TV5’s road to Rio

Road to Rio is a 1947 American comedy film starring the legendary team of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope about two vaudevillians who stow away on a Brazilian-bound ocean liner. It was a box-office hit at that time.

TV5 also has an exciting Road to Rio treat for Pinoy sports fans this year as it brings to your living rooms the glamour, the drama and the excitement of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, the biggest and most-watched sporting event in the world.

The quadrennial event is sure to bring to the world stage the very best sports men and women from around the globe. The Philippines will be participating with our own contingent of athletes and leading sports officials from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative to the Philippines and former Olympian, Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski. According to POC first vice president and the Philippine team’s chief of mission Joey Romasanta, “We have six athletes confirmed for now: Eric Cray, athletics; Hidilyn Diaz, weightlifting; Charly Suarez and Rogen Ladon, boxing; Kirstie Elaine Alora, taekwondo; and Ian Lariba, table tennis.”

“As for the No. 1 sports in the country, basketball will start its qualifying rounds this July 5. The final submission of entries by country is by July 18. The CDM meeting in Rio is July 22 and the Olympic Village opens on July 24. I want all our athletes to be there earlier to get over their jet lag, so we are targeting to leave on July 22,” Romasanta added.

Speaking of the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQT), TV5 has been awarded the exclusive coverage of the Manila leg of the OQT that will decide the remaining three places for the Olympic Basketball Tournament at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The other OQTs will be held in Serbia and Italy. TV5 has previously aired the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, which delivered excellent ratings compared with the rival networks during its timeslot, making it the weekend primetime winner of the ratings game. With this track record matched with Sports5’s continuous commitment to world-class coverage, the Manila OQT will definitely be something that every household would once more enjoy.

One of our Rio-bound Olympians is Ian Lariba who will be representing the country in Table Tennis.

Lariba shared how she was able to get in this most coveted sports competition. “We competed actually in two stages. At the first stage, I was not able to get in for the first five slots, so for the second stage, we were given the chance for the remaining six slots when we played there in Hong Kong. Thankfully, I won three games out of five and then I was able to notch the last/final, 11th slot for Asia.” 

I could see the excitement in her eyes as she told me her story. “It’s very overwhelming and it’s really an honor to qualify for the Olympics, especially because it’s our first time for table tennis. I’m really happy and blessed, especially with the support of the table tennis community in the Philippines and I think it’s more of a responsibility because I will be representing something bigger than myself.”

For our Olympians like Ian, we include all of you in our prayers and our hopes for a great Olympics experience for everyone, including us who will be watching in the front row seats provided by TV5.

Ian with fellow Olympic qualifier Kirstie Elaine Alora (taekwondo)