Ang Kalatas Volume V October 2014 Issue | Page 23

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 5 Number 1 | October 2014 SPORTS Philippines versus Niue Rugby League Int’l THE Philippines National Rugby League (PNRL) Tamaraws national team will play Niue while the Tamaraws U23 side will play Thailand at the Ringrose Park, Wentworthville Leagues Club on October 4. The PNRL has called on the support of the Filipino Community to cheer on the Pinoys in the International Rugby League matches. Gates open at 1pm with the U23 game against Thailand starting at 2pm and the International against Niue is starting at 4.30pm. Jose Relunia Jr., President of the Philippine Community Council of NSW (PCC-NSW) will do the honours for the Filipino community at the opening ceremony. Mr. Relunia will represent the Filipino community along with representatives of other nations. Consular officials from the Philippines, Thailand and Niue will be present on the day to cheer their respective teams. Issei Guarin will take pride in singing the Philippine National Anthem before the games. “This is a great initiative and I congratulate the organisers of the event. It’s good to see the Philippine Tamaraws making their mark in rugby league. It’s also a great way for our youth to have an interest in the Philippines.” said Jun Relunia. Other PCC affiliates participating are: Philippine Language and Cultural Association (PLCAA) and Aguman Capampangan. There will be cultural presentations from the participating nations, food stalls with native dishes will be on sale, plus promotional stalls with lots of activities for the kids. The Philippine Tamaraws are Asia Cup title holders for two years in a row. Wentworthville Leagues Club is at 50 Smith St, Wentworthville. Entry fee is $5.00. ‘Futsal sa Fiesta’ Azkalroos take on Asian teams at Fiesta Kultura THE Azkalroos compete in ‘Futsal sa Fiesta’, a 5-a-side football tournament with the Aussie-Asian community teams of Nepal, Vietnam and Iraq at the Filipino ‘Fiesta Kultura’ on October 6. THE games kick off at 10am. Mr. John Tsatsimash, CEO of West Sydney Wanderers FC, will be at the event to present the Cup to the winning team. The Azkalroos, a team that gathers the best Fil-Australian soccer players, had their first training session last month and are now looking for additions to the squad to replace the players now playing in the Philippines. The Azkalroos is observing its first anniversary since its formation at the Fiesta Kultura last year when it ran trials for potential Filipino-Australian footballers. The group then competed successfully in a Tournament held at 5Sports artificial turf pitch in Caringbah. In December 2013 the first group of four Azkalroos travelled to the Philippines to trial for places in the Filipino professional league, the United Football League (UFL). Since their Manila trials three Azkalroos have been playing in the UFL with two players, Luis Abadia and Dom del Rosario, playing at Kaya FC and were selected to play in an ASEAN tournament in Brunei with the Philippines Azkals U/21 team along with Azkalroo Enzo Cheng who progressed from the Azkals U/19s. The team is coached by former Australian Socceroo, Jim Fraser and assisted by former Azkal and Azkalroos Coach, Leigh Gunn. Meanwhile John Kanayama, having played with Enzo Cheng in the Azkals U/19s team was playing with eventual UFL champions, Global FC. John was also re- cently selected in the national senior Azkals squad for the Peace Cup held in Manila last August. Josh Grommen, a member of the original Trialists group, has recently returned to Manila to attend trials arranged by Azkalroos Coach, Leigh Gunn, with Loyola Meralco Sparks the current UFL runners up. Josh’s trial was successful and he has now signed a three year contract with Loyola. Luis Abadia will be playing for the Azkalroos as he has recently returned to Australia to work with Jim Fraser andLeigh Gu