Benguet CARES confers Joshua Pacio "Athlete of the Year" award

Photo Courtesy || Mark Sangiao

Cordillera - Igorot Mixed Martial Artist Joshua Pacio was awarded Athlete of the Year by Benguet CARES (Cordillera Athletic Recognition for Excellent in Sport) as recognition for his great contribution in the national and international sport competition. 

Pacio is the reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion and ranked number eight strawweight in the world by Fight Matrix - an independent, comprehensive, mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter ranking system portal. It is one of the sport's most recognized ranking websites in the world.

Athletes in the bodybuilding, boxing, taekwondo, kickboxing, muaythai, sambo, wrestling, wushu and other sports were given citations during the awarding ceremony on 22, April. 

Meanwhile, Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao was conferred the Coach of the Year Award. 

Other Cordilleran athletes like former boxing champion Rey Tam was given the Hall of Fame Award; marathoner Cristabel Martes - Lifetime Achievement Award; Dr. Frael Aquino - Sportsman of the year; Manuel Bitog - Executive of the Year. 

Kickboxing national fighters Islay Bomogao and Crisamuel Delfin were bestowed the Young Sports Achiever of the Year.

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Ifugao fighter Loman leaves Brave to join Team Lakay brothers in ONE Championship

Photo Courtesy || Mark Sangiao & One Championship

Cordillera - The longest reigning BRAVE Combat Federation Bantamweight champion Stephen "The Sniper" Loman is leaving his throne to join his Lakay teammates in ONE Championship. 

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao on a post on Facebook has confirmed the news last night.

"Stephen Loman is one of the best fighters in the Philippines. His all-around skills will be on full display in ONE Championship. I spoke to Stephen and he's highly motivated right now. He can't wait to get in the Circle and put on a show. Of course, I'll be there for him, as well as all of his teammates at Team Lakay, every step of the way," Sangiao said.

The undefeated fighter of Brave CF  has also confirmed the news.

“It’s an overwhelming opportunity, but I’m excited to join my Team Lakay brothers in the biggest martial arts organization in the world," Loman said.

Loman is departing the Middle East promotion with 13 wins and 2 defeats making him the biggest star in the promotion. 

Joining ONE champion would present a new challenge for Loman but would be a great new environment to showcase his skills in the cage. 

"I’m excited to enhance my skills on this platform and showcase my style to millions of viewers across the globe. Of course, fighting in a new promotion and a new environment will be a challenge, but it’s one I’m more than willing to face. I’m ready to show ONE Championship fans the best of Stephen Loman," he added.

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Russian Consul Alexey Barmin says Team Lakay's conditioning, strength are top notch

Photo Courtesy || Team Lakay

Cordillera - On January 9, 2021, the Russian Consul of the Russian Embassy in the Philippines, Alexey Barmin visited Team Lakay Central Gym for a workout and training. 

The Russian Consul was impressed with Team Lakay conditioning and strength after five rounds of training with Team Lakay head coach Jaybe Ban-eg.

Mr. Barmin said, the conditioning and strength from the gym is top notch and made him improve a lot.

Team Lakay is home to some of the greatest Filipino Mixed Martial Artists. 

Their training takes advantage of the high altitude of Baguio city which is around 1,500 meters above sea level. 

That's one of the reason Team Lakay fighters can finish 5 rounds of boxing inside the ring unexhausted and still feeling strong. 

More than that, Team Lakay is a family where coaches, trainers and fighters work together to achieve their goals.

Headed by multi-awarded coach Mr. Mark Sangiao, the team has produced world champions in the names of Eduard Folayang, Honorio Banario, Geje Eustaquio, Kevin Belingon and Joshua Pacio.

Watch this documentary produced by ONE Championship to get to know more about this great team of Cordillera.

Show your support, subscribe to Team Lakay YT Channel @  https://www.youtube.com/c/TeamLakay/

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LOOK: Team Lakay lends a helping hand to the needy in Benguet thru 'Mobile Tulong'

Cordillera - Philippine's top Mixed Martial Arts stable Team Lakay has joined the hundreds of good Samaritan in the country who stepped up to extend help to many of their kailyans who are in need of assistance amid the global pandemic.

On Wednesday, the team headed by multi-awarded coach Mark Sangiao and joined by former ONE Championship Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang and ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua Pacio unloaded relief packs and distributed them to the residents of Tuba, Benguet.

Parts of the relief packs that were distributed are sacks of rice and fresh Benguet vegetables. 

After Tuba, the team is going to Itogon, Benguet to provide the same assistance to the residents there.

Team Lakay's  'Mobile Tulong' is  being implemented in partnership with ACT-CIS Partylist Congressman Eric Go Yap and the Charen family. 

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Igorot martial artists honored in recent "Oscars of Philippine sports" Awards

Photo Courtesy || Mark Sangiao FB

Cordillera - Team Lakay members were recognized anew in the recently concluded 2020 SMC-Philippine Sportswriters Association awards last Friday, March 6, 2020 in Manila. 

Reigning ONE Strawweight World Champion Joshua "The Passion" Pacio including his Lakay team mates ONE Championship Women's atomweight Gina "Conviction" Iniong, and ONE Warrior Series rising star Jerry "The Bokodian Warrior" Olsim have received the citations for their contributions to Philippine sports for the past year.

For Pacio, this was his second straight year that the PSA has awarded him after successfully claiming his belt from Yosuke "The Ninja" Saruta and defending it against Rene "The Challenger" Catalan.

In a statement, Pacio said that he was honored to be awarded for the second straight year. 

"It's an honor to be a part of this again. I am grateful to be recognized and I hope that I can continue to inspire many others with awards like this," Pacio said.

"Founded in 1949, the Philippine Sportswriters Association dubbed as the "Oscar of PH sports" is the oldest media organization in the Philippines. The member of the selection committee is comprised of editors, veteran reporters, and columnists from various print publications and online outlets. 

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Philippine Congress to formally recognize and honor Team Lakay's contribution to the country

Photo Coutesy || Mark Sangiao

Cordillera - To formally recognize and honor Team Lakay members' contribution to the country, Benguet appointed caretaker congressman Eric Go Yap submitted a resolution to Congress to thank and praise them for bringing tremendous honor and glory to the country. 

Cong. Yap said, he submitted House Resolution No. 707 as a way of recognizing and thanking the champions of Team Lakay. 

"Bilang saludo ang pasasalamat sa inyong mga tagumpay, ating isunumite ang House Resolution No. 707 upang pormal na kilalanin ng Kongreso ang inyong mga ambag para sa bayan," Yap said. 

Yap personally thanked current ONE Strawweight Champion Joshua Pacio, reigning Brave Combat Federation Bantamweight Champion Stephen Loman and former URCC Welterweight Champion and former ONE Lightweight Champion Eduard Folayang for their great contribution in the field of Mixed Martial Arts in the country. 

Team Lakay head coach Mark Sangiao and the champions visited the House of Representative on Tuesday. 

Yap met them in his office and personally handed them certificate of recognition and promised them support to improve their gym and further enhance their training.

"Maraming salamat sa pagiging inspirasyon sa maraming kabataang Pilipino na may pangarap magpursige sa kani-kanilang larangan. Asahan ninyo na nasa likod ninyo kami at handang sumporta hanggang sa abot nga aming makakaya. Mabuhay kayo! Mabuhay ang Pilipino, Yap added. 

Team Lakay is a Benguet-based Mixed Martial Art team in the Philippines. It was founded by former mixed martial artist Mark Sangiao. 

The team operates in a close to zero budget with a gym that is not air conditioned, no state of the art training facilities but produced the best mixed martial artists that are making waves in major international organizations. 

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Igorot MMA star Eduard Folayang, one of the 50 Greatest Filipino Athletes of All-Time

Photo Courtesy || Eduard Folayang

Cordillera - Igorot mixed martial artist and wushu practitioner Eduard Folayang who fights in the ONE Championship was included in the list of 50 Greatest Filipino Athletes of All-Time.

Folayang was deemed as one of the 50 Greatest Filipino Athletes of All-Time, a book which was recently published by publisher Vernon Go to commemorate the Filipino athletes as one of our sport heroes who brought great pride, joy, and honor to the Philippines and its people.

"I'm not really a sport enthusiasts but I did feel that the Filipino athlete should be memorialized, remembered and honored," Go said.

How the book was made is a story in itself, the Philippines Yearbook has been made to also commemorate each and every issue with an encompassing theme about the Philippines. 

This year 2020, Vernon thought that this year's theme for the yearbook would be about sports and how it honors the 50 greatest Filipino athletes of all time.

READ ALSO: Eduard Folayang nominated Martial Arts Hero of the Year for the Global Martial Arts Award 2018

Before his professional career in mixed martial arts, Folayang came from a poor family and had a tough childhood growing up in Baguio City, Philippines. 

Although Folayang had such a rough childhood, he endured and trained hard in wushu and boxing at the age of 16 under the training of coach Tony Candeleria which helped him improve on his skills and discipline. 

In 2006, Folayang graduated from the University of the Cordilleras and went on to become a teacher. Six months in, he decided to quit in order to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fighter.

READ ALSO:  Multi-awarded Cordilleran coach Mark Sangiao among outstanding Filipinos honored in Ginebra Ako Awards 2018

On June 30, 2007, Folayang made his professional debut a the URCC and from then on has won many tournaments in Martial Combat, Wushu, URCC and now in ONE Championship.

He is now training at Team Lakay Gym located in La Trinidad, Benguet under the careful watch of multi-awarded coach Mark Sangiao. 

Congratulations Eduard Folayang

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Lito Adiwang - a rising Cordilleran MMA champion

Photo Courtesy || One Championship

Cordillera - Considered as one of Team Lakay's rising MMA star in the pipeline, Lito Adiwang proved once again that he is going straight to becoming a world champion someday. 

The Baguio-based young fighter got his chance to join Rich Franklin's ONE Warrior Series and had his second big break when he floored down Alber Corrreia da Silva earlier in the first round during their encounter in Singapore yesterday. 

The 25-year old Adiwang used his unconventional way of attacking his opponent. His unanticipated assault followed by his blinding speed in punching made a big difference in the fight. 

He caught Silva with a big left straight causing Silva to recline to the canvas. Adiwang didn't miss his chance, he followed Silva to the ground and unloaded series of big punches forcing the referee to halt the fight in under 45-seconds. 

Adiwang's excellent performance gave yet another victory for La Trinidad-based MMA Gym Team Lakay. Adiwang now improved his record to 7-2. 

Will Adiwang be the next exciting fighter for Team Lakay and can follow the footstep of top-tier Team Lakay champions like ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang and ONE Interim Bantamweight World Champion Kevin Belingon? The big chance is there especially that he is under the careful watch and mentoring of one of the best coach Mark Sangiao. 

Watch Lito Adiwang's impressive performance below:

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Multi-awarded Cordilleran coach Mark Sangiao among outstanding Filipinos honored in Ginebra Ako Awards 2018

Photo Courtesy || CNN Philippines

Baguio City - Multi-awarded coach Mark Sangiao of famed Team Lakay was among the outstanding Filipinos who were given awards and recognition at the Ginebra Ako Awards held on Tuesday at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. 

Ginebra Ako Awards was established to recognize individuals who personify Ginebra San Miguel's 'Ganado sa Buhay' Brand. 

Ginebra San Miguel is the leading producer of gin in the Philippines.

All of the candidates were chosen from well-respected organizations around the country. They passed through a screening committee after which they will be shortlisted for each different category. 

Coach Mark Sangiao was chosen as the awardee for the Ginebra Ako para sa Palakasan category. 

"Thank you so much for being chosen as an Awardee for the Palakasan Category - for instilling the virtues of discipline, humility and respect from the tough of sports and mentoring a generation of enlightened, educated Filipino athletes in Mixed Martial arts," Sangiao wrote in his Facebook account.

Meanwhile, Mark Espesor, the President of the Federation of Person's with Disability Associations, Inc, took home the Ginebra Ako para sa Kabataan award. 

Teodoro Canda, the founder of Nagpapakabanang Mananagat sa Tigao was awarded the Ginebra Ako para sa Kalikasan. 

Lastly, Storyteller and director Joseph Keit Anichoche, bagged the Ginebra Ako para sa Entablado award. 

Watch Coach Mark Sangiao Short documentary below presented by CNN Philippines

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Eduard Folayang nominated Martial Arts Hero of the Year for the Global Martial Arts Award 2018

Photo Courtesy || Coach Mark Sangiao FB || One Championship

Baguio City - Team Lakay's Eduard Folayang among other world athlete were nominated Martial Arts Hero of the Year for the Global Martial Arts Award 2018. 

The awarding is scheduled to take place in Singapore on November 8 at the JW Marriott Hotel, South Beach. The award will recognize superstar, athletes, gifted coaches, innovative leaders and media personalities that have left an indelible mark on the competitive world of martial arts in the past year. 

The award gives honor and credits to outstanding individuals in 16 different categories who played a vital roles in contributing to the growth and influence of martial arts around globe.

Folayang along with Singapore Angela Lee, Myanmar Aung La N Sang, Daniel Cormier, Henry Cejudo, Martin Nguyen and Tenshin Nasukan will be honored in the Martial Arts Hero of the Year category.

Both Kevin Belingon and Joshua Pacio who trained under Team Lakay were nominated in the Male Ahtlete of the Year category.

Belingon was also nominated in the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year category due to his incredible performance in his past fights leading to a rematch against Bibiano Fernandez. 

Joshua Pacio's fight against Pongsiri Mitsatit of Thailand, where he submitted his opponent with his "Passion lock" was among the seven fights nominated in the Submission of the Year category. 

The Global Martial Arts Award 2018 also recognized the place where athletes train to become exemplary and the coach who trains them

Team Lakay Gym in Cordillera was among the nominated Gym of the Year and Mark Sangiao was nominated Coach of the Year. 

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One featherweight champion Martin Nguyen wants to fight Igorot MMA figther Kevin Belingon in the ring

Photo Courtesy: ONE Championship

ONE Championship crowned featherweight champion Martin "The Situ-Asian" Nguyen revealed that he would love to share a ring with Kevin "The Silencer" Belingon of Team Lakay. 

In an interview by ONE championship, the 29-year-old Nguyen would want to return again in the ring this coming ONE:REIGN OF KINGS scheduled on 27 July in Manila. 

Nguyen said he would like to fight the Igorot warrior for the interim title or number one contender spot. 

He believed that a match with Belingon would make an exciting main event considering that both of their styles are similar and MMA fans would love to watch them. 

"Honestly, he deserves nothing but the best. He has taken out top contenders in devastating fashion. He is the one who deserves the title shot next. Belingon has to stay active, because he has to put food on the table for his family, and he needs to fight. If there is anyone to step up againts Belingon, other than myself, I cannot really say who," said Nguyen. 

Nguyen is one of ONE Championship's biggest stars. He had defeated two of the best fighters Marat Gafurov and Eduard Folayang and crowned champion in both the featherweight and the lightweight division. 

He has successfully defended his featherweight world title on 18 May against  Christian "The Warrior "Lee via split division. 

Belingon has proven he got the power and arsenal to grant the wish of Nguyen. Last April, Belingon demonstrated his skills and power when he obliterated his opponent with  relentless loads of ground and pound. 

Now that a desire for a match up is asked by Nguyen who happened to knocked out cold one of Belingon's Team Lakay mates Eduard Folayan, will he take notice to the call? 

--One Championship--

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Team Lakay's coach Mark Sangiao - among the top 5 head coaches in Asian Martial Art

Photo Credit: Onefc

Cordillera - Believe it or not, behind the triumph of every champion out there in the world were their coaches who stayed focus, motivated and willing to impart not only their skills but their time to hone the skills of their boxers.

Team Lakay of Cordillera, the most well-known martial arts team in the Philippines has been successful in producing several of the most talented and skilled fighters in the Mixed Martial Arts arena and now making the country shines as the home of the best boxers in the world.

The success of a fighter and a team could not be realized without the coaches who work almost none-stop just to get to the plan done and finish the goal as much as possible in a positive manner.

In a featured article by One Championship, it listed the top 5 coaches in Asian Martial Arts, one of whom Mark Sangiao was listed as number 2.

Here is the excerpt from the article:

" A Filipino martial arts pioneer, Mark Sangiao established Team Lakay many years ago building its home base in the mountains of Baguio City to provide his fellow countrymen with a platform on which to unleash their martial arts greatness.

Along the way, Sangiao has developed martial art superstars who continue to inspire Asia and the world, including former ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard "Landslide" Folayang, former Featherweight World Champion Honorio "The Rock" Banario, and several world title contenders.

It is mission accomplished for Sangiao, who set out to dominate the Philippine martial arts scene through the art of wushu, and showcase homegrown Filipino talent for all the world to see. Today, Team Lakay is the most well-known martial arts team in the country.

More than just a martial arts coach, however, Sangiao is looked up to as a father figure who genuinely cares for the students under his wing. This has resulted in a bond that extends far beyond the reaches of the cage, and has shaped wonderful human beings who are also true martial artists."

 Among the the top 5 head coaches featured was Fari Salievski who took the number one spot.
Salievski is the head coach of Martin "The Situ-Asian" Nguyen who made a stunning victory in 2017, grabbing two world-title belts in different divisions.

Nguyen shocked the world by defeating Folayang in a well-executed counter punch that led the former champion lying on the canvass.

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