My Fair Lady Remake to Air on TV5 Next Week

‘My Fair Lady’ airs starting this Monday at 9:30 p.m. on TV5. It will star Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Vin Abrenica and Luis Alandy. (Photo credit: TV5/My Fair Lady TV5 Official Facebook)

It seems like TV5 is having fun remaking Koreanovelas that were previously aired on another network.

After the remake of ‘The Baker King’, it is now the turn of ‘My Fair Lady’ to embrace the TV5 airwaves. The new adaptation will be led by Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Vin Abrenica and Luis Alandy, and will replace the former starting this Monday.

Like ‘The Baker King’, the original ‘My Fair Lady’ never aired on TV5. Instead, it aired on ABS-CBN in 2011, as part of the Kapamilya Gold block.

The original series first aired in Korea in 2009, and earned high ratings and numerous awards in its home country despite airing only 16 60-minute episodes. It starred Yoon Eun-hye, Yoon Sang-hyun, Jung Il-woo, and Moon Chae-won.

Unlike several hit Koreanovelas, ABS-CBN chose to relinquish the rights to ‘My Fair Lady’ due to its low ratings. TV5 picked up the rights to the series early last year, with the intent towards producing a remake.

The remake of ‘My Fair Lady’ will air for only 30 minutes, in contrast to its Korean counterpart. There will be a few tweaks along the way, but overall, expect the adaptation to not deviate from the style and approach of the original.

Joining Jasmine, Vin and Luis on ‘My Fair Lady’ will be Chanel Morales, Katrina Legaspi, Eddie Gutierrez, Marjorie Barretto, Jenny Miller, DJ Durano, Joross Gamboa, and Yayo Aguila. The series will be directed by Ricky Rivero.

It will be interesting to see how the fans of the original ‘My Fair Lady’ will respond to the remake. That said, the onus is now on TV5 to create something memorable for their loyal viewers.

‘My Fair Lady’ airs weeknights starting September 14 at 9:30 p.m. on TV5.

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Proud Run for Gilas Pilipinas

While the Philippines finished with a silver medal, they were assured a trip to the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

Over 19,000 spectators, majority of which are Filipinos, filled the Mall of Asia Arena to watch the final of the FIBA Asia Championship. A lot was at stake, the foremost of which is the gold medal and a claim to be the best in Asia. Both the Philippines and Iran were assured a trip to Spain for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, but they still battled through 40 minutes of intense action in an effort to lay claim as Asia’s best team.

While Gilas Pilipinas fought toe-to-toe with the Iranians, the law of averages eventually caught up with them. Iran was too tall and too skilled to overcome, eventually winning the contest 85-71. Still, the loss did not dampen the Filipino spirit, as it showed throughout the tournament that whatever the Filipinos lacked in ceiling, they made it up with heart, grit and resiliency, traits that made this year’s Gilas Pilipinas team special.

All it took was full support from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the PBA, and the Filipino people, for making this possible. The PBA delayed it’s season-ending Governor’s Cup just to have its national team players practice and breed chemistry in time for the tournament. Though there were some obstacles along the way, Gilas Pilipinas made sure they make the most out of the preparations for the tournament. 

For eight playing days, Gilas Pilipinas fought with some of Asia’s best, and through those battles they somehow found ways to win all the way to the final. The most impressive victory for the nationals came on August 10 against Korea, beating them 86-79 in order to book a trip to the Basketball World Cup. Though a loss to Iran dropped them to a silver finish, it was a marked improvement from their 4th place finish in the 2011 tournament, one credited to the faith, planning and preparation of the players, coaches and management. 

With the successful hosting of the FIBA Asia Championship now in the books, the Filipino basketball scene returns to normal. The NCAA resumes the final few games of the first round today, while the UAAP second round and the PBA Governor’s Cup gets underway on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the next round of planning and preparation for Gilas Pilipinas begins today, this time for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain. It may be a long shot, but it is possible that the Philippines can finish impressively in the world stage.

The FIBA Asia Championship in Manila

The FIBA Asia Championship will be held in the Philippines for the first time in 40 years, and it will draw a 15-nation field.

For the first time in 40 years, the FIBA Asia Championship will be held in Manila. A majority of the matches will be held on the state-of-the-art Mall of Asia Arena, with Basketball TV as the primary broadcast partner and Sports5 as the secondary. The tournament will be held from August 1-11, with the first three days of the tournament dedicated for the group stage and the remaining eight days are for the knockout stages.

China is the defending champion in the 15-country tourney. Lebanon was stripped of participation from the tournament in the wake of tensions within the country and its basketball federation ; they were also stripped of hosting rights for the same reason. Other strong countries in the tournament are Iran, Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Korea. Host Philippines will be a dark horse in the tournament, considering the lack of success the country has had in international competitions.

To give full support to the national team, the PBA elected to delay its season-ending Governors Cup to the second week of August. This will give practice and bonding time for the national team, while giving the league franchises time to strengthen their rosters. The UAAP and NCAA also elected to start their seasons earlier than usual, with a two-week break in order to give way to the FIBA Asia Championship.

All matches involving the Philippine team will be seen on VHF channel TV5. Select other matches will be seen on UHF channel AksyonTV. The entirety of the FIBA Asia Championship will be on cable channel Basketball TV.

The medal winners in the tournament are granted automatic qualification spots for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

To the participating nations in the tournament, best of luck to all.