Tag: land

Elreen Ando’s desire to land Olympic gold fueled by detractors

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Elreen Ann Ando will spearhead the PH weightlifting team in Paris having big shoes to fill. —AFP

With Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo, the Philippines’ first and only Olympic gold medalist and sentimental favorite, failing to qualify for the Paris Summer Games that gets going next month, the responsibility of following up on her historic feat falls on three promising weightlifters.

And shouldering the heaviest burden is Elreen Ando, who actually ousted Diaz-Naranjo when they competed for the lone Olympic ticket available for the country in their face-off in the 59-kilogram category of the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Cup in Thailand last April.

She will be joined by Asian junior weightlifting champion Vanessa Sarno and John Ceniza in the world’s fashion capital as part of a 15-strong Philippine contingent that will be shooting for the country’s second gold medal.

Ando getting there the way she did, naturally, had nonbelievers coming out in the open.

“I am drawing my strength from my family and people who don’t believe in me—I made them my motivation,” Ando, who was seventh in the 64-kilogram division in the Tokyo Games, said in Filipino.

Diaz-Naranjo and Ando crossed paths in qualifying after their respective events in Tokyo, the 55-kg for Diaz-Naranjo, were scrapped for the Paris edition, with the 59-kg bracket the middle ground for the PH aces.

But Ando proved her worth in Thailand by lifting a total of 228 kg, a personal-high, after clearing 100 kg in snatch and 128 kg in clean and jerk to finish seventh overall and overshadow Diaz-Naranjo’s total of 222 kg for 11th spot.

“When I was slowly losing my touch, I was also losing trust in myself and felt down, depressed and stressed and went through a lot of challenges,” Ando recalled of the time when she saw her chances returning to the Olympics dwindle following a disappointing finish in the Asian championships.

“So I talked to my coach and told him that I still want to compete in the Olympics so we talked and he motivated me to believe that I can still fight,” Ando added. “He was one of those who has a huge trust in me.”

The 25-year-old lifter shattered previous records in the Southeast Asian Games last year en route to a gold medal in her new weight class.

Better version

“I will still try to improve my lift and since it’s free to dream, of course I will be looking for the [Olympic] gold medal,” she said, believing that she is now a stronger version of herself compared to the one in Tokyo.

Sarno, earlier tipped as Diaz-Naranjo’s heir apparent, will be looking to make the most out of her first Olympic appearance behind the support of her family.

The 20-year-old out of Bohol is ranked No. 5 in the 71-kg division after posting a new Philippine record of 110 kg, to break her previous record of 108 kg last year, in snatch also in the IWF Cup to qualify in the Olympics with a 245 kg total lift.

“We are looking to prevent injuries [prior to the Olympics] while slowly improving our personal records,” Sarno said.

Another Cebuano in Ceniza will be making his Olympic debut after qualifying with an impressive 300 kg total lift also in the IWF Cup in the men’s 61-kg category where he finished fourth.



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“While competing, we can’t predict the time when we’ll get [the gold] but we are all doing everything we can to get the gold medal,” Ceniza said. INQ

Celtics land biggest punches again to move closer to title

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Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, top left, looks on as Celtics guard Jaylen Brown, bottom, is fouled by Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving, center, during the first half in Game 3 of the NBA basketball finals, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

SCHEDULE: NBA Finals 2024 Boston Celtics vs Dallas Mavericks

DALLAS — Joe Mazzulla is a big fan of UFC matches and splices highlights of fights into some of the basketball video he shows the Boston Celtics.

He doesn’t do it for entertainment purposes or to make players laugh. He does it for a simple reason. He wants the Celtics to have a fighters’ mentality.

“If you’ve ever been in a fight with someone and you think you’re about to beat ’em, you usually get sucker-punched,” said Mazzulla, the second-year Celtics coach. “The closer you are to beating them up, the closer you are to losing.”

Translation: He wanted the Celtics ready for a fight. And in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, they were.

A pair of big runs — 23-8 in the first half, 20-5 in the second half — represented what became the knockout blows in this game, and maybe this series. Boston frittered away almost all of what was a 21-point lead before winning 106-99 to take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, moving one win away from what would be their record-setting 18th championship.

READ: Celtics hold off Mavericks for commanding 3-0 NBA Finals lead

“Our guys have a great basketball IQ and have a great understanding of are we playing the right way, taking the right shots and giving up the right shot.” Mazzulla said. “They know exactly when we are not doing that. So, they have an innate ability to control the runs of the game with the philosophy that we have.”

As is often the case with fights, the judges — in this case, the referees — had a big decision to make and it wasn’t one that was popular. Luka Doncic fouled out with 4:12 remaining, a call that held up under review despite Dallas’ arguments that Jaylen Brown initiated the contact on that play, and the Mavs were without their best puncher in what amounted to the 12th round of this fight.

“We couldn’t play physical,” Doncic said. “I don’t know. I don’t want to say nothing. … C’mon, man.”

Doncic fouled out with the Mavericks having gotten within three; there was no miracle finish. Boston did enough to hang on, and now a championship could be in its hands as early as Friday night when the teams meet in Game 4.

And the big punch — sometimes early, sometimes not — has been a theme for Boston throughout this series. Dallas ran out to a 25-12 lead early Wednesday; that lead was basically gone by the end of the first quarter.

“We expected their first punch,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said.

Control of Game 1 was seized early with a 23-5 run by the Celtics. In Game 2, a 15-4 run in the second half proved to basically be the difference. In Game 3, there were the two big spurts. Mazzulla warned the Celtics that any spell where focus is lost could cost them games. Clearly, they’ve listened.

“Closer you think you’re going to submit someone, is usually when you get submitted,” Mazzulla said.

There’s no championship belt, like the ones fighters get, coming when this series is over. But the trophy is within sight now.



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“We’ve got to keep fighting,” Tatum said. “We can’t relax.”