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Guiao, 5 other sports celebs headed for victory in political bids


Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) coach Yeng Guiao, former player-turned sports analyst Jason Webb and other retired PBA superstars are some of the athletes that won in their respective political bids in this year’s first Automated National Elections. Guiao, a five-time PBA champion coach and current Air21 mentor, is expected to get a fresh mandate as Pampanga’s vice governor. The son of former provincial governor Bren, Guiao is running for reelection and is leading more than 100,000 votes over Marcos Jose Lazatin. Guiao garnered 367,045 votes while his lone rival, Lazatin, had 244,360 with close to 90 percent of election returns (ER) had been tallied. "We expect him to win," said Air21 team manager and PBA chairman Lito Alvarez. Webb, the son of former Senator and former Olympian Freddie Webb, is currently in third place in the race for one of the seven council seats in the first district of Parañaque. With 85.88 percent of ERs counted, the former Tanduay and Sta. Lucia playmaker, who now works as a PBA television analyst, already earned 40,593 votes behind Eric Olivarez and singer Roselle Nava. Yoyong Martires and Atoy Co, a former PBA MVP, are also winning their respective political battles in Pasig City. Martires, the PBA’s former spitfire, is expected to get a fresh three-year term as Pasig City vice mayor with 124,256 votes while Hall of Famer Co occupies seventh place (42,417) in the seven-member council in the first district. Former La Salle big man Francis Zamora and ex-PBA rookie of the year Gerald Esplana are the other sports personalities who have won elective posts. Zamora defeated rival Alexander Enriquez by more than 40,000 votes in the battle for San Juan City’s vice mayoralty post while Esplana is ranked fourth among the bidders seeking for council seats in Valenzuela’s first district. Esplana garnered 47,429 votes with still less than 15 percent ERs to be counted. Player-turned comedian Joey Marquez, Air21 assistant coach Rhoel Nadurata, former Crispa Redmanizer Tito Varela and ex-La Salle mentor Franz Pumaren were unlucky in their respective political bids. Marquez, who played for Ginebra and Great Taste, is a far third in his bid to reclaim his former post as Parañaque City mayor, Nadurata lost in his bid for a council seat in Caloocan City’s second district while Varela was unlucky in his attempt to represent Caloocan City’s first district in the House of Representatives. Pumaren, meanwhile, was also unsuccessful in trying to win the representative position in Quezon City’s third district. – JVP/Rey Joble, GMANews.TV

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