which set the increasingly elusive target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels—Jaber’s “North Star”
Jaber, the head of the national oil company of the United Arab Emirates, has repeatedly promised to deliver a historic deal and urged countries to find a “consensus and common ground” on fossil fuel.
“Failure is not an option,” he said on Sunday.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has opposed any phase-out or phase-down of fossil fuels and told COP28 that its “perspectives and concerns” must be taken into account.
Iraq has also publicly rejected an exit from fossil fuels.
But veteran climate campaigners and negotiators say the world has never been so close to a deal on winding down oil, gas and coal.
The pressure is now on Jaber —whose role as oil executive has caused angst among climate campaigners —to make the final edits to a deal that would bring a consensus.
In a bid to find common ground, Jaber invited ministers on Sunday to lay out their positions during a “majlis”—a traditional Gulf Arab meeting held in a circle.
“I hope that you won’t let me down,” he said at the end of the meeting.
Negotiators have failed to produce a new draft agreement since the last text was released on Friday.
The document includes four different paths out of fossil fuels, but it also has a fifth option: leaving the issue out of the final deal.
China, the world’s biggest emitter, was also initially seen as hostile to a phase-out but has since been working to find a compromise.
Chinese climate envoy Xie Zhenhua recalled on Saturday that the United States and China issued a joint statement last month agreeing on the need to speed up the deployment of renewable energy in order to gradually substitute the use of oil, gas and coal.
Friday’s draft deal includes similar language on the need to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030, to “displace fossil fuel-based energy”.
Countries are waiting for a new draft deal before putting all their negotiating “chips” on the table, said a source close to the COP28 presidency.