The Canberra Reporter CanRep8pg02 JUN2017 | Page 8

PLAYING ICE HOCKEY NO LESS
BOXING
COMEBACK BID AFTER RETIREMENT IN AUGUST’ 16
BASKETBALL
8 | June 2017

SPORTS

ICE HOCKEY

Kayla’ s short in stature but all heart

PLAYING ICE HOCKEY NO LESS

KAYLA FRANCHESCA wearing the Philippine Ice Hockey team colours. Inset: Kayla relaxed.
THE Philippines entered a team at the recent Ice Hockey Women’ s Challenge Cup of Asia – and one member of the team was a new immigrant to Australia.
A diminutive( 5ft 1in) Kayla Franchesca, of Sydney, played left wing for the national side which placed fifth in the seventeam tournament in Bangkok, Thailand, in March.
The Philippines made its debut in this tournament.
New Zealand won the competition, with Thailand second.
Other teams besides the Philippines were Singapore, India, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, which finished last.
The Philippines’ goalkeeper Jessica Cabili was named the competition’ s best goalkeeper.
It was an impressive entry to the international ice hockey for the Filipinas.
In an interview with Ang Kalatas editor Titus Filio before Kayla flew to Bangkok for the tournament, she said many people she met were surprised that Filipinos played ice hockey and that she was so short for a very physical game like ice hockey.
Kayla said people would ask:‘ There is ice hockey in the Philippines?” or“ You play ice hockey?
“ But you are so small.”
She was barely seven years old when Kayla started playing ice hockey.
“ I saw the movie The Mighty Ducks,” Kayla said.
“ And I remember walking inside the mall with my parents and immediately begged them to take me ice skating. After that I knew I wanted to play ice hockey,”
The Franchesca family first settled in Perth WA before moving to Sydney where Kayla has started to pick up surfing. •

BOXING

Good performance

could not win judges’ nod in Asis’ return

COMEBACK BID AFTER RETIREMENT IN AUGUST’ 16

BASKETBALL

JACK Asis put up a good fight on his first fight coming out of retirement but couldn’ t get the judges’ nod against China’ s Can Xu in a bid to take the World Boxing Association( WBA) super-featherweight boxing title back to Australia.
Asis lost by unanimous decision Shan Xi Normal University stadium on Sunday, May 7, 2017.
The fight was pretty tight and close, but the Can Xu had the Filipino- Australian off-balance on my occasions and appeared to have a more consistent game plan.
There were several exciting exchanges, each keeping the pressure
JACK ASIS
up and not backing off the action.
Asis’ trainer-manager Brendon Smith said he was happy with his fighter’ s performance, less than a year after losing a World Boxing Organisation( WBO) world superfeatherweight title against South Africa’ s Malcolm Klassen in August 2016.
Asis announced his retirement soon after that loss but returned to training in December.
Shortly after his fight, flew to Japan to support Smithy’ s TGW Gym mate Herman Ene-Purcell in his fight for he vacant WBO Asia Pacific heavyweight title against Kyotaro Fujimoto. •

Gilas hoist Trophy

GILAS Pilipinas continued to lord over South East Asian basketball with a crushing victory over Indonesia, 97- 64, to win their 8th SEABA title at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, May 19, 2017.
The SEABA tournament win enabled Gilas to qualify for the 2017 FIBA- Asia Cup in August 2017 against Qatar, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Australia, New Zealand and Lebanon.
Coached by Chot Reyes, the RP Five fielded its tallest-ever line-up in Philippine history. They swept the tournament 6-0 by an average winning
margin of 58.6 points and remain kings of ASEAN hoops.
The Indons headed into the SEABA finals undefeated with a 5-0 record before hitting a brick wall against the Filipinos.
Gilas’ menacing 6ft 11in frontcourt giants June Mar Fajardo and naturalised player Andray Blatche terrorised the Indonesians inside the paint with 21 points and 14 points apiece, while point-guard Jayson Castro grabbed 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. •
- MARCO SELORIO