Ang Kalatas Volume IV September 2014 Issue | Page 23

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 4 Number 12 | September 2014

Fil-Aussie Handballer
scores a new club
AFTER

five competition seasons
with TSV Altenholz, handball star
Bevan Calvert felt it was time for a
change. The Fil-Aussie has moved
to a new handball club, the SV
Mecklenburg-Schwerin in the Third
Division of the German Handball
Bundesliga.

WHILE feeling excited with
his new club, Calvert expressed sadness over leaving
his team mates, followers and
friends.
“It was incredible how
much support I get from all
sides. I'm going to keep my
old Holzer time fondly,” he
said. “The fans have always
great supported the team
and me. That was cool!"
The decision to make the
move also comes at an unsettling time when the International Handball Federation took Oceania’s spot

in the 2015 Handball World
Championship and gave it
to Germany on a wild card
arrangement. The first FilAussie to be Team Captain
of a national men’s team,
Calvert led the Australian men’s team at the 2013
World Championship held
in Spain.
Calvert has commenced
training with his new team
mates who are aiming to get
back to the Second Division.
The new competition season
started end of August and
will finish on May next year.

SPORTS

Girl cager shoots for the stars
TEN

year old Fil-Aussie Rochelle Deirdre Mantua played with the Hills
Hornets Team U12G3 which recently beat Manly Sea Eagles 48-44 in
the Basketball NSW 2014 Waratah Junior Metro League. This qualified
the team to participate in the 2014 Waratah Junior State Shield.

By Violi Calvert

THE only player of Filipino heritage in her team,
Rochelle was also part of
the Amigos Angels U12 Div1 which came as Runner Up in the 2013 - Summer Basketball Competition. Rochelle currently
does not play in a particular position as u12 team
is a development stage but
she is gearing towards a
point or shooting guard
position.
Rochelle considers being chosen to play in junior basketball for one the
biggest sporting clubs in
NSW – the Hills Hornets –
and winning the championship in her rookie year
as the best part to her entry into basketball.
The not-so-good part,
she says, is waking up really early at 6am on a Saturday.
“My dream is to become a famous singer but
if I become successful as a

basketball athlete and get
a scholarship like my big
brother Ridge, then even
better. I can go for both,
why not?”
Aside from being naturally athletic, Rochelle’s
skills on the court come
from her exposure to basketball since she was a toddler. She is the youngest
child of Roger Mantua, a
member of the coaching
team of the Sydney Amigos team which won the
38th National Australia
Sports Association Global
Filipinos Goodwill Games
held last April.
Rochelle is also the
youngest sibling of Ridge
[17 years] and Royce [12
years] who are also talented basketball players.
Ridge is the first Fil-Aussie cager to play for the
Ateneo de Cebu - Magis
Eagles Team and was recently signed up by the UP
Fighting Maroons.
A Year 5 student at the
Beaumont Hills Primary

School, Rochelle also excels in football [soccer],
t-ball, netball and swimming, and the performing arts. She inherited
from her mother, popular entertainer Cleo Diana, the love for singing,
dancing, and acting. At 7,
she played the role of little

"Choleng" in the “Her Son,
Jose Rizal” stage play. She
was a performer for the
Caper School of Performing Arts. She also takes up
piano lessons at AJ Music & Performing Arts
and enjoys being in the
school’s Glee Club and the
Wakikiri Dance Group.

Philippines Rugby League comes to Sydney
THE

Philippines
National Rugby
League (PNRL)
comes to Sydney
next month to
play in what may
be considered a
historic event at

the Wentworthville
Leagues Club.
The PNRL Tamaraws
National Team will take
on Niue while the Tamaraws U23 side will take on
Thailand.
The PNRL has called

on the Filipino community in NSW to cheer on
their compatriots at the
games to be held on October 4.
The day will also see
presentations from cultural dancers. Event organ-

isers are also seeking anyone who has face painting,
jumping castles, who wish
to set up at no cost.
For those Filipino businesses interested in setting up a food stall (limited spots) and families in-

terested in their children
playing OZ Tag (Limited
Spots) contact Mark De
Ubago o