The HMR Ibons remain favourites and top seeds in Philippine Rugby’s Championship Division after defeating the Manila Carabaos in a convincing 47 to 10 victory. A close encounter in the second semi final between the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks and the Subic Shark Jets saw the Mavericks prevail 24 points to 19 to book a place in the grand final. In drizzly conditions, inspired by the return of club stalwart Jovic Paypon, the Ibons put together a dominant performance. With an agile and experienced backline it wasn’t long until the Ibons soared over for their first points 5 minutes into the match. Back-to-back points took the Ibons to a lead of 21 to 0. Philippine Resident David Bogle barged his way over to help the Carabaos get on the scoreboard however it wasn’t enough as the Ibons closed out the first half with another try to extend their lead. The second half remained much the same, the Carabaos continued to put in a spirited performance however the Ibons remained too string and booked their position in the final on June 16.
The second semi final was the match of a day, second seeded Subic Shark Jets faced off third seeds the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks. The return of U19 Junior Volcanoes Ryan Ralston Santos and Wiremu Brown provided much needed direction for the Mavericks. The Mavericks applied pressure early in defence scoring their first points off an intercept to make it 5-0 after the first two minutes. With both teams going head to head in a physical match, young Volcano Jaime Chuidian applied defensive pressure off a high ball and latched onto a loose carry and scored to make it 12 points to nil with Santos converting the try for the Mavericks. The Subic Shark Jets hit back and capitalised on a penalty with a stellar line break from Jonel Madrona to set up Michael Morales in the 23rd minute. The Shark Jets backed it up with another try and two successful conversions. The scores were set at 14 to 12 at the half time break in favour of the Shark Jets.
In spectacle sunny weather, the Rugby 7s Philippine National Games took place in Southern Plains, Calamba over the weekend. Teams traveled from various regions representing their Local Government Units of Albay Province, Angeles City, Cebu City, Davao City, Gen. Santos City, Makati City, Olongapo City, Palawan Province, and Quezon City.
After 26 matches, Angeles City continued their dominance outpacing a determined Makati City 36 to 7 in the Gold medal match in the men’s division while Makati City defeated a spirited Cebu City in the women’s division 34 - 0. Bronze medals were bagged by Cebu City in the men’s with a close win over Albay Province 19 - 0 and Quezon City held on 10 - 7 over Davao for the women’s.
All eyes were fixed on the excitement and performance of Angeles City, boasting a development program of key members of the Philippine Rugby development program. A number of their talented players have been trained and developed under the Clark Jets rugby club, focusing on developing home grown talent. Philippine Volcano Jonel Madrona lead from the first whistle and was awarded with the Most Valuable Player award for the games. Madrona was also accompanied by other strong individual performances by Marlon Catepon, Joemari Rauras, Jay Ramirez and Kingsley Ballesteros. Other notable performances came from Ronald Longasa and Jeremy Hernandez of Makati City and Kenneth Osman of Davao. For the women’s Rassiel Sales of Makati City was awarded the women’s Most Valuable Player. Sylvia Tudoc of Makati City and Aiumi Ono of Cebu City continued to showcase their experience with Agot Danton of Davao also a notable mention for the day. Philippine Rugby had national selectors attend to identify new local talent for a range of upcoming international competitions. Elite Performance Manager Chris Everingham was pleased with the days outcome. “It’s important for athletes to perform at the national games, with positions always on offer for the national team. I was very impressed and came across some talent I wanted to see in the regions” Rugby 7s in the Philippine National Games is key to Growing the Game in the country according to Rose Lanticse, Get Into Rugby Manager for Philippine Rugby. “The teams will go home proud to represent their community, and I am positive that they will inspire the younger generation to join the rugby family. Rugby in the Philippines is still young, and with this year’s performances – it has started to grow. I look forward to these young talents play for the Philippine Volcanoes in the years to come.” With international competitions starting in June, the PRFU will continue to focus on ensuring the national teams are ready to play. The Lady Volcanoes take on India and Singapore on June 5 and 8 for the Women’s Asia Rugby Championships in Singapore while the Men host the Singapore men’s national team for the Division 1 Series on June 23 and 26 on home soil.
As the Philippine National Games (PNG) opens in Cebu, club teams from nine Local Government Units (LGUs) will vie for supremacy in the Rugby 7s event at Southern Plains in Laguna on May 19. Teams from Olongapo City, Pampanga, Palawan, Albay, Quezon City, Makati City, Cebu City, Davao City and General Santos City will contest for the national championships in the respected ladies’ and men’s division. The PNG showcases the talents of Filipino athletes, sixteen years old and above, who are aiming not only for national team selection, but to also encourage local government units to bolster their grassroots sports programs in their respective communities. Gold Medal favorites Pampanga Province will be vying to go back-to-back in the men’s division while Cebu travel to defend their gold medal for the women’s.
“It’s great to see regions all over the Philippines to compete for the title, a full day of competition bringing out the best regions have to offer for Rugby 7s. I am looking forward to seeing each team and national athletes perform at their best,” Rose Lanticse, Tournament Director for the PNG shared.
The top athletes to be featured across LGU’s include Jonel Madrona, Joe Mari Rauras and Kinglsey Ballesteros from Pampanga, Reymarc Bustillo from Quezon City all for the Men’s division. For the women’s Rassiel Sales and Sylvia Tudoc will suit up for Makati City, with Madille Salinas and Aiumi Ono for Cebu City. All have gone on to national representation in the past for Philippine Rugby. This annual national multi-sport event is presented by the Philippine Sports Commission and is also supported by the Department of Interior Local Government and the Department of Education. The games will kick off at 8:00 am at Southern Plains, Calamba. There will be 26 matches to be played across both divisions. Entry is free.  Clark Jet Kingsley Ballesteros continues to shine for Philippine Rugby, Ballesteros was awarded Man of the Match for the Philippines Manila, Philippines: The Philippine Residents XV, a feeder program to the Philippine Volcanoes capped off their first match in 2018 with a victory defeating Guam 35 to 22 in the 2018 Austronesian Cup keeping their perfect record to three wins, from three matches. The Residents XV boasts a remarkable record since the program started in 2016. Residents XV is a team of local residents featuring past, present and future Volcanoes. The national program has used Philippine soil as a fortress, defeating international rugby teams from Malaysia, Singapore, and finally as recently as of Saturday, Team Guam. “Playing at home is always special, the vibe, the atmosphere and the fans play a huge role in a team’s success” shared Philippine Volcano Harry Dionson Morris.  Joe Palabay Dawson (VC) lead from the front for the Philippine Residents XV The home team started strongly from the first whistle, taking a 7-point to nil lead four minutes into the match. An attacking run from Philippine Volcano Jackson Junior Pato off a line out set out the pace for the Philippine Team. Robert Amalay Jones had no difficulties converting the extra two points. Not long after Joe Palabay Dawson capitalized on open space and a loose ball after a brilliant piece off a counter attack put together by Greg Golman and Jones which took the lead to 14 points to 0 after nine minutes. The match looked to be a one sided affair, with the Philippines continuing to put pressure on the visitors and with back-to-back tries from Taniela Turaga and Evans Atandi shot the Philippines to healthy 28 points to nil after 27 minutes. With the Residents comfortably in front before half time, Guam’s fight back begun with two quick tries by Matt Sojo & Chris Sgro, settling on a half time score of 28 to 12 in favour of the home team. “Our team started off very well, played to their structures for the first 30 minutes. Pleasing to score four unanswered tries to begin with. Unfortunately they lost their way a little late in the first half, something we have to improve on moving forward” shared Chris Everingham, the Performance Manager for the Volcanoes.  Experienced veteran Gareth Dela Rosa Holgate putting in a solid performance for Team Philippines The second half started off in favour for the Residents with Clark Jet Kingsley Ballesteros crossing over putting in a comfortable lead 35 to 12. All but seemed out of reach for Guam however with a never say die attitude the visitors fought and crawled their way back with two consultation tries decreasing the points differential to 35 to 22. Ballesteros finished with the Best on Ground performance for Team Philippines. “It was good to get the win; our international season has started off well. Credit to Guam, playing three matches in one week and never giving up. They deserved their Division 3 East title win earlier in the week. We are grateful to have matched up well against them on their return home from their Asia Rugby Championships” said Jake Letts of Philippine Rugby. The Philippine Volcanoes will be competing in their respective Asia Rugby Championships this June, the National Women’s Team to travel to Singapore to play India and Singapore while the Men will host Singapore in Manila for a two match international series to decide the Division 1 Title.
Manila, Philippines: The Philippine Residents XV, a feeder program to the Philippine Volcanoes, will face an undefeated Guam national team upon their return from the Asia Rugby Division III Championships. Guam with a string of recent successes defeated Brunei 66 to 12 on Tuesday, and as recently as yesterday, lifted the Championship Trophy after defeating China 52 to 12 which now sets up an exciting match for the Philippine Residents team. “Guam has had a great week, Division 3 champions which is very well deserved. With a stopover in the Philippines before their final trip home, they reached out to Philippine Rugby to see the possibility of putting together an international match for the development of both our teams. It’s great to host Guam for this match, really exciting to see both teams take the field of battle on Saturday” Jake Letts, General Manager for Philippine Rugby shared. The Philippine Residents team will be comprised of past, present and future Volcanoes. The aim of the program is to unite all the best rugby players residing in the Philippines regardless of heritage. All players will become, or are already, eligible for national team selection under the World Rugby (International Federation) Regulation 8 ruling. The program will coincide with the Philippine Volcanoes preparation for the Division 1 Asia Rugby Championships to be hosted also in Manila against Singapore on June 23 and 26. Players selected in the Residents team will be vying for promotion for selection into the Philippine Volcanoes Division 1 team next month. The Residents will head into this match undefeated, as a national program with two from two wins. The Residents defeated both Sabah and Singapore in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The Philippines will rely on the experience from veterans Joe Palabay Dawson, Gareth Dela Rosa Holgate from Eagles RFC and David Feeney of the Manila Nomads. They will be joined by exciting youngsters Kingsley Ballesteros and Jonel Madrona of the Clark Jets and Lito Ramirez of the Santos Knight Frank Mavericks. Chris Alamil Everingham, newly appointed Elite Performance Manager for Philippine Rugby is looking forward to showcasing the top locally based players for the Volcanoes. “It’s an exciting new era, mixing in all the best rugby players into one team to take on another Asian rugby nation. We are targeting a win and nothing short. Guam will be a strong contender, we need to give credit where credit is due, and their recent victories are nothing short of hard work. Our team has prepared well and done our hard work, given the short time frame, I am confident they will match it with Guam”. The Residents XV will be coached by David Johnston and will face Guam at 3:00 pm tomorrow at Southern Plains. The Women’s SPI 15s Championships division will act as the curtain raiser kicking off at 12:15pm. Entry is free.
Players selected to for the Philippine Residents XV:
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