SIBOL Prepares for Southeast Asian Games

SIBOL is making its debut in this year’s Southeast Asian Games to be held in Manila. For those who don’t know, they are our official ESports team who will be competing with other Southeast Asian countries as an official medal sport. They will need to champion Mobile Legends, Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor and Tekken 7. I’m a gamer myself and I know a LOT of pinoys do well in these titles especially MLBB and Tekken (which I have also played in arcades for years). Though this morning we got a nice preview of how we’ll fare in the tourney.

They presented the teams too composed of Dota 2 geniuses Carlo "Kuku" Palad, Timothy John "Tims" Randrup, Kim "Gabbi" Santos, Armel "Armel" Tabios, Nico "Eyyou" Barcelon, Djardel Jicko B. "DJ" Mampusti, Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto, Abed Azel "Abed" Yusop, Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross Jr. and Ryan Jay "Bimbo" Qui. While on StarCraft II we have Caviar "Enderr" Acampado. In Arena of Valor we've got Kevin Kio "Gambit" Dizon, Jeremiah "1717" Camarillo, Jevan Lorenzo "Bents" Delos Santos, Lawrence Anthony "Rubixx" Gatmaitan, Miguel Klarenz "Miggie" Banaag. In Mobile Legends: Bang Bang we have Carlito "Ribo" Ribo, Erwin "Yakou" Magno, Jeniel "Haze" Bata-Anon, Marc Danielle "Dee" San Luis, Yuji "Yuji" Aizawa, Angelo Kyle "Pheww" Arcangel, Renz Carlo "Pein" Reyes, Lester "Tets" Santos, Ralph Mico "Coco" Sampang, Mark "Dysania" Cruz, Ephraim Jueinno "Ejhay" Sambrano, Gerardo "Eson" Mark Jayson, Jeff Franklin "Jeffqt4ever" Anaya, Allan Sancio "Lusty" Castromayor, Jason Rafael "Jay" Torculas, Ashleymarco "Killuash" Cruz and Kyle "Ryo" Berceño.

For Tekken 7 Andreij Hosea "Doujin" Albar, Alexandre Gabrielle "AK" Laverez and in Hearthstone we have Jacinta "Jia" Dee, Euneil "Staz" Javiñas playing the cards.

We got to talk to the lone femme gamer Jia Dee about how she became part of our official lineup, here she is to share her story:

The teams will also have the chance to win 2 Million pesos for every Gold Medal they win in the games. They are also supported heavily by Smart Communications and the MVP Group so if you’re here during the first week of December, might as well go support them during the Southeast Asian Games in Manila. Stay tuned for more of them soon!

Seiko Show Your Style Seiko 5 Philippine Launch

Had a wonderful time during the Seiko Show Your Style Seiko 5 launch last week. Albeit a long drive from QC, I was treated to entertainment, a fashion show and a few lovely timepieces from the iconic brand.

Yasuki Fujita Seiko's Senior Manager for Management Planning says “I am happy to be back in Manila and Seiko5 is a special brand for us. Kintaro Hattori founded this in 1881 and the first Seiko Sportmatic 5 was launched in 1998. The 5 means the attributes automatic, day date display, water resistance, recessed 4 oclock position, and 5 styles we dedicate to millennials. Sense, Suits, Specialist, Street and Sports. We are targeting them and we have a Seiko 5 logo, and new designs but same feel."

Then they showed their young hip and millennial ambassadors! 

Entertainment ensued!

Models came out on stage wearing the collection

Director, Actor and Producer Khalil Ramos

Actor Rodjun Cruz

Chu Calleja, a PH team rep for Wushu

Diane Medina joined in a little later

To top it all off, their last brand ambassador announced was the band Ben and Ben! Their music just sent chills down our spine!

The five new lines are Street, Sense, Suits, Sports and Specialist. We were toured around the booths that afternoon which matched the same concept of the watches. What makes each piece special is that it has automatic movement, day/date display, water resistance, their recessed crown, the bracelet and case that is built to last for years. During the event, they also gave 20% OFF on all Seiko5 Sports Watches via their promo codes. Tons of people lined up their stores and enjoyed their finely crafted timepieces home.

Got home quite happy about the experience, but I have yet to own my very own Seiko, it was just not in the months budget LOL!

The OPPO RENO 2 Launch

Got invited to this but I didn't RSVP lol. Anyway, OPPO seems to be in a roll as they launched the OPPO RENO 2 today in a grand event at Shooting Gallery in Makati.

We had drinks but they asked us to zoom in 20x just to see the menu, pretty good idea!

As for the phone, it looks and feels good. It's not heavy and from the looks of it, it takes good photos even when there was limited light in the venue. Thanks to the phone's Ultra Night Mode it was fun to see the band playing, the dancers too.

20x zoom for your convenience

I also find this very sleek and since it doesn't have a camera on the screen you can see everything

The back had several cameras but that's not the main event

Imagine my surprise when this thing popped up at a slant when I was trying it out for a selfie, it's different and unique, which I like about it.

The portrait mode is also quite nice, you could see and feel the bokeh happening.

Specs for the geeks!

I am currently using an OPPO F7 and it has been quite useful for taking photos and video coverages. It doesn't make me cartoonish like the new OPOO Reno 2 Series

They got us to enjoy music throughout the night by taking celebrations slightly darker than usual, they want us to use the phones and take photos with the band setup like this.

The event was hosted by KC Montero and some random Carla girl lol

Oh and the phone also is not shaky, it has some technology fit for video bloggers hence their tagline Anyone Can Make Their Story.

Raymond Xia their Marketing Director says "We realized how much acheivements we had in the year but we continue to forge partnerships, Lamborghini, Marvel Studios, FC Barcelona, Roland Garros Paris and ESports League of Legends. We have pushed for 60x Zoom Technology, VOOC Flash Charge, the Under Display Camera, Waterfall Screens (by next year) and our projects in 5G. We want to streamline our product lineup hence the new A Series 2020, the Find Series and these Reno Series."

Daniel Marsh, Gabbi Garcia and Mikael Daez are the new Oppo Reno Series 2 Brand Ambassadors

They also gave advise for those who want to be into content creation

They want you to elevate your creative talent, this phone has better stabilization than your old phone, even has audio zoom, and the Sharksfin pop up camera was a nice addition or way to have something conventional because they just thought out of the box. The 4000 mAh battery will last you hours of game time, optimized for your gaming experience. I want one honestly, but if it doesn't happen well, arms raised, this is just good. It also costs Php 29,990 and the Reno 2 F costs Php 19,990 which are both attractive price points for the hardware they sell. 

I didn't get to explore much about the phone's features, but that was our first impression with the ones we handled during the event. Hope we could get a review unit soon.

Minola and the Ketogenic Diet

Last year, we had a good discussion with Dr. Fabian Dayrit about the good and the bad things about the Ketogenic diet. He says “Harvard Medical School published articles about it and asks if it is good for you to actually do it. There is a difference between Ketogenic, low carb, IF and Atkins diet. Traditionally it was used to treat childhood epilepsy, it was an effective treatment under a physician’s care. That was 1920, so this resurgence in the last 15 years is really nothing new. Fasting gets the accumulation of Ketones going. Atkins diet which was done more during the 80’s, it is mostly no sugar, high protein commercial diet and is done in phases. “

Also, he said “Ketogenic diets have high fat low carb, 20% protein. There is also mct keto and vco ketogenic diet and done in several styles. Fasting produces acetone and before, they used corn oil for treatment of epileptic children. In the 90’s diet induced hyperketonemia was done for sugar problems and lifestyle diabetes. If you don’t have glucose, your body goes to find other sources of energy and this is where ketosis starts.”

He adds “Ketones improves mitochondrial condition. It is the main source of energy for cells (including your major organs). If you are using statins, don’t do Ketogenic diets because it will just block it from happening. Right now there are clinical trials done against certain types of cancers. Lauric Acid during glucose starvation may reprogram energy metabolism and proliferation of cancer cells. (lauric acid is in coconut oil which Minola is) They also have studies about it versus Alzheimers disease where Dr. Mary Newport subjected her husband to. Her testimonial indicated that it also made good progress using Ketone Ester which mitigated her husband’s Alzheimer’s Disease. Ketosis is done through fasting, strenuous exercise, Atkins diet, coconut oil, MCT’s, ketone ester or a combination of these. Coconut oil has a unique fatty acid composition and no other oil is like it. VCO, Minola or straight eating coconut meat would make you get lauric acid. Published studies also say that Coconut Oil also has antimicrobial activity.”

Desa Apostol also shared her story:

Virna Veloso (not the one on video) who did Ketogenic Diet wanted to lose weight. She heard from friends and seen how it was effective but she couldn’t try the meal prep deliveries. She researched and did strict keto diet, in one year, from 110+ kg she was down to 66 and is now pregnant. She also had pcos (Polycystic ovary syndrome) which had a lot of her other keto friends swear by was managed by it. She also chose food, and is going to know the gender of her kid in a few weeks. Wow! :)

Ms. Kenner of Khendrie’s Kitchen also did a cooking demo and she also shared how her journey to cooking started. She was fond of sweets and baked a lot when she was pregnant. She lost her baby because she apparently had high sugar levels and did not take it lightly. She dedicated the name of her baby to this business and now produced cakes, pastries and food that are all keto friendly. She also now use coconut oil for all her cooking needs. She also lost a lot of weight with it. (Look for Khendrie’s Kitchen on Facebook).

When I left, I felt the sincere and eager participants want to change their lifestyle especially after the throng of women who changed their lives doing keto. With the aid of right know how and keto approved products such as Minola, it will be an easy journey for anyone who would want to live healthy lives. I am just so happy Minola Coconut Cooking Oil supports initiatives like these by KIFI members and their admins. Meanwhile, make sure you get the healthy coconut/ lauric oil by Minola because that helps a lot!