Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has returned to commentating duties at the first Test between Australia and the West Indies at Perth’s Optus Stadium after suffering a health scare on Friday afternoon.
Ponting was taken to hospital for precautionary tests on his heart after the 47-year-old reported feeling dizzy midway through day three of the Test during commentary duties for Seven.
Ponting did not return to the commentary box for the afternoon session, but sources told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that the former Test captain was feeling “fine” after the hospital visit. He later returned to his hotel on Friday.
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READ MORE:Security cracks down on inflammatory Langer signRicky Ponting was rushed to hospital during day three of the first Test between Australia and the West Indies. (Daniel Pockett/ICC via Getty Images)
Ponting shed light on the situation to open the network’s coverage on day four, assuring fans he is OK.
“I probably scared a lot of people yesterday and had a little scary moment for myself,” he said.
“I was sitting in the comms box halfway through the stint and then got a couple of really short, sharp pains to my chest. I tried to stretch it out and get rid of it, and probably didn’t want to give too much away when I was on the air.
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“I had a couple of those incidents, got through the stint and went to walk to the back of the commentary box and got a bit lightheaded and dizzy and grabbed the bench. I mentioned to JL (Justin Langer) on the way out, who was commentating with me, that I had had these pains in my chest and (producer) Chris Jones heard me as well and just reacted straight away and got me out of there.
“10 or 15 minutes later, I was in the hospital getting the best treatment that I possibly could.
“I feel great this morning, I am all shiny and new this morning.”
Ponting was especially grateful to former teammate and long-time friend Justin Langer, who took him to see Australian team doctor Leigh Golding.
Following the sudden deaths of cricketing greats Rod Marsh and Shane Warne earlier this year, the ex-top order batter was glad to know his mate had his back.
“I think the bottom line is, the fact that I was willing to share it with JL and the fact that your mate looks after you, I think as people of our age, we are a little reluctant to share much or talk about our health and I think that is a good learning curve for me yesterday, especially with what has happened in the last 12 or 18 months to really close people around us.
“My little mate looked after me, got me down there and I’m back, shiny and new this morning.”
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THE Victoria Sports Pro Cycling Team is presented before the media and the public during its launch Saturday at Victoria Sports Tower in Quezon City. . –CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines–Looking to make its mark on both local and international stages, Victoria Sports Cycling Team plans on being an active competitor in major cycling tournaments here and abroad.
Team representative Pako Ochoa said the country’s newest pro cycling team “aims to be the first Philippine team to regularly and actively represent the country in major international cycling tournaments in Asia and countries around the world.”
VSCT–which is bolstered by veteran Portuguese professional cyclists–was officially launched over the weekend with a press conference at Victoria Sports Tower followed by a community ride in Quezon Memorial Circle the day after.
“It is an exciting time for Philippine sports. Our country won its first gold medal in the Olympics two years ago, and this year the country will be represented in both the Fifa Women’s World Cup and the Fiba Basketball World Cup,” said Ochoa.
“We are slowly showing the world that Filipino athletes can be competitive in international sporting competitions, and we will set out to prove that Filipinos have what it takes to excel in cycling as well.”
VSCT is composed of riders Jhay Oconer, Kelvin Mendoza, Márcio Barbosa, Luis Krog, Pedro Paulinho, Ochoa, Ean Cajucom, José Mendes, Daniel Cariño, Jerry Aquino, and André Cardoso.
Mendez is a former World Tour Rider for Bora-Hansgrohe and a two-time national road champion of Portugal while Cardoso is a former World Tour rider for Trek Segafredo.
But competing in Union Cycliste Internationale races is not the team’s only goal as it also aims to help with “the meteoric rise of the popularity of biking in the Philippines.”
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“We are extremely grateful to all the companies that share our vision,” said Ochoa, “[We] also believe that we can go beyond making cycling more popular–that we can raise the level of cycling and make it a part of our culture, as it is in other parts of the world where the needs and rights of bikers are embraced and respected.” -Celest Flores-Colina
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FILE–UST head coach Bal David. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Bal David has stepped down as head coach of University of Santo Tomas men’s basketball team, according to multiple reports.
The Varsitarian, the school’s official student publication, reported on Wednesday that David has tendered his resignation after just one season with the Growling Tigers.
UST’s organ also wrote that assistant coach Rodney Santos will stay as part of the coaching staff.
BREAKING: Bal David is out as Growling Tigers head coach, sources say. With David at the helm, UST tallied a 1-13 record in Season 85. pic.twitter.com/gWv8iPy6sl
In David’s first year, UST won its opening game against Adamson but lost 13 straight games, reeling to the bottom of the standings of the UAAP Season 85 men’s basketball tournament.
The former PBA star, dubbed “The Flash”, took the coaching reins last July, two months before Season 85.
David, who was part of UST’s back-to-back title runs in 1993 and 94 UAAP seasons under the late Tigers coach Aric del Rosario, only lasted with the Tigers for six months.
After their final game last year, the former Ginebra cager took the blame for their last-place finish and told his players that no one will quit.
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“We had a lot of struggles but I kept telling the kids not to quit. Struggles after struggles, so we have to be in the same direction. No one will quit, no one will give up,” David said in Filipino during the post-game.
He even added that UST won’t have a major revamp and he still prefers the “old school” way of recruiting.
The Tigers will have a different coach for the third straight season, following David’s sudden resignation.
UST had two different coaches in one year with Jinino Manansala taking charge in Season 84 after the infamous “Sorsogon bubble” fiasco that resulted in the exodus of key players and Aldin Ayo’s indefinite ban from coaching in the league.
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