Filipino Figure Skater Olympian Michael Martinez Bags Gold in Slovenia Tourney

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Homegrown Figure Skater Olympian Michael Christian Martinez bagged the gold in the recently held Triglav Trophy International Figure Skating Competition in Jesenice, Slovenia. Martinez finished the free skate finals in the Senior Men’s category with a score of 195.13 points, besting Japan, United Kingdom, Korea, Austria and Norway.

Michael Christian Martinez (center) (Photo from Martinez’s Facebook Page)

“I Thank God for this blessing- another gold medal in senior event. It was actually difficult for all of us because the 30 minutes practice sessions were scheduled a day before, and no more practices during the competition days. I'm very happy i made it to first place,” Martinez said and shared on his Facebook page. 

The 18-year old Martinez  now has three gold medals in the senior level, with the Triglav Trophy, the recent Skate Helena in Serbia and the Crystal Skate in Romania last 2012.

Filipino American Samantha Cabiles finished 6th in the Junior Ladies’ category out of 21 skaters with a score of 100.04 points. 

The Philippine Skating Union (PhSU), which is a member of the International Skating Union  (ISU) named Martinez and Cabiles as the country’s representatives to the Triglav Trophy. 

Every year since 1992, the Triglav Trophy gathers over 100 of the best young figure skaters from all over the world. The competition is hosted in Jesenice ice hall Podmežakla and has its roots in 1992. 

Martinez took up figure skating when he was eight, inspired by skaters spinning and jumping while shopping with his mother at SM Southmall. He began training in 2010 in the United States and since then his lifelong dream has been to win an Olympic medal. Martinez has garnered over 190 medals and trophies from various international and local competitions. 

Cabiles, who was born in Hawaii and is now based in Michigan started skating since she was 11. Of Filipino decent, Cabiles also competes in the Philippine Nationals and recently ranked second in the 2013 Philippine National Figure Skating Championships held at SM Mall of Asia every year.

“The Skating Gazelle”

Cabiles also placed 10th in the Junior category of the recent Dragon Trophy competition in Ljubjana, Slovenia in February 2014. She trains in Toronto, Canada. Due to her high and powerful jumps, she earned the moniker, “The Skating Gazelle”. 

SM has been the primary supporter of the PhSU since the latter was established in 2005. SM also provides a venue for the events of PhSU for the promotion of ice skating in the Philippines. PhSU received accreditation from the ISU in 2006, coinciding with the opening of the SM Mall of Asia skating rink that year. In turn, PhSU, as the sole governing body for Figure and Speed Skating provides SM and its ice skating rinks with marketing tools such as local and international skating events and its network of skating athletes. 

Through the years, SM and the PhSU have conducted several figure skating competitions that have given birth to international champions such as Martinez. 

The PhSU is the governing body in the country for figure skating and speed skating. It is a member of the ISU which is the exclusive international sports federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The ISU administers speed and figure skating throughout the world. It is composed of a number of national organizations called ISU members who administer ISU sports at the national level.

Michael Martinez performance at SM Megamall SM Skating Rink

The excellence demonstrated by skaters especially during competitions is a mark of quality that the SM Skating Rink can provide with its world-class venue and facilities. Property conglomerate SM Prime Holdings, Inc. operates skating rinks through SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. at the SM Mega Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay, and SM Southmall in Las Pinas.

LINE global community is 400M strong

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Filipino LINE subscribers join a rapidly growing worldwide community of users

 

As LINE enthralls more Filipinos with its colorful combination of features and services, the mobile messaging app’s global community continues to post unprecedented growth as it recently surpassed 400 million users.

Since its launch in 2011, LINE has grown into a global communications app that lets users communicate through voice and video calls, as well as stickers and text messages.

“One of our goals for 2014 was to reach over 500 million users and today we’ve been able reach the milestone of 400 million,” says Akira Morikawa, CEO of LINE Corporation. “I’d like to thank all our users and supporters for their help so far.”

Behind growing user bases in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, the amount of LINE’s daily new users has reached a record-breaking pace of 1.7 million per day—indicating rapid worldwide growth.

Alongside the rising number of users, the amount of communication made through LINE has also skyrocketed. Since the start of 2014, records have been set for the daily usage of chat messages (10 billion/day), sticker messages (1.8 billion/day), and phone calls (over 12 million/day).

Morikawa remarks, “Along with the rapid proliferation of smartphones, the level of competition in the global communications app market has become fiercer than ever, and is only intensifying every day. We believe that this shows that messaging services have become the crux of our mobile society, and demonstrates their incredible worth.”

To separate itself from other messaging apps in the market, LINE continuously innovates new features and services. In the Philippines, it recently introduced LINE Call—a new function that allows users to call landlines and cellular phones for affordable prices. By boosting its multi-functionality with features like this, LINE hopes to increase its value for Filipino users.

Morikawa concludes, “With all of this in mind, LINE aims to further its growth and become the world’s top communications infrastructure, taking on many new challenges along the way.”

#BetterTogether ! Let's Celebrate real-world connections with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola!

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Partners McDonald’s and Coca-Cola celebrates with us in the real-world connections! People nowadays have a lot of options when it comes to interacting with one another. All the advancements in technology, smartphones and gadgets allow us to communicate online via messaging apps and social networking sites. 

And more often than not, more connections start happening in the digital world than in the real one. 

This is why these two iconic, global brands and long-time partners, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, which champion happiness, enjoyment and togetherness, are taking a stand and encouraging people to stay offline a little longer and enjoy real-world connections.

And as embracing online connections, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola believe it is our physical interactions which make our digital lives more meaningful—that real-life moments, such as hearing a story in person, receiving a warm hug and sharing a McDonald’s meal and Coke drink face-to-face, are those which create lasting memories.

“McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have been partners for close to 60 years, together providing millions of customers great tasting food and beverages best shared together”, said McDonald’s Philippines President and CEO, Kenneth Yang. “Today, together as well, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are taking a stand that real-life connections fuel our digital lives and enrich our relationships”, added Coca-Cola Philippines President and General Manager, Guillermo Aponte.

We really have fun and enjoyed with real-connections last Monday, April 7, 2014 as McDonald's and Coca-Cola celebrates with bloggers and celebrities and treats us with BFF Bundles, held at McDonald's Eton Centris Quezon Ave. Edsa. 

Inviting people to create these genuine moments of connection, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola are introducing the new BFF Bundles, an exciting menu offering designed to be shared among friends and family.

With the BFF Bundles for just Php 399 for a group of three or Php 559 for a group of four, customers can customize their bundled offers, choosing between their favorite McDonald’s products. 

With the BFF Burger Bundle, customers can choose from seven of their favorite McDonald’s Burgers and enjoy them with the new BFF Fries, big enough for the entire gang to enjoy together, and a refreshingly ice-cold Regular Coke for each one.

Friends who prefer Chicken McDo can opt for the BFF Chicken Bundle and choose between 1pc Chicken McDo and McSpaghetti or 2pc Chicken McDo with rice, complete with BFF Fries and Regular Coke.

For a delicious shared snack, those who constantly find themselves wanting to get their hands on McDonald’s World Famous Fries paired perfectly the Coke McFloat, Coca-Cola drink topped with soft serve vanilla and chocolate syrup, the BFF Fries and Float combo is theirs to enjoy for an affordable price of only Php 150. 

So what are you waiting for? Head to the McDonald’s store nearest you, call 86-2-36 or log on to www.mcdelivery.com.ph to enjoy quality time with your friends over the newest BFF Bundles. 

Tell us how you’re celebrating real-world connections by using the hashtag #BetterTogether.

GITING there with Cebu Pacific’s Piso Fare

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GITING There! Sugod na sa bakasyunan with our Araw ng Kagitingan #CEBseatsale!

Philippines’ prime budget carrier Cebu Pacific Air again treats their loyal flyers with another awesome seat sale!

In line with the country’s celebration of Araw ng Kagitingan today - April 9,2014, Cebu Pacific opens its “GITING there” Piso-fare.

Cebu Pacific customers can fly anywhere in the country and in all international destinations served by Cebu Pacific for as low as 1 peso.

Sale period will be available starting today up to the 11th of April 2014 or until seats last with travel period from September 1 – December 15, 2014.

Book your flight now at https://www.cebupacificair.com/

The Lifestyle Network with the new adventure -drama-musical series “The Boston: The Kitchen Musical.

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The Lifestyle Network enters a  new adventure with a drama-musical series for this coming June. After the ground-breaking series “The Kitchen Musical,” which brought food, drama, and music together on television screens across seventeen Asian countries, the Lifestyle Network is bringing something even spicier. 

In June 2014 Lifestyle Network dishes out its latest mouth-watering drama-musical series “The Boston: The Kitchen Musical.”

Set in one of America's historic cities, the new series looks into the lives of three young chefs as they re-launch their restaurant business while overcoming obstacles to follow their own creative visions.

“The Boston” features a multi-talented cast, led by Chicago-based stage and film actress Jennifer BlairBianco, London-based German actor Michael Koltes, Australian actress and singer Natalia Moon, and hunky Fil-Am actorSteven Silva.

Directing the show is award-winning Director and Cinematographer Matthew Rosen, who has won over fifty national and international awards including Best Commercial in the Philippine Araw Awards, Best Cinematographer in the Asian Ad Congress, Best Music Video Director in the NU Rock Awards, Bronze at the London Film Festival, and the Golden Quill award at the New York Film Festival.

Catch “The Boston: The Kitchen Musical,” which premieres on June 18, 2014 at 10:00pm on the Lifestyle Network. The Lifestyle Network is available on SkyCable channel 52 and on Destiny Digital Cable. 

For updates on “The Boston: The Kitchen Musical,” visit its official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/thekitchenmusical) 

and follow @KitchenMusical on Twitter. 

Don’t forget the show’s official hashtag, #TheBostonTKM.

Stay tuned to the Lifestyle Network and visit its official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/lifestylenetwork) and follow @lifestyle52 on Twitter.