Baskin-Robbins treats Hope Foundation kids to a special Spider-man: Homecoming movie screening.

Baskin-Robbins, the world’s most loved ice cream brand, recently held a special movie screening for the kids of Hope Foundation and Operation Smile to celebrate the premiere of the newest blockbuster Marvel film, Spider-man: Homecoming. Made possible through an amazing partnership with Columbia Films, the kids enjoyed watching the latest big screen adventure of Spider-man while indulging in Baskin-Robbins’ special frozen treats. Baskin-Robbins is an active partner of Hope Foundation and Operation Smile in bringing happiness to thousands of Filipino kids all over the country through various projects and outreach

programs. For more information, log on to www.baskinrobbins.ph or check out their social media accounts: facebook.com/baskinrobbinsph, Twitter, and Instagram @baskinrobbinsph. You can also visit Baskin-Robbins’ stores at Central Square, Bonifacio High Street, Uptown Place Mall, and SM Aura in Bonifacio Global City; Greenbelt 5, Glorietta 2 and Glorietta 5 in Makati; Ayala Malls the 30 th and SM City East Ortigas in Pasig; Trinoma Mall and SM North (Main Building and The Block) in Quezon City; SM Southmall in Las Pinas; Solenad in Sta Rosa, Laguna; SM Dasmariñas in Cavite; and SM Pampanga. Photo shows Hope Foundation kids at a Spider-man screening hosted by Baskin-Robbins.

New Blood Championships: A Tournament Designed To Find the Next Elite Generation of DOTA 2 Players

The New Blood Championship is an upcoming DOTA 2 (Defence of the Ancients) tournament that will launch in 2017. A total prize pool of USD 40,000.00 and main event slots to the second season of Galaxy Battles will serve as the ultimate prize for winners of this tournament.

The tournament itself is developed by two of the most dominant esports companies in South East Asia: Hong Kong-based organization, Purpose Win Entertainment Limited (PWEL) and Fallout Gaming (FG), the leading South East Asian and Malaysian premium esports company.

Both companies recently completed their first partnership project: Galaxy Battles. The international DOTA 2 tournament held a total prize pool of USD 150,000.00 and took place from June 14^th – 18^th 2017, in Shenzhen, China. Both companies share a vision to start building more platforms that will find the next generation of competitive esports athletes.

The South East Asian market for esports is growing at an exponential rate that PWEL’s Project Director, Sky Lim, believes that esports is no longer a niche and is prime and ready for the mainstream.

“The market for South East Asian eSports has been growing rapidly, it is the second largest market in the world,” says Sky Lim. “Many players in the region are qualified to compete with the rest of the world. So we are looking forward to creating a ‘Shining Star’ South East Asian team that will have the ability to take part at the world stage of any esports tournament.”

The New Blood Championships will be the first in a series of amateur gaming tournaments across South East Asia, specifically targeted at providing more exposure to aspiring competitive gamers. Since the tournament is strictly for amateur players, all competitive tier one (1) teams and players are banned from competing at the finals.

The New Blood Championship tournament is divided into three stages:

1. Online Country Qualifiers
2. On-ground Country Finals
3. The New Blood Championships Main Event

                                                                                                                                                                                

The open-country qualifiers will be held across five countries: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, with one additional “Rest of S.E.A” online qualifier that will consist of other countries in the region. The top sixteen (16) teams from the qualifiers will proceed to Stage 2, the On-ground Country Finals (with the exception of the “Rest of S.E.A” qualifiers who will proceed directly to the New Blood Championships Main Event).

The On-ground Country Finals will be a LAN event focused in high traffic venues to shed exposure to the finalist from each participating country. The top team from each on-ground country will qualify for the New Blood Championships Main Event.

The New Bloods Championships Main Event will be hosted in Jakarta, Indonesia and will feature one (1) qualifying team from each country qualifier, (1) team “Rest of S.E.A” qualifier, and two (2) remaining teams from GamePlan’s DOTA 2 amateur tournament to be hosted by Genysis Esports. One more available slot remains but will be announced at a later date.

The first (1^st) and second (2^nd) place winners from the New Blood Championships will proceed directly to the Galaxy Battles Season Two (2) Main Event in Manila, Philippines, from January 17^th – 21^st, 2018. All is not lost as the third (3^rd) and fourth (4^th) place teams will proceed to the Galaxy Battles Open Qualifiers Top 16 for the fight to win the Open Qualifier’s slot.

With the introduction of the New Blood Championships Tournament and the goal of finding the Philippine representative, High Grounds Café owner, Eric Redulfin says, “It is time to discover new stars and rising talent and with the launch of the New Bloods Championships that opportunity now presents itself. It is a place where new local talents are born and communities can finally get behind their country’s team.”

The first season of Galaxy Battles took place in China from June 14^th – 18^th, 2017, at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Stadium to a crowd of 12,000 attendees over the course of seventy two (72) hours. Eight (8) teams squared off for a prize pool of USD150,000 with Team Newbee prevailing as Grand Champions.

“Building platforms that allow aspiring, competitive athletes to further their careers is the ultimate goal. We at Fallout Gaming have always believed in building platforms that allow amateurs to progress further. Forging partnerships with PWEL and High Grounds only helps to accelerate our vision”, shares Adrian Gaffor, Founder and Managing Director of Fallout Gaming, in a concluding statement.

About Purpose Win Entertainment Limited (PWEL)

Purpose Win Entertainment Limited (PWEL) is a Hong Kong & Malaysia-based eSports company that organizes international tournaments. The company seeks to promote the development of eSports around the world. PWEL’s aim is to be the leading eSports organizer in the world via different games and platforms to bring an extraordinary experience to those who participate in PWEL tournaments. 

About Fallout Gaming

Fallout Gaming is a Malaysian esports marketing company focused on developing the industry by bringing commercial brands and the world of gaming together. Established in 2015, Fallout Gaming has now developed an eco-system which brands can harness, whether it is in tournaments, marketing, and strategy, digital and social media; built on strong corporate foundations, fueled by passion.

About High Grounds Café

High Grounds Café is the first and only fully-branded, high-end gaming café in the Philippines. High Grounds Café differentiates itself from other internet shops and cyber cafes in the country by providing gamers with a premium and top-notch environment that is powered by TNC, the top gaming brand in the Philippines, and gaming computer giant, Acer Predator.




*This is Press Release

NBA 3X Philippines 2017 Presented by AXA Attracts Provincial Participants

NBA 3X Philippines 2017 presented by AXA reached an all-time high in popularity this year with increased participation from Metro Manila and provincial teams joining the various age group categories of the seven-year old 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

Fifty-six out of 176 participating teams survived the qualifiers held at Don Bosco Makati on July 15-16.  The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals matches of the Boys Under-13, Under-16, and Under-18, Girls Under-18, Men’s Open and Women’s Open were staged at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall on July 22-23.

New champions were hailed in the avidly watched Men’s Open division that was won by Team Rocan from Valenzuela, Bulacan.  Christian Chua, Mark Fernandez, Elmer de la Cruz, and Philip Torres outhustled Team 459 Legaspi from Colegio San Juan de Letran in a closely fought game.  EGS Elite, four-peat champions of the NBA 3X Philippines Men’s Open division since 2013, was unable to follow through with their plans for a fifth championship after failing to show up in the quarterfinals.

The Women’s Open Division was won by National University (NU)-A with Trixie Antiquiera, Ria Joy Nabalan, Samantha Harada, and Rhena Itesi, besting their teammates on the opposing NU-B squad. Both teams play for the NU women’s basketball team that has dominated UAAP women’s basketball for three consecutive seasons. “It was a challenge to have to face our teammates who are familiar with our style of play, but we are proud to earn this victory,” said Antiquiera.

Among the highlights of the afternoon was the hotly contested match between the Boys Under 16 finals between the Berkeley Aquanauts of Berkeley School Baguio and Makati Basketball.  Intense play coupled with dazzling, athletic play from two former Jr. NBA National Training Camp finalists, Jazzy De Ayre and Ethan Rodelas, mesmerized the mall crowd, eliciting cheers and loud crowd reaction.  Similarly, the Boys Under-13 finals between Berkely School of Baguio and De La Salle Zobel-2 showcased wire-to-wire action from very young ballers playing like big boys, which the crowd enjoyed immensely.

A special division for AXA also freatured the rich basketball culture within the world’s largest and fastest-growing life insurance company in the country.  Eight teams from the field of AXA teams made it to the quarterfinals.  In the end, Team AXA Life-A bested AXA’s Go Elite in a “man’s game”, that gave the crowd a “show of force”.

The Girl’s Under-18 Division title match came down to the girls of Team Bulacan and University of Baguio, where Bulacan relied on Cindi Gonzales’s steadyplay in the paint and deft ball distribution to win the day.  Additionally, Escuela de Sophia dominated the Boys Under-18 division and edged out schoolmates EDSCI by nailing crucial two-pointers that to secure the lead and the victory.

The Celebrity Division was won by Team Uy, Uy, Uy headlined by sports analyst Dominic Uy, PBA legend and coach Vince ”The Prince” Hizon, as well as coach and sports analyst Charles Tiu.  Their opponents, Mongrel Mob, starring ex-PBA player Mark Andaya, TV host Bobby Yan and actor Neil Sese, fought valiantly but were left behind in the end game.

In the Individual categories, Billion Enriquez from Zamboanga is AXA Three-Point Shootout Champion; Brian Agarin of Cubao, Panasonic Master Three-Point Contest Champion; Alexis Ramos of Tanauan, Batangas, Cloudfone Shoot-Solve-Selfie Challenge champion; and Shekel Estrelles of Caloocan, Globe Do It Different Three-Point Challenge champion.  In the AXA Shoot For A Cause challenge, free-throw shooters raised P70,000 worth of free throws for Tahanang Walang Hagdan.

NBA talents Steven Adams of the Oklahoma Thunder, former Sacramento Kings head coach Reggie Theus, also known as Kobe Paras’ coach at Cal State Northridge in the US NCAA, and the Laker Girls awarded all winning individuals and teams their medals and trophies.

The official partners of NBA 3X Philippines 2017 presented by AXA include CloudFone, Globe At Home, Globe Prepaid, Panasonic, with SM Mall of Asia and Spalding serving as Supporting Partners.  Official NBA broadcasters for the event are ABS-CBN Sports and Action, Basketball TV, and NBA Premium TV.

For more information on NBA 3X Philippines 2017 and the registration process, log on to www.nba3x.com/philippines and follow www.facebook.com/nba3xasia. 

For more details on AXA Philippines and their product offerings, visit www.axa.com.ph and www.facebook.com/AXA.Philippines. 

For all things NBA, visit www.nba.com and follow the league on Facebook at www.facebook.com/philsnba and Twitter at www.twitter.com/nba_philippines.