2012 Philippine International Pyromusical Competition : The Finale

After more than a month of competition with 11 competing countries (Philippines is the 12th country but not in competition), it was last Saturday (March 17, 2012) that the winners for this year’s Philippine International Pyromusical Competition were finally announced at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, City.

Mall of Asia was again full packed, evident by the large number of people piling up the gates to the venue near the Manila Bay seaside area. The finale was ushered-in by a mini concert and musical program which includes performances by Barbie Almalbis and Never Stranger.

Then after the presentation of Italy’s entry which is not quite impressive, the winners were finally announced and were as follows;

2nd runner up : Netherlands

1st runner up : Australia and Finland

Grand Winner : Canada

Towards the end of the show, the Philippines exhibited its pyromusical piece with songs from ABBA, Whitney Houston and Manny Pacquiao.

It was a nice competition this year, my first time to see several entries in close sight. And I am very elated that Netherlands’ entry placed in the top 3 which for me is really very deserving of a prize. Hope to watch this competition again in the coming years and I hope that the Philippines (despite our hosting) will be one of the competing countries in the future.

Azkals placed 3rd in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup

After the controversies surrounding the sexual harassment issue between former POC Chairman Cristy Ramos-Jalasco and some members of the Philippine Football team, and the subsequent racist issue with broadcaster Arnold Clavio, the Philippine Azkals still managed to hold off and write another firsts in Philippine Football history.

Despite the last week’s hear-breaking loss to Turkmenistan (which could have made us into the finals), the Azkals bounced back and brought pride to LAHING KAYUMANGGI as they battled out and won the 3rd place in this year’s AFC Challenge Cup.

The Philippine Azkals defeated Palestinian Football Team in a score of 4-3 during today’s match in Nepal. Phil Younghusband led the win with his 2 goals (which earned for him the Golden Boot Award for being the highest scorer in this tournament having 6 goals). The other 2 goals meanwhile were contributed by the Guirado siblings Angel and Juani.

Azkals coach Michael Wiess is very happy with this achievement for the Philippine football and he hopes to continue the development.

Indeed it was a sweet victory which we all can be proud of. Finally, we have reached another milestone in the field of football. And I hope this will continue to raise awareness of the sport and possibly make our country be known more into the world of football.

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“Every victory should be celebrated especially if the name of the country is at stake”