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Source: Ronnie Nathanielsz, PhilBoxing

-- In the eyes of conditioning expert Alex Ariza, pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao can do no wrong when he trains for a fight.

On his second day of sparring at the Wild Card Gym of multi-titled trainer Freddie Roach, Pacquiao went three rounds with a former sparring mate who helped him prepare for the Ricky Hatton fight but whose name Ariza couldn’t recall although he said he was undefeated with a record of 11-0 and two rounds with Brian Brooks who took another beating and is likely to be replaced.

Ariza said the workout “went real well and Manny was fantastic.” He said the black kid who went three rounds with Pacquiao was good but “Manny looked phenomenal.”

Ariza said Pacquiao “is just on top of his game really and this is only the first week.”

Meantime Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told us he and Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and the $1.2 billion state-of-the-art stadium where Pacquiao will defend his WBO welterweight title against Ghana’s Joshua Clottey will fly to Mexico City and Monterrey to promote “The Event” since there are several Mexican fighters on the card.

Arum said they will have a huge press conference to promote the undercard which will feature Jose Luis Castillo against Alfonso Gomez and former world champion Antonio Margarito who makes a comeback after serving a one year suspension by the California Athletic Commission for loaded hand-wraps in his fight against Miguel Cotto.

Margarito will fight American Carson Jones while Irish middleweight John Duddy will also see action on the card.

Arum also indicated that Clottey would return to the US from Accrta, Ghana on Tuesday to resume training and should his trainer not get his US visa renewed Clottey would have to work with a new trainer from the US.

Arum didn’t wish to talk about the reported May 1 clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Sugar Shane Mosley indicating he would go ahead with his plans for Pacquiao and not worry about what Golden Boy Promotions or the Mayweather camp say or do.

Source: Mark Vester, Boxing Scene

-- Floyd Mayweather Jr. recently spoke to DJ Whoo Kid about his upcoming fight with WBA welterweight champion Shane Mosley on May 1 and the broken negotiations to make a deal for a fight with Manny Pacquiao. Mayweather said the Mosley fight is done for May 1. He plans to start training very soon and the pre-fight hype will begin in the next few days.

"Me and Shane Mosley is May 1st. It's just another obstacle that I have to accomplish and it's just another obstacle that I have to cross. You go with what makes business sense first. At first Pacquiao, that fight made a lot of sense. So you go to second option when the first option don't work," Mayweather said.

Mayweather was in talks to fight Manny Pacquiao on March 13. The two fighters could not agree on the contract clause for random drug tests. Pacquiao agreed to take an unlimited amount of urine tests and random bloods tests until 24 days before the fight. Mayweather wanted blood tests until 14 days before the fight. Talks broke off and Pacquiao signed to fight Joshua Clottey.

Mayweather pointed at Pacquiao's fast rise over the last few years as the reason he took a hard line with the random drug tests. He said Pacquiao was an ordinary fighter who became a pound for pound sensation as he got older.

"What people don't know about the sport of boxing. In a fighter's career, a fighter starts off good and he's good until the end of his career or a fighter starts off good and then goes downhill towards the end of his career. A fighter doesn't start off like Manny Pacquiao, just ordinary, and then once he gets over the age of 25 he becomes and extraordinary fighter. It just doesn't work like that in this sport of boxing," Mayweather said.

Mosley has agreed to take random urine and blood tests for the May 1 clash. Mayweather plans to request random drug tests for every future opponent. He claims it's his way to clean up the sport of boxing.

"I'm just trying to clean up sports period. He's not the only one who has to take a random drug test. I do too. I never met anyone in sports history who didn't want to take a $25 million dollar drug test. All drugs don't show up in your urine. All I say is to random drug test me or any other fighters. At one particular time in the sport of boxing they didn't take HIV tests. Now they take HIV tests. In one particular time in the sport of boxing, you weighed in the morning of the fight and now you weigh in the day before the fight," Mayweather said.

Source: Philippine Star

-- The 2010 Smart-Abap National Open came to a close in this tree-dotted city Friday with a handful of boxers expected to clinch a slot in the national youth team.

Upon witnessing the grueling five-day tourney at the Puerto Princesa coliseum, the panel of national coaches was impressed with the performance of Davao del Norte’s Victorio Saludar and Mark Anthony Barriga, Davao City’s Engelbert Moralde, Misamis Oriental’s Albert Pagala and Bago City’s James Palicte, giving them a good chance of making the national youth squad that will see action in the Olympic qualifying tourney in Baku, Azerbaijan in April and the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympics in August.

The hard-hitting Saludar crushed Kevin James Gob of Tayabas City with 1:35 left in the first round to capture the youth boys’ bantamweight crown while Barriga won over Albert Sumugat of Palawan A, 21-5, to rule the junior boys’ pinweight class.

Moralde clobbered Jeff Rodriguez of Puerto Princesa C, 12-3, to win the junior boys’ light flyweight title while Pagala and Palicte dominated Mario Fernandez of Ablayan, Bukidnon, 18-4, and Robert Tompong of Palawan A, 15-9, to conquer the junior boys’ flyweight and bantamweight titles, respectively.

“These are the boxers that we’re looking at,” said RP Team head coach Pat Gaspi, who watched at the sidelines along with fellow mentors Roel Velasco, Boy Catolico and Romeo Brin.

The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines needs five boxers in the boys and nine from the girls division to complete the squad.

Davao del Norte of Cong. Anton Lagdameo copped the overall title with six gold, one silver and five bronze medals.

The other winners:

Junior: Niel John Tabanao of Davao del Norte (light bantamweight), Mark Vincent Fernandez of Tagbilaran City (featherweight ), Jhon Merced of Puerto Princesa C (pinweight), Glen Cantaveros of Davao del Norte (light flyweight), Jolan Bughanoy of Davao del Norte (flyweight), Carlo Suelo of Palawan A (featherweight), Jheritz Chavez of Mandaluyong (lightweight), Dennis Galvan of Bago City (welterweight).

Kids: Ian Jan Fabia of Puerto Princesa City B (kiddie weight), Romel Tunacao of Mandaue City (cotton), Rafael Jalnaiz of Misamis Oriental (vacuum), Robert Miguel Jalnaiz of Misamis Oriental (ant weight), Arville Olaivar of Tagbilaran (minimum) and Ronnel Tagmolia of Bago City (powder)

Boys: Michael Bahena of Bago City (light mosquito)), Elimir Marcial (mosquito), Joven Labordo of Bacolod City (light paper), Alvin Sibugan of Bacolod City (paper), Cholen Albago of Bago City (light pin), Geo Rafa of Tayabas City (pin), John Bryan Noces of Calinan, Davao (light fly) and Joshua de Vero of Bamban, Tarlac (bantam).

Source: GMA News

Standings after 12 rounds:

8.5 points – A. Giri (Netherlands)

7.5 - A. Naiditsch (Germany), H. Ni (China), E.l’ Ami (Netherlands)

7.0 – W. So (RP)

6.0 – D. Howell (England), P. Negi (India). P. Harikrishna (India)

5.5 – E. Sutovsky (Israel)

5.0 – A. Muzychuk (Slovenia), L. Nisipeanu (Romania)

4.5 – T. Nyback (Finland), D. Reinderman (Nethelrands)

3.5 - V. Akobian (US)

-- GM Wesley So of the Philippines battled GM David Howell of England to a quiet, positional game before settling for a draw in 20 moves of the French Tarrasch in the 12th and penultimate round of the 72nd Corus chess tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

So, who looked spent after his heartbreaking loss to GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the previous round, responded to Howell’s 1.e4 with the French defense which served him well during the 2009 World Chess Cup and initiated an early battle for control of the center.

But Howell, who played board three for England during the World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany in 2008, came up with precise counterplay to earn a draw with the higher-rated Filipino champion.

When the game was drawn, Howell and So had the same number of pieces on the board – queen, two rooks, bishop, knight and six pawns each.

The standoff left the 16-year-old So with a 12-round total of seven points, 1.5 points behind his 10th-round tormentor Giri with only one round remaining in the prestigious category-16 tournament.

So also stood half point behind top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany, GM Ni Hua of China and GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands, who shared second to fourth spots in Group B.

So’s opponent in the 13th and final round is lone female participant IM Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia.

Muzychuk, the 19-year-old campaigner from Lviv, Ukraine who adopted Slovenian citizenship in 2004, holds the distinction as the only player to beat Giri during the two-week long competition in this small resort town in Northern Holland.

Giri, the 15-year-old son of a Nepalese father and a Russian mother, will go for the title when he meets GM Parimarjan Negi of India in the final round.

Naiditsch and l’Ami will battle each other, while Ni will take on GM Dimitri Reinderman of the Netherlands.

In Group A, top seed GM Magnus Carlsen of Norway drew with GM Pete Leko of Hungary to take a slim half-point lead over erstwhile co-leader GM Vladimir Kramnik of Russia and GM Alexei Shirov of Spain.

Kramnik lost to world champion GM Viswanathan Anand, while Shirov drew with GM Sergey Karjakin of Russia.

Overall, Carlsen tallied eight points against 7.5 points by Kramnik and Shirov.

Anand moved up to solo fourth place with seven points.

In the final round Sunday, Carlsen will play white against GM Fabiano Caruana of Italy.

Kramnik will meet Karjakin, Shirov will tackle GM Leinier Dominguez of Cuba and Anand will battle Loek van Wely of the Netherlands.

Source: GMA News

-- He only has seven weeks to train for his March 13 title defense against Joshua Clottey of Ghana but Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao assured everyone that it would be enough to get him geared up for the showdown at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Now on his second week of training at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, Pacquiao shrugged off concerns about the build-up for Clottey being shorter than his usual eight-week camps.

“No (it's not a concern), training is good. Right now I have pretty good movement. I am throwing good combinations and I will be ready for the fight on March 13," Pacquiao said in an interview with 8 Count News.

The 31-year-old Pacquiao has started sparring last Friday, thoroughly dominating a bigger Bryan Brooks, whom trainer Freddie Roach is already considering to drop as sparmate.

Assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez said Pacquiao is right on schedule in so far as getting into his rhythm is concerned.

“Na-impress kami kasi first day pa lang, gagalaw na siya nang ganon kaganda," Fernandez said in a TV interview with GMA News. “Usually kasi yung ganoong galaw mga two days, three days ng sparring lumalabas. Ngayon, talagang nakita natin na nilabas niya agad."

The relatively shorter gap between his last outing (Nov. 14 against Miguel Cotto) and the start of training for the Clottey gig this month also contributed to this fast progress.

“Siguro dahil hindi masyadong malayo ang gap ng huling laban at yung condition ko, hindi naman masyadong nawala (after the Cotto fight) kaya konting tune-up lang, nandyan na agad (rhythm)," Pacquiao told GMA News.

Team Pacquiao, as always, will be banking on the Pacman’s vaunted speed and power against the tough Clottey.

“(The difference will be) speed. The thing is that everybody has an asset and it’s not a secret why we can compete at this level at this weight. Manny Pacquiao has speed and power and that’s the key to winning the fight," said Roach.

The Hall of Fame trainer said they will try to break down Clottey, who has never been knocked out before.

“He has a passive defense and leaves his body wide open for a while when he puts his hands up…When we dig to the body and break him down, I think we can get him out of there," Roach said.

Still, knowing Clottey's durability, Roach said Team Pacquiao will prepare to go "12 hard rounds" against the Bronx-based Ghanaian.

Source: GMA News

Standings after 11 rounds:

8.0 points – A. Giri (Netherlands)

7.0 - H. Ni (China), E. L’Ami (Netherlands)

6.5 – W. So (RP), A. Naiditch (Germany)

6.0 – P. Negi (India)

5.5 – P. Harikrishna (India), D. Howell (England)

5.0 – E. Sutovsky (Israel), A. Muzychuk (Slovenia)

4.5 – L. Nisipeanu (Romania)

4.0 – D. Reinderman (Netherlands)

3.5 – T. Nyback (Finland)

3.0 – V. Akobian (US)

-- GM Wesley So of the Philippines did everything right for most part against solo leader GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands until he threw it away with a horrible blunder leading to a mate in two in the 11th round of the Corus chess tournament at the De Moriane Community Centre.

So defended very well against Giri’s relentless kingside attack that culminated with a sacrifice of two pieces and reached the endgame with basically a winning game in his hands.

But the 16-year-old Filipino suddenly blundered with his knight push to e2 on the 36th move, allowing the lower-rated but hard-fighting Dutch to checkmate him with a rook and queen in two moves.

The win enabled Giri, the 15-year-old Russian-born son of a Nepalese hydrologist working in a research firm in the Dutch capital, to widen his lead to a full point with only two rounds remaining in this prestigious category-16 tournament.

Giri now has eight points, a full point ahead of GM Ni Hua of China and GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands.

Ni halved the point with GM Pentala Harikirshna of India, while l’Ami drew with IM Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia.

So, on the other hand, dropped to a share of fourth to fifth places with top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany.

Experts who watched the game opined that So might have tried again to blitz an opponent under time pressure.

“Until that unfortunate giveaway, So was clearly the better player in this game. It's probably a blessing that he sees the consequence of unnecessary blitzing while he's winning. If he keeps this lesson in mind, he will dominate Giri for the rest of their chess careers," noted one analyst.

"Wesley had about 28 minutes to Giri’s one. But he has a bad habit of trying to blitz an opponent under time pressure. He got away with it once in this tournament, but not a second time. This is a tough lesson for him to learn, but should help him in the long run," added another expert.

In a match that could decide the champion in this 14-player Group B tournament, So opened with 1.e4.

But Giri, who holds the record as the world’s youngest active GM, deviated from his usual Sicilian and responded with the Petroff defense (1….e5 2. Nf3 Nf6). He launched an attack and sacrificed his knight then his bishop to open up lines towards So’s king.

Although So defended well, Giri found some inaccuracies and persevered until the Filipino’s blunder.

Source: ABS-CBN News

-- Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants needed a couple of crucial defensive stops in the end to deny Rain or Shine Elasto Painters game 1 of their best-of-5 quarterfinal series in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

James Yap hit a game-high 31 points while Roger Yap preserved the 90-85 win for the Giants with a key deflection of Sol Mercado’s pass in the closing seconds.

Roger Yap added 17 points for No. 3 seed Purefoods while Kerby Raymundo chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“We really expected a tough Game 1 because the momentum is on their side,” said Giants head coach Ryan Gregorio.

“I told the players that in the end, defense will bail us out. We had key steals and key stops and made crucial free throws that were enough to win Game 1,” he added.

Ryan Arana had 19 points for the No. 9 seed Elasto Painters, who had to go through the tough wildcard stage before earning a spot in the quarterfinals.

The Elasto Painters almost pulled off another shocker against the well-rested Giants. They fought them toe-to-toe the whole game, but crucial mistakes down the stretch cost them the series opener.

Purefoods was holding an 85-78 advantage on back-to-back triples by James Yap and Roger Yap with 4:02 left, but Rain or Shine got back in the game with a 7-3 exchange to threaten at 85-88 with 2:08 remaining.

After both teams exchanged empty possessions, the Elasto Painters had the chance to move closer after Raymundo muffed a 12-foot jumper in the previous play.

But Mercado, the hero in Rain or Shine’s twin victories in the wildcard stage, committed a crucial error as his pass was deflected by Roger Yap, resulting in a foul by the Elasto Painters guard.

The two players were actually given a technical foul each for taunting after the play.

Roger Yap split his free throws to give the Giants an 89-85 cushion with 28.3 ticks left, and Eddie Laure’s three-point attempt was way off the mark to hand Purefoods the win.

“There will be no celebration yet. It takes 3 wins to win the series. I expect Rain or Shine to play its hearts out on Sunday,” said Gregorio.

Mercado finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Laure added 16. Gabe Norwood had a quiet 12-point performance on 5-of-13 shooting from the field.

Texters clobber Kings

Defending champion Talk ‘N Text withstood Barangay Ginebra’s rally in the third quarter and scored a 107-92 to grab a 1-0 lead in their own best-of-five quarterfinal series.

Jason Castro led the Tropang Texters’ balanced attack with 20 points in 26 minutes and added 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

Jimmy Alapag chipped in 19 while Harvey Carey contributed 13 points and 13 rebounds for Talk ‘N ext, which led by as much as 22 points in the second quarter before the Kings exploded for 33 points in the third period to get back in the game.

“We knew they will make a run and at halftime, I told the players not to lose our heads,” said Tropang Texters head coach Chot Reyes.

“But we also did a good job on their wingmen. When Ginebra made the run in the eliminations, it was because of the trio of JC Intal, Cyrus Baguio and Ronad Tubid. We were able to limit Tubid tonight,” he added.

Intal led the Kings with 19 points while Enrico Villanueva added 16. Baguio finished with 12 but Tubid was held down to just 2 on 1-of-8 shooting from the field.

Source: Joseph Pimentel, ABS-CBN News

-- Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao concluded his first day of sparring on Thursday (Friday in Manila) by dominating journeyman boxer Bryan Brooks in four rounds.

“I feel good. I’m very well conditioned. My opponent was big. I did well against him. I’m happy and my coach is happy,” said Pacquiao.

Roach said Pacquiao followed the game plan well during the four-round sparring session. He also said Brooks was hurt a few times while sparring with the pound-for-pound king.

“[Pacquiao] did really well. He’s already following the game plan. This was a good sparring partner for Shane Mosley but I don’t think I’m going to bring him back… he got hurt a few times. Manny was too much for him,” he said.

He added: "Yes, he did whatever he wanted too. He was playing with him a little bit. He likes to play with his audience a little bit … overall, it was a great day."

Pacquiao will be facing Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, Texas on March 13.

The 7-time world champion is heavily favored to win the bout but Roach is not taking any precautions. He did not allow any media members to film the sparring session or mitt work.

Pacquiao also believes they have their work cut out for them. He said Clottey is a tough, durable opponent. In 39 fights, the boxer from Ghana has never been knocked out.

“Clottey is strong and sturdy. He can take a punch and has a good defense. This is not going to be an easy fight,” said the Filipino.

Roach said that the key to beat Clottey is Pacquiao’s quickness

“Don’t stand in front of him. Use lateral movement, in-and-outs and side-to-side pretty much because he’s a big strong guy but again boxing ability is going to win this, not size,” said Roach.

If Thursday’s sparring session was an indicator of how the fight will be against Clottey, then Clottey has his work cut out for him.

Source: Dan Rafael, espn.go.com

-- Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have agreed to terms for a welterweight super fight, Mayweather adviser Leonard Ellerbe said Friday.

Although the contracts are not signed, "all of the deal points have been agreed to," Ellerbe said. "We still have to put pen to paper, but everything is agreed to. It's with the lawyers. Shane is a great fighter, one of the best of his era, and so is Floyd. It's going to be a great fight. It's a fight fans have wanted to see for a long time."

Assuming the paperwork is signed, Mosley will defend his welterweight title against Mayweather on May 1 on HBO PPV at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Ellerbe said that he expected the paperwork to be completed in the next few days with a formal announcement likely next week.

The fight came together after an unexpected turn of events.

First, Mayweather became available for a fight three weeks ago when negotiations with pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao disintegrated. They had agreed to all terms for a March 13 fight that loomed as the biggest in boxing -- except for a drug testing protocol.

They had agreed to random urine testing, but Mayweather also wanted random blood testing, even though that is not required under the rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Pacquiao agreed only to three blood tests, but none within 24 days of the fight, and the third one immediately after the bout.

Mayweather has alluded to Pacquiao using performance-enhancing drugs, even though he has never produced any evidence, and Floyd Mayweather Sr. has outright said he believes Pacquiao uses.

The rancor over the drug testing issue caused the fight to fall apart and Pacquiao moved on. He will defend his version of the 147-pound title against former titlist Joshua Clottey on March 13 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Then Mosley became available two weeks ago. He was scheduled to meet Andre Berto in a title unification bout at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Saturday night. However, Berto, a Haitian-American, withdrew from the bout after eight members of his extended family were killed in the earthquake in Haiti.

Immediately after the cancellation of Mosley-Berto, Mosley and Mayweather -- the former welterweight champ and pound-for-pound king until giving up the mantle during a brief retirement -- began negotiating.

"The negotiations were very cordial and went very smoothly," Ellerbe said.

Mosley has agreed to undergo random blood and urine testing, as has Mayweather, Ellerbe said.

Mosley has admitted to using PEDs and was connected to the BALCO scandal. Although he publicly denied using PEDs for years, Mosley admitted during grand jury testimony, which was later released, that he used designer steroids "the clear" and "the cream" and injected himself with EPO, a blood oxygen enhancer, during the lead-up to his 2003 rematch with Oscar De La Hoya. Mosley said he took the steroids unknowingly.

"Floyd only wants to be sure of an even playing field no matter who he fights," Ellerbe said.

Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs), a five-division champion, and Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs), a three-division champion, have seemingly been on a collision course since the late 1990s, when Mosley was lightweight champion and Mayweather was junior lightweight champion.

Although their careers took different paths, talk of a potential fight heated back up in 2006 after Mosley's two knockouts of Fernando Vargas, but talks never got too serious.

However, Mosley stepped up his call for a fight with Mayweather, 32, last year after Mayweather ended his 18-month retirement. After Mayweather easily beat lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in a lopsided decision in September, Mosley crashed his post-fight interview in the ring and called him out to his face.

It didn't look like Mosley would get the fight because two months later, Pacquiao knocked out Miguel Cotto and talks began for Pacquiao-Mayweather.

Mosley, 38, hasn't fought since last January, when he upset Antonio Margarito to win his title via ninth-round knockout.

Source: David Mayo,The Grand Rapids Press

-- Floyd Mayweather’s adviser said he saw no remaining hang-ups in negotiations for a Shane Mosley fight and said an announcement “definitely” would come next week.

“We’re very close,” Leonard Ellerbe said. “There are no hang-ups. It’s just all the legal-beagle stuff now.”

The fight will be scheduled May 1 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, presumably for Mosley’s World Boxing Association welterweight title.

Mosley-Mayweather has been in the works since the proposed Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight fell through earlier this month. Mosley’s fight against Andre Berto, originally scheduled Saturday, subsequently was canceled, with Berto citing the earthquake tragedy in Haiti, where he has family.

Mosley-Mayweather has been close to finalized for two weeks. It was only a matter of hammering out details.

Random blood and urine testing, which was at the heart of the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiation failure, has not been a problem for Mosley-Mayweather.

“We’ve agreed to all the major deal points and Mosley has agreed to the random testing. I don’t foresee any problems at all,” Ellerbe said.

He added that he does not expect an announcement until after this weekend.

“Whether it’s this week or next week, what’s the urgency?” Ellerbe said. “It’s just the normal stuff that goes on with any huge, huge fight.”

Source: ABS-CBN News

-- Ready and confident.

That was how RP pool team manager Edgar "Malabon" Acaba described the condition of the 6-man Philippine team that left the country Thursday to participate in the inaugural World Team Cup Championship in Hannover, Germany.

“I see our team being installed among the Top 10 favored teams in the tournament,” said Acaba, vice president of the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines (BSCP).

The RP team left Manila at 11:30am via KLM Airlines for the tournament which will take place from January 30 to February 7 at Hall 13 in the Hannover Exhibition Grounds, Hannover.

“Our team will be composed of six players, who have played impressively in the World Ten Ball Championship, the Philippine National Championship and other international tournaments,” said Acaba.

The team is composed of 2-time national pool titlist Lee Vann “The Slayer” Corteza, WPA 9-ball and 8-ball champion Ronato “Volcano” Alcano, former World No. 1 Dennis “Robocop” Orcollo, former Asian Snooker champion Marlon “Marvelous” Manalo, Villar Cup champion Warren Kiamco and Japan champion Antonio “Nikoy” Lining.

The team is backed by BSCP under the leadership of its president Sebastian “Baste” Chua and chairman Florentino “Yen” Makabenta.

They will play in a tough, point-system tournament patterned after the famous Davis Cup in international tennis.

“Germany, England, the United States, Japan, Chinese Taipei and China are touted as the favorites, but the teams of Mika Immonen [Finland], Marcus Chamat [Sweden] and Neils Feijen [Netherlands] may not get the support they need to make their teams more formidable,” said Acaba.

Teams will compete in three disciplines: 8-Ball, 9-Ball and 10-Ball. The 8-Ball will be played in a Double Scotch format and bears two points for every team. The 9-Ball and 10-Ball will have a point each.

Added attraction in the $400,000 total pot prize tournament is the participation of “Prince of Brunei”, Al Muhtadee Billah in the 200 player event.

Source: AFP

-- Boxing promoter Oscar De La Hoya says despite a bitter ongoing feud outside of the ring, he hasn’t given up trying to convince Filipino Manny Pacquiao to fight his client Floyd Mayweather.

“That fight has to happen,” De La Hoya said Tuesday of the proposed bout which fell apart earlier this month in a drug-testing dispute.

“It’s too big not to happen. We just have to cross one hurdle.”

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday to promote a non-title junior welterweight fight, De La Hoya said Mayweather and Pacquiao will fight sooner than people think.

Pacquiao, boxing’s pound-for-pound king, is scheduled to square off against Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Texas on March 13.

Mayweather and Pacquiao almost cut a deal this month, but claimed they couldn't agree on a 10-day gap in the timing of drug tests prior to their proposed March 13 bout.

“The public will hopefully make him change his mind,” De La Hoya said. “Why would you not want to earn 40 million dollars? Why would you not want to show the public that all this speculation is nonsense? Be the one to stand up and say it.”

De La Hoya also said Mayweather and Shane Mosley are in talks to possibly meet May 1, likely in Las Vegas.

Source: GMA News

-- Reigning titlist De La Salle continued its unbeaten rampage in the 72nd UAAP women’s volleyball tournament, notching its 10 straight win at the expense of Far Eastern U, 25-16, 25-23, 25-14 Wednesday at The Arena in San Juan.

Stephanie Mercado punched in 13 spikes while last year’s Best Blocker Jacqueline Alarca also contributed nine hits, three service aces and a block as the Lady Archers formally clinched the first Final Four seat and stood four games away from a two-round sweep.

“Just like I’ve said before, we’re not thinking of a sweep. Basta one game at a time lang kami and so far, maganda naman ang tinatakbo ng team," said La Salle mentor Ramil de Jesus, whose wards have actually won 12 straight games dating back to last year’s finals.

FEU, which was led by Cherry May Vivas’ 15 points, dropped to solo fifth place with an even 5-5 win-loss slate.

La Salle’s rivals, Ateneo, also pulled off a victory, repeating over tailender National University, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22, in the other game.

It was the Lady Eagles’ sixth win in 10 outings which tied them with the Adamson Lady Falcons in third to fourth positions and enhanced their chances to make it to the semis.

Fille Cainglet led the Lady Eagles with 13 markers, backstopped by Angeline Gervacio who had 10.

Source: ABS-CBN News
-- Joshua Clottey made a bold statement to his fellow Ghanaians, saying that he will shock the world by defeating 7-time world champion Manny Pacquiao on March 13.


“I am taking this fight not for the money but to win the title. I know it’s Pacquiao but I don’t want people thinking that Manny is super, that nobody can beat him. He is a human being like me. He has lost three times and I have also lost three times. We speak, laugh and share jokes together. I promise that I will dethrone him,” Clottey said in a press conference in Accra, Ghana as quoted by GhanaWeb.com.

Clottey, a former International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight champion, continued: “He is beatable and as such I will put up my very best fight ever in my career to ensure that I beat him.”

Clottey (35-3, with 20 knockouts) promised to make his country proud by scoring a win against Pacquiao.

“I will ensure that Ghana's flag is raised very high in the USA by accounting for the Filipino,” he said.

The 32-year-old Ghanaian plans to wrest the World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title from Pacquiao (50-3-2, 38 KOs) when they clash at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.


Easy win for Pacman?

A former trainer of Pacquiao, however, thinks that Clottey has no chance against the Filipino boxing superstar.

“I think this is a kind of an easy fight for Manny. Clottey is bigger and is physically stronger but Manny’s got everything else. He’s got the speed, he’s got the skills plus Clottey is a blocker. It's almost like if Manny goes out there and throws punches in bunches, he doesn’t have to hit him hard,” American Rick Stehely told Ronnie Nathanielsz of PhilBoxing.com.

According to Nathanielsz, Stehely handled Pacquiao when he defeated Thai Chatchai Sasakul to win his first world title, the World Boxing Council (WBC) flyweight belt, in 1998.

He even predicted that Pacquiao “should win a very easy twelve-round decision or possibly stop Clottey late like he did with (Miguel) Cotto.”

The Filipino boxing sensation defeated Cotto by a technical knockout in the 12th round last November at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to his TKO defeat, Cotto won over Clottey via split decision at the Madison Square Garden in New York last June.

Ghana behind Clottey

Clottey, meanwhile, thanked the Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) members for organizing the press conference.

“I am encouraged by what I am seeing and hearing today and for the first time I am thinking about the nation which will make things harder for Manny Pacquiao. The nation didn’t support us much in the past but if now they are ready to get behind us, that is the best motivation I can get. And I promise to win the title for Ghana.”

Boxing Hall of Famer Azumah Nelson also showed his support for his fellow Ghanaian.

“My fear is that Manny Pacquiao is a southpaw because they are hard to fight but Joshua has given us an assurance that he knows how to fight southpaws so I am relieved,” he said.

“I will advise Joshua to train hard but I know him and I know that he will not rest. We will be there to support him physically and mentally,” added Nelson, who is the GBA technical director.

National Sports Council of Ghana CEO Worlanyo Agrah, meantime, assured that Ghana's spirit will be with Clottey.

“The nation is with you in spirit and we pray to God to guide you unto victory. The NSC will also take over the visa issue so that Alloway can travel with Joshua,” said Agrah.

Nathanielsz wrote that the visa problem of Clottey’s assistant and trainer has been fixed already. The Ghanaian is expected to go to the United States on Friday to train in Florida.

Pacquiao already began his training camp in Los Angeles, California. He is set to start sparring on Thursday at Roach's Wildcard Gym.

Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News

Corus Group B Standings after Round 10:

7 points - GM Anish Giri (Netherlands)
6.5 points - GM Wesley So (Philippines), GM Erwin L'Ami (Netherlands), GM Ni Hua (China)
6 points - GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)
5.5 points - GM Parimarjan Negi (India)
5 points - GM Pentala Harikrishna (India), GM David Howell (England)
4.5 points - GM Emil Sutovsky (Israel), WGM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine)
4 points - GM Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania)
3.5 points - GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands)
3 points - GM Tomi Nyback (Finland)
2.5 points - GM Varuzhan Akobian (United States)

-- Filipino Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So turned back Finnish GM Tomi Nyback after 46 moves of Slav defense using the disadvantageous black pieces to create a 3-way tie for 2nd place in the 72nd Corus International Chess Championship Group B.

The 16-year-old So currently has 6.5 points after winning his 10th round match on Wednesday at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.

Dutch GM Erwin L'Ami and Chinese GM Ni Hua were also in 2nd place with 6.5 points.

Ami split the point with GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania after 21 moves of King's Indian Classical while Ni settled a truce with GM Parimarjan Negi of India after 51 moves of Gruenfeld defense.

Overnight leader GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands remained on top with 7 points. The Dutch champion, a teen of Nepali origin, drew with top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany after 22 moves of Semi-Tarrasch Defence.

National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President/Chairman Prospero Pichay, Jr. said: “We (NCFP) hope that Wesley can maintain his momentum going to the last three rounds.”

Pichay and Filway Marketing Inc. CEO/President Hector Tagaysay funded So’s Netherlands trip.

Source: Joey Villar, Philippine Star

-- Smart Gilas Pilipinas may just end up playing all-Filipino in this year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala yesterday said Smart Gilas might play without a naturalized player in the Asiad after team officials decided to drop top prospect Jamal Sampson from the roster.

“Well, that’s very possible, it’s actually possible,” said Eala at weekly PSA Forum at Shakey’s UN Ave. in Manila.

“But we will still try to see how we can get this big man come up and play immediately for the Asian Games, that’s why the choice had to be made with Jamal and now a new choice if we are to make a change,” Eala said.

He added that the injury-plagued Sampson proved to be a big disappointment during the team’s gulf trip in Doha, Qatar and Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“Seriously there is no one yet, that’s how serious we are on Jamal. We thought he was the one, fortunately the trip to Dubai proved that he’s not,” said Eala.

“We’ve asked again our scouts but I think this time maybe coach Rajko (Toroman) might help me look up some players, it might be better for coach Rajko to actually scout so that he can really have a first hand say who this guy would be,” Eala said.

With time running out for the team, Eala said that Toroman can go to the US or maybe in the other tournaments outside the US to look for prospects.

Toroman also voiced out his disappointment over Sampson, who sat out in some crucial Team RP games in the 21st Dubai Invitational where Smart Gilas finished a strong third.

“Everybody was very disappointed with Jamal Sampson. Jamal is a good player, he is excellent for our team, strong, tall, good rebounder, exactly what we need. But he was always injured,” said Toroman.

“I’m just talking about sacrificing for the team and how somebody can handle the pain because if you can’t handle the pain, you will never play in big games and can’t contribute in the team,” he said.

Meanwhile, Smart Gilas is scheduled to play in Australia against teams from the National Basketball League, before flying to Belgrade, Serbia in early April for another training then in the US and Canada from late April to early May to play some pick up games in Las Vegas and against collegiate teams plus a possibly pair of matches with Canadian national team in Vancouver.

From there, Smart Gilas will see action in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup – the same tournament where it finished fifth in Jakarta, Indonesia last year – in Doha, then play some exhibition games with New Zealand, reigning Asian champion Iran and either Japan or Korea in Manila, the Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei in July and the FIBA-Asia Stankovic Cup in Beirut, Lebanon in August.

The team will fly again to the US to play NCAA Division I schools in October before competing in the Asian Games.

“It’s going to be a very hectic year, our estimate is that we will be playing about 80 international games this year and I think its more than what PBA teams get and really it’s a fantastic exposure for Smart Gilas,” said Eala.

“It was a positive experience and it’s a big boost for the morale of the team,” said skipper Chris Tiu. “I’ve realized our team have improved, we were able to adapt to the system of coach Rajko. It was tough in the beginning but we’ve learned to perfect it a little more now.”

Source: Abac Cordero, Philippine Star

-- Manny Pacquiao kicks off his grueling training at the gym this week, which may include a series of sparring sessions as he steps up his buildup for the Josh Clottey fight on March 13.

Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, said it will mark the start of the tough plyometric and isometric exercises that should last for at least six weeks.

Depending on his condition, sparring may also begin this week, according to Ariza.

Meanwhile, Pacquiao made sure to break sweat even on his rest day by playing basketball in Burbank.

The Filipino boxing icon, after two hard days at the Wild Card Gym, went out with friends Sunday afternoon to play basketball, his only way of keeping himself and his adrenalin going when he’s out of the gym.

Pacquiao arrived in Los Angeles last Wednesday from a three-day press tour in Dallas and New York, and the following day put on his basketball shoes for some pick-up games with his LA buddies.

Friday and Saturday he was at the gym pounding the mitts with his chief trainer Freddie Roach, trying out his brand new pair of gold boxing gloves that match the color of his new tatoo, a scorching meteor, on his left arm.

According to insidesports.ph, Ariza was impressed with Pacquiao’s performance at the gym over the weekend, and the 31-year-old energizer looked like “he didn’t take time out.”

It was the first time Pacquiao hit the gym since posting a sensational and historic win over Miguel Cotto last Nov. 14 in Las Vegas to become the first fighter in history to win seven world titles in seven different weight classes.

The insidesport.ph report also said Pacquiao showed up at the gym just a shade under 150 lb, meaning there’s very little he would need to lose for the Clottey fight, scheduled March 13 and pegged at 147 lb.

Roach, who’s looking forward to a tough fight, is reportedly looking at Shawn Porter or Amir Khan to head Pacquiao’s sparring partners, 48 days before the fight set at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“He’ll be aggressive. He’ll try to kill us. He comes forward, he’s strong and he fights. That’s what he does. Its not a problem. I’m reviewing tapes on how Clottey handles lefties,” said Roach, as quoted by Pinoy boxing man Hermie Rivera.

Source: Associated Press

-- Oscar De La Hoya thinks his promotions company will soon wrap up a deal for Floyd Mayweather Jr. to fight Sugar Shane Mosley in May.

And after that, De La Hoya still believes Mayweather will meet Manny Pacquiao in the not-too-distant future.

"That fight has to happen," De La Hoya said on Tuesday of Mayweather-Pacquiao, which fell apart this month in a drug-testing dispute. "It's too big not to happen. We just have to cross one hurdle."

De La Hoya weighed in on the state of the welterweight division at a news conference to announce the next fight for Victor Ortiz, one of his junior welterweight proteges. Ortiz will headline the first Fight Night Club show of the new year at the downtown Club Nokia on Feb. 25.

De La Hoya, who runs Golden Boy Promotions with chief executive Richard Schaefer, says Mayweather and Mosley are in negotiations to meet on May 1, likely in Las Vegas. De La Hoya is eager to match Mosley, a Golden Boy partner, with Mayweather, who has been represented by Golden Boy in his recent negotiations.

"The various camps are working extremely hard to make it happen," De La Hoya said. "That's the fight that could really take boxing to another level, because it's two great American fighters meeting each other."

No matter the outcome of that proposed bout, De La Hoya believes Mayweather's path ultimately must cross with Pacquiao, the Filipino pound-for-pound king who will fight Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Texas on March 13. Mayweather and Pacquiao were achingly close to a deal this month, but couldn't close a 10-day gap in their preferences for the last session of drug testing before their proposed March 13 bout.

"The public will hopefully make him change his mind," De La Hoya said. "Why would you not want to earn $40 million? Why would you not want to show the public that all this speculation is nonsense? Be the one to stand up and say it."

Although Mayweather dislikes De La Hoya and usually limits his Golden Boy interaction to conversations with Schaefer, De La Hoya is firmly in Mayweather's corner in his apparent quest to bring a higher level of drug testing to boxing.

De La Hoya has fought two opponents who later acknowledged using steroids, beating Fernando Vargas in 2002 and losing a close decision to Mosley in 2003.

"I know where Mayweather is coming from with this," De La Hoya said. "This was a perfect stage to show the world that, hey, us fighters have nothing to hide. ... It's not like hitting a baseball or running a sprint. These are our lives at risk up in the ring."

De La Hoya believes Pacquiao eventually will agree to Mayweather's stringent drug-testing demands. Mayweather is thought to be demanding the same testing procedures for Mosley, who has acknowledging using designer steroids -- although claiming he did so unwittingly.

"I believe Mosley will raise his hand and say, 'Take me to the laboratory,"' said De La Hoya, who believes Mosley's protestations of ignorance in his dealings with BALCO. "And I'll be the first to applaud him."

De La Hoya is less forgiving of Antonio Margarito, the former welterweight champion caught using illegal hand wraps before a loss to Mosley last January in Los Angeles. Margarito was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission, but Top Rank is trying to get a license for Margarito to fight in Texas on the Pacquiao-Clottey undercard.

"I'm actually disgusted by the fact they're going over California and weaseling their way into Texas to get a license," De La Hoya said. "Whatever type of cheating you're doing, it's wrong. You should be banned for life."

Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News

Corus Group B Standings after Round 9:

6.5 points - GM Anish Giri (Netherlands)
6 points - GM Erwin L'Ami (Netherlands), GM Ni Hua (China)
5.5 points - GM Wesley So (Philippines), GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany)
5 points - GM Pentala Harikrishna (India), GM Parimarjan Negi (India)
4.5 points - GM David Howell (England)
4 points - GM Emil Sutovsky (Israel), WGM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine)
3.5 points - GM Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania)
3 points - GM Tomi Nyback (Finland)
2.5 points - GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands)
2 points - GM Varuzhan Akobian (United States)

-- Filipino Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So missed a chance to win the endgame of his Round 9 match in the ongoing 72nd Corus International Chess Championship Group B Tuesday night (Manila time).

His match against Israeli Emil Sutovsky ended in a fighting draw using the advantageous white pieces at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.

A series of exchanges left So a pawn up and he managed to simplify the position into a rook plus two knights endgame with the Filipino having a passed e-pawn in the center. It was now a matter of coordinating his pieces to continue creating threats.

The 16-year-old So’s e-pawn reached the 6th rank on his 35th move and Sutovsky, who is fresh from winning the Inventi GM event in Belgium, used his rook to block the pawn advance.

But the 32-year-old Sutovsky defended well and after an exchange of knights, So’s pawn could not make headway and a truce was declared after 42 pushes of Gruenfeld defense, Classical variation.

The Bacoor, Cavite native is currently in 3rd place with 5.5 points, the same output of top seed German GM Arkadij Naiditsch who beat So's 10th round opponent, Finnish GM Tomi Nyback, after 40 moves of Ruy Lopez Schliemann skirmish.

So’s Corus stint is being supported by Filway Marketing Inc. CEO/President Hector Tagaysay and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President/Chairman Prospero Pichay, Jr.

Dutch GM Anish Giri remains on top of the standings with 6.5 points despite yielding to Ukrainian Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Anna Muzychuk after 55 moves of Sicilian Rossolimo.

Second placers Dutch GM Erwin L'Ami and Chinese GM Ni Hua tallied 6 points each after winning their respective matches.

Ami downed British GM David Howell after 61 moves of French Tarrasch while Ni toppled American GM Varuzhan Akobian after 50 moves of Gruenfeld Defence.

Indian GM Pentala Harikrishna settled a truce with Romanian GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu after 24 moves of King's Indian defense while Indian GM Parimarjan Negi crushed Dutch GM Dimitri Reinderman after 40 moves of Sicilian Modern Dragon.

Source: Seconds Out

-- According to Maxboxing.com a verbal agreement has been reached between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley to face each other in May and an official announcement could be made as early as Friday.

Mayweather Jr was scheduled to face Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on March 13 to decide the pound for pound No.1 but the fight was scrapped when the two camps could not agree on how to conduct pre fight drug testing.

Mayweather Jr wanted Pacquiao to agree to random Olympic style drug testing which is not a requirement of the Nevada State Athletic commission, who oversee sporting events where the fight was to be held.

According to Maxboxing’s Gabriel Montoya Mayweather has no such problem with such testing. Speaking with Mosley via his website chat this past weekend, Montoya asked Mosley if he would submit to random blood tests to make a fight with Mayweather or any fighter.

“Of course I would submit to random blood testing anytime,” replied Mosley. “But right now, I’m not worried about Mayweather or Pacquiao. I’m focused on [Andre] Berto.”

Earlier this week, Andre Berto, a Haitian-American welterweight title holder, pulled out of his January 30 showdown with Mosley following earthquake tragedy in his homeland.

Source: Mark Vester, Boxing Scene

-- Former three time welterweight champion Antonio Margarito is training for his long awaited ring return on the March 13 pay-per-view undercard to Manny Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey at Cowboys Stadium in Texas. Sitting on the sidelines for nearly a year, Margarito is expected to receive his boxing license in the next couple of days from the Texas Commission.

Margarito's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, told BoxingScene.com last week that a Pacquiao-Margarito showdown is possible for the summer. Arum said Margarito will need to look very good against his comeback opponent Carson Jones, and Pacquiao has to do his part by beating Clottey.

The "Tijuana Tornado" is very motivated to return. His license was revoked last February after a plaster-like substance was discovered is his handwraps prior to the fight with Shane Mosley on January 24. Margarito really wants the opportunity to fight Pacquiao. He says styles make fights and believes his style will overwhelm Pacquiao.

"The truth is I feel very motivated to get back in a big event, with over 50,000 people in Texas, where a lot of those people will be of Mexican descent," said Margarito from his training camp in Tijuana to The Record. "I hope to earn that chance against Pacquiao to prove that I am the only one who can beat him."

In his last fight, Margarito was dominated and knocked out by Shane Mosley. He points to several reasons for the loss, including weight struggles and his body was still feeling the damage of his July 2008 war with Miguel Cotto.

"We complied with the rules of the Commission (California) and did not fight in Mexico as previously assumed. A year without punishment has helped me relax, because after that hard fight with Cotto, I made the mistake of grabbing someone just as hard or even harder in Mosley, and I was not 100% yet."

"I've been training, I just hope to get my license now and focus squarely on the fight that lies ahead. I am eager to return, it's time for the 'Tornado' to return."

Source: GMA News

-- GM Wesley So of the Philippines faces another major challenge when he meets fifth seed GM Emil Sutovsky of Israel in the pivotal ninth round of the 72nd Corus chess tournament at the De Moriaan Community Centre Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).

The sixth-seeded So plays white against Sutovsky, the last of five players with a higher rating than him in this 13-round Group B tournament being held at the wind-swept Dutch resort town.

After Sutovsky, So (ELO 2656) will battle four more players with lower ratings in the next five days.

So’s remaining opponents are seventh seed GM Tomi Nyback of Finland in the 10th round; GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the 11th; GM David Howell of England in the 12th; and lone female participant IM Anna Muzychuk of Slovenia in the final round.

Giri, however, could provide another stern test.

The Nepal-born Dutch champion, who will turn 16 on Thursday, enjoys a 1.5 point lead over So and two other players, GM Ni Hua of China and Erwin l’ Ami of the Netherlands.

Giri has 6.5 points on five wins and three draws against So’s five points on two wins and six draws.

Experts said So must gain headway in the next two rounds against Sutovsky and Nyback in time for his keenly-awaited 11th-round match against Giri on Friday (Saturday in Manila).

“He (So) must be able to narrow Giri’s lead to at least one point ahead of their 11th-round showdown this Friday," said National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) executive/events director Willie Abalos.

“It will be interesting to see how Giri will play black against Wesley with only a point separating them," added Abalos.

Before the ninth-round match against Sutovsky, So drew his first five matches against top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany; GM Erwin l’Ami of the Netherlands; Varuzhan Akobian of the United States; GM Parimarjan Negi of India; and GM Pentala Harikrishna.

The fourth-year high school student of St. Francis College-Cavite then swept his next two matches against second seed GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania in the sixth round and No. 13 seed GM Dimitri Reinderman of Netherlands in the seventh.

He again drew with GM Ni Hua of China in the eighth round Sunday (Monday in Manila) before the one-day break.

Last year, So topped Group C of the Corus tourney with a 13-round total of 9.5 points on seven wins, five draws and only one loss. He finished a full point ahead of Giri and GM Tiger Hillarp Persson of Sweden.

This year, both So and Giri were invited to play in Group B.

Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News

-- Filipino pool maestro Efren “Bata” Reyes landed second place in the 12th Annual Derby City Classic 9-Ball Banks at the Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Indiana, United States.

Reyes, acknowledged as one of the greatest pool players of all time, lost to defending 9-Ball Banks champion American John Brumback, 3-2, in the finals.

Brumback pocketed the $10,000 top prize while Reyes settled for $5,000. Another American Larry Nevel, finished 3rd for $3,000.

Reyes, the prize fighter of Puyat Sports, earlier beat American Shannon Daulton, compatriot Alex “The Lion” Pagulayan and Nevel to arrange a finals showdown with the undefeated Brumback.

Actually, Brumback beat Reyes in round 11, closing out the set 3-0 and only giving up four banks.

The Derby Classic marked the second time ever Reyes entered the finals of the bank pool championships. His second place finish in 2007 against American Stevie Moore gave him his best finish.

Reyes and fellow Puyat Sports player Francisco “Django” Bustamante, whose successful partnership earned them the 2009 World Cup and spearheaded Team Asia in the over-all championships, have ruled several competitions for a number of times.

Since 1999, the 55-year-old Reyes won the 9-Ball event 3 times, One Pocket 5 times, and the all-around championship 4 times. Bustamante, a former world no.1, on the other hand, ruled the overall title in 2008.

Source: Ronnie Nathanielsz, Boxing Scene
-- Conditioning expert Alex Ariza who teams up with three-time “Trainer of the Year” Freddie Roach to prepare pound-for-pound boxing icon Manny Pacquiao for his fights, says he is amazed at Pacquiao’s power.

Ariza said Pacquiao moved up from eight to twelve rounds on the punch-mitts with Roach and was “really good. Good power man, I’m telling you.”

He said when I looked at his body it seems like he hasn’t been off from training since his November 13 WBO welterweight title fight when he stopped Miguel Cotto in twelve rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Ariza said Pacquiao weighed a 150 pounds which is no problem at all since he will be defending his 147 pound title against tough Joshua Clottey on March 13 at the $1.2 billion state-of-the-art Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

Roach’s instructions to clear the gym of onlookers when Pacquiao trains was implemented according to Ariza who said the only non-training member of Team Pacquiao he saw in the gym was Joe Ramos.

Ariza revealed that he hadn’t seen any probable Pacquiao sparring partners in the gym as yet but indicated he wouldn’t be surprised if the first planned day of sparring on Thursday would be brought forward since Pacquiao was looking so good.

Word from the Clottey camp is that the fighter who gave Cotto a rough time in a title fight which many ringsiders felt Clottey won, will set up his training camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida starting this weekend.

Clottey’s manager Vinny Scolphino was quoted as saying “Joshua is in great fighting shape right now. He is anxious to get into the ring against Pacquiao.”

In a commendable gesture Top Rank promoter Bob Arum will set aside $1 from every ticket sold for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight as well as all the Top Rank fight cards for the rest of the year to the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund. Already 25,000 tickets have been sold for the Pacquiao-Clottey fight titled “The Event” which means an initial $25,000 to the fund.

Arum actually launched the fund donation during the spectacular double-header at New York’s Madison Square Garden Theater last weekend when Puerto Rico’s Juanma Lopez won the WBO featherweight title with a crushing win over Steven Luevano and Cuba’s sensational Yuriorkis Gamboa annihilated Tanzania’s Rogers Mtagwa to retain his WBA title.

Arum said “helping people is the right thing to do and we are hoping other promoters will join us.”

Source: GMA News
-- Joshua Clottey may not have the credentials of the fighter he replaced in Manny Pacquiao’s March 13 gig but that doesn’t mean the Filipino pound-for-pound king could simply shrug off the Ghanaian’s challenge.

In fact, Pacquiao himself said he’s not taking Clottey, who took over as the Pacman’s opponent after talks for a megabout with Floyd Mayweather Jr., broke down, lightly.

"Magaling na boksingero ito (Clottey is also a great fighter)," Pacquiao said of his challenger, a former IBF 147-lb titlist himself, in an interview with GMA-7.

"(He’s a) very defensive fighter. Malakas din at mas matangkad pa kay (Miguel) Cotto. Kaya hindi tayo pwedeng magkumpyansa, (He's also strong and is much taller compared to Cotto)" the 31-year-old ring icon added.


Pacquiao has opened training camp last Friday, immersing himself into the technical aspect of their preparations by studying Clottey’s previous fights and giving inputs to trainer Freddie Roach. He actually saw Clottey in action first-hand when he challenged then champion Cotto in June 2009.

"Manny’s a very intelligent fighter (now)," Roach said, recognizing Pacquiao’s more active involvement in dissecting his opponent’s fighting style and devising plans against it. "Now he understands how to study fights. Before, he didn’t care. He just did what he did. But now, he sees it. And when you see it, you can execute it."

Clottey, who yielded a split decision to Cotto, is known for his durability and so Roach said Team Pacquiao is preparing for a 12-round war.

"You can’t count on knocking this guy out because he’s never been knocked out in his life. He’s got a good chin and he’s a very durable guy, a big strong guy," the trainer conceded.

However, if they can find a way to send Clottey down for the count, Roach said they would go for it.


"But I’m not saying we can’t knock him out. I think we will somewhere along the way. But we’re gonna be ready for 12 hard rounds.

Pacquiao, as usual, was non-committal on the KO-Clottey thing.

"Mahirap magsabi ng tapos pero gagawin natin ang makakaya (It's hard to predict the result but we'll do our best)," he said.

The 32-year-old Clottey, for his part, can’t wait to have a shot at the fancied champion.

"Joshua is in great fighting shape right now. He is anxious to get into the ring against Pacquiao," said Clottey’s manager Vinny Scolpino in a press release from Top Rank.

The Bronx-based Clottey, according to his manager, will hold his main training camp for the Pacquiao fight in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Source: Joey Villar, Philippine Star
-- Asian powerhouse teams China and Iran can be beaten.

Smart Gilas Pilipinas’ Serbian Rajko Toroman made this assessment yesterday after the Nationals arrived from Dubai where they finished third in the tough 21st Dubai Invitational.

“The teams we played in Dubai are tougher than China. As for Iran, Jackson Vroman, their import in Dubai, will not play for them in the Asian Games,” Toroman said.

Playing practically All-Filipino the whole tournament, the Nationals wound up third by beating some of the region’s powerhouse teams, including World Championship-bound Zain of Jordan.

The Filipinos could have been in the finals but lost steam in the semis against last year’s titlist Al Riyadi of Lebanon, which lost to Iran of Mahram in the finals.

Although China didn’t see action in Dubai and Iran didn’t cross paths with RP, Toroman said the Nationals have the potential to overcome the region’s powerhouse teams.

China will play without the Houston Rockets’ 7-6 center Yao Ming (injured foot) in this year’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, making the vaunted squad a little more vulnerable.

Iran, which beat China in the 2009 FIBA-Asia Championship in Tianjin, will play sans Vroman, one of its three American imports in Dubai who will now see action for Lebanon as its naturalized player.

Toroman, however, stressed that Smart Gilas still lacks a big man and a few more shooters before the team can become a legitimate contender.

“This is our problem with one big guy,” said Toroman, already hinting at replacing injury-plagued Jamal Sampson.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Noli Eala actually stated they would be re-evaluating the status of the 6-11 Sampson, who hardly saw action in Dubai with a sore left knee.

“Definitely we are not happy with the way he (Sampson) has performed, not so much that he does not know how to play but I don’t think he has the same heart and commitment to the team,” said Eala.

Source: Nick Giongco, Manila Bulletin
-- Freddie Roach had the Wild Card Boxing Club closed down on Saturday afternoon when Manny Pacquiao showed up for the second day of training for the March 13 fight with Joshua Clottey of Ghana.

“The first day (Friday) Manny trained here, Freddie allowed the gym regulars to see the workout,” revealed Team Pacquiao security chief Rob Peters.

The second day Pacquiao suited up for training, everyone was told to pack up and return after the Filipino winds up his training,” said Peters.

“I think this would be the norm beginning now until the first week of March,” said Peters.

Roach’s decision to bar anyone from getting a sneak-peak into Pacquiao’s training is a sign that they are not taking Clottey for granted.

The gym will be closed for several hours – 12 noon until 4 p.m. – possibly until March 8 the day Pacquiao departs for Dallas, Texas, site of his 12-round defense of the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown.

Pacquiao was supposed to train last Thursday but since he and Roach were coming off the tiring Dallas-New York press tour, the trainer told his prized pupil to take the day off.

Meanwhile, tickets to the fight – priced at $700, $500, $400, $300, $200, $100 and $50 are selling fast.

Reports from the US show that half of the 40,000 tickets have been gobbled up by Pacquiao fans.

The 100,000-seat Cowboys Stadium will be reconfigured to 40,000.

“There’s not a single bad seat in the stadium,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum.

Source: Associated Press
-- A 40-yard field goal in overtime by a little-known kicker could become as famous as jambalaya in these parts.

The New Orleans Saints, a team with no home and an uncertain future five years ago, are heading for their first Super Bowl. By battering Brett Favre and beating the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 Sunday, they set off celebrations on Bourbon Street that locals never could have imagined in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"This is for everybody in this city," said coach Sean Payton, the architect of the Saints' turnaround. "This stadium used to have holes in it and used to be wet. It's not wet anymore. This is for the city of New Orleans."

And it came courtesy of Garrett Hartley and the Aints — who surely ain't the Aints anymore.

"In reality, we had to lean on each other in order to survive and in order to get where we are now," quarterback Drew Brees said. "The city is on its way to recovery, and in a lot of ways has come back better than ever. We've used the strength and resiliency of our fans to go out and play every Sunday and play with the confidence that we can do it, that we can achieve everything we've set out to achieve."

Favre threw away Minnesota's best chance to win, tossing an interception deep in New Orleans territory in the closing seconds of regulation. Then the Saints won the coin toss and ended it on Hartley's kick 4:45 into OT.

"Just helping my team get to Miami," he said. "Just doing my part."

A team of nomads after Katrina ravaged its city and the Superdome, overcame a slew of mistakes in the biggest game the Big Easy has ever seen.

Forget the paper bag masks and that long history of losing that started in 1967. Moments after Hartley's kick, they were toasting their hometown winners in the French Quarter and making plans for South Florida.

The Saints (15-3) will meet Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (16-2) in the Super Bowl in two weeks in Miami. The Colts opened as 4-point favorites.

"Brett prepared us, but now we've got another challenge in Peyton," safety Darren Sharper said.

And in the Superdome, once a squalid refuge after Katrina, they boogied in the aisles as confetti covered the field.

"It's a moment I've been waiting for for a long time and obviously we're not done yet," said Brees, Payton's hand-picked QB for the Saints' renaissance.

It's the first time the top seeds in each conference made the big game since the 1993 season.

There were nine fumbles and two interceptions, and the biggest mistake belonged to Favre. Flushed from the pocket in the final minute, he seemed to have room to run to set up a field goal. But hampered by a left leg injured in the third quarter, he threw cross-field and was intercepted by Tracy Porter at the 22.

That finished off Minnesota's chance for its first Super Bowl trip in 33 years — and opportunity to win it for the first time after four defeats. The Vikings have lost five straight NFC title games.

"I've felt better," said Favre, who looked every bit his 40 years. "It was a physical game. A lot of hits. You win that and you sure feel a lot better."

New Orleans won the coin toss, Brees guided it to the Minnesota 22 after converting a fourth-and-1 on Pierre Thomas' leap over the line, and Hartley — suspended at the start of the season for using a banned stimulant — split the uprights.

"It was as loud as I have ever heard it in the dome," Brees added. "It feels so good to know we have given our fans an NFC championship. We have another championship to go after in two weeks."

It was anything but easy for the Saints, in only their second conference championship game; they lost at Chicago three years ago.

They had to withstand yet one more comeback by Favre, who returned to the NFL with the Vikings (13-5) after another brief retirement. He was alternately spectacular and pedestrian Sunday, finally betrayed by his gambling style and, perhaps, an aging body.

Porter's pick sent it into overtime, the third time an NFC title game has needed extra time and the second in three seasons. Two years ago, Favre's interception in OT set up a field goal that sent the Giants past the Packers and into the Super Bowl.

The Saints can only hope they have the same happy ending as New York did back then.

"Yeah," said Reggie Bush, who scored a touchdown. "One more step."

The seesaw game saw All-Pro Adrian Peterson score three touchdowns for Minnesota and Saints running back Pierre Thomas get two. The Vikings handily won the possession and yardage battles — Peterson rushed for 122 yards and Minnesota gained 475 overall. But the Vikings were undone by five turnovers, including three fumbles.

"We really gave those guys the game," said Peterson, who peeked at the rousing celebrations on the Superdome floor. "Too many turnovers. It's eating me up inside."

The seemingly indestructible Favre was hurt on one of those turnovers, on a combination hit by Bobby McCray and Remi Ayodele while throwing his first interception. And, despite being the closest Viking to the ball, he was helpless in the scramble to recover Percy Harvin's fumble that seemingly turned the game in New Orleans' favor early in the fourth period.

The Saints took over at the 7 and, on third down, Bush caught Brees' rollout pass by the right pylon. He was ruled out at the 1, but Payton sprinted almost to the goal line to throw the red flag.

The challenge was upheld, and the dome rocked like never before — until Hartley's winning field goal.

But Favre has been in enough hostile environs to be able to shrug at such challenges. He hit tight end Visanthe Shiancoe for 16 yards, Peterson ripped off a 20-yard run, and a pass interference against Porter set up Peterson's tying 2-yard rush with 4:58 to go.

"I would have loved to represent the NFC," said Favre, who grew up in Mississippi a Saints fan. "But, as I told Sean throughout the year when we talked, if it's not us, I hope it's you guys."

Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News

Corus Group B Standings after Round 8:

6.5 points --- GM Anish Giri (Netherlands)
5 points --- GM Erwin L'Ami (Netherlands), GM Wesley So (Philippines), GM Ni Hua (China)
4.5 points --- GM David Howell (England), GM Arkadij Naiditsch (Germany), GM Pentala Harikrishna (India)
4 points --- GM Parimarjan Negi (India)
3.5 points --- GM Emil Sutovsky (Israel)
3 points --- GM Tomi Nyback (Finland), WGM Anna Muzychuk (Ukraine), GM Liviu- Dieter Nisipeanu (Romania)
2.5 points --- GM Dimitri Reinderman (Netherlands)
2 points --- GM Varuzhan Akobian (USA)

-- Filipino teen Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So made a quick draw over Chinese GM Ni Hua after 17 moves of Sicilian Rossolimo using the disadvantageous black pieces at the 72nd Corus International Chess Championship on Sunday.

So’s victory created a three-way tie for second placers after the 8th round at the De Moriaan Community Centre in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands.

The 16-year-old GM is now tied in 2nd place with Ni and GM Erwin L'Ami with 5 points each. They are 1.5 points behind standings leader Dutch GM Anish Giri who got 6.5 points in eight outings.

“Nag offer ng draw si Ni Hua kay Wesley So sa 17th move, tinanggap naman ni So ang draw. Okay na din para maireserba niya ang kaniyang lakas sa nalalabing limang round. Saka whites pieces siya sa 9th round kay Emil Sutovsky,” said 1996 Philippine Junior champion National Master (NM) Roberto Suelo, Jr., the first coach of So.

So, who hails from Bacoor, Cavite, will face Israeli GM Sutovsky on Monday.

The Filipino teenager’s Corus B stint is being supported by Filway Marketing Inc. CEO/President Hector “Chito” Tagaysay and National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President/Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr.

Source: Asean Basketball League

-- Today marked the third meeting between the Philippine Patriots and the Brunei Barracudas, with the match taking place at the Ynares Sports Arena, Manila Philippines. This was a crucial match for the Barracudas who needed a win here to secure a spot in the playoffs.

Their first meeting was at the Brunei Indoor Stadium on 13 December, where the weakened Philippine Patriots who were missing two of their star players feel to the Barracudas 70 – 95. But the Patriots soon had their revenge on 21 December when the teams met at the Ynares Sports Arena, and the Patriots emerge winners with a score of 70 – 56 against the Barracudas.

Today, the Patriots fielded a starting lineup of Jason Dixon, Erwin Sta Maria, Gabriel Freeman, Jerwin Gaco and Warren Ybanez to go up against Barracudas’ Francis Adriano, Celedon Camaso, Simon Conn, Leonidaz Avenido and Reggie Larry.

The Patriots won the jumpball against the Barracudas and quickly opened scoring to take an early lead, and with 7 minutes left to the first quarter, the Patriots were leading 10 - 5. The Barracudas quickly equalized and with 3:50 left to the quarter, they overtook the Patriots and ended the quarter 18 – 17.

In the second quarter the Patriots turned the tables on the Barracudas and continued to widen the gap and with 6:28 left the Patriots were holding a 6 point lead. The Barracudas fought back, but it was not enough, as the Patriots continued to dominate the match and ended the quarter 43 – 35 against the Barracudas.

After half time, the Patriots upped their defense and went all out, only allowing the Barracudas to score 9 points in the third quarter. The Patriots finished the quarter with a 19 point lead, ending 63 – 44 against the Barracudas.

The Patriots continued their lead in the fourth quarter, never giving the Barracudas a chance to catch up, and at the final buzzer, the Patriots emerge winners with a score of 87 – 65 against the Barracudas.

Today’s loss takes the Barracudas out of the playoffs, with the final four teams consisting of the Philippine Patriots, Singapore Slingers, Satria Muda BritAma and KL Dragons.

Part 1

Game Clip



Awarding Ceremony

Source: Oliver Suarez, Fight Hype

-- Paul Williams has been coined “The Most Avoided Fighter” and for good reason. He’s had to fight in multiple divisions since none of the top fighters in the welterweight division were willing to fight him.

Still, he’s been able to step into the ring with respectable and recognizable fighters such as Carlos Quintana, Sergio Martinez, Antonio Margarito, and Vernon Phillips. Also, other top fighters such as Kelly Pavlik and Joshua Clottey have been vocal about their willingness to face him.

Nonito’s list of recent victims on the other hand includes the following names: Luis Maldonado, Raul Martinez, Darchinyan and Rafael Concepcion. They are solid and respectable fighters but with the exception of Darchinyan, none of them are considered elite fighters. Donaire has always had the attitude of a champion since he’s been vocal about his desire to fight the best, but it takes two tango and so far none of the best fighters in his division has been willing to share the ring with him.

Nonito Donaire seemed to be destined for stardom after destroying Darchinyan considering the rising numbers boxing fans within the Filipino community.

Unfortunately, he’s been avoided like the plague consistently by the top fighters in his division.

Darchinyan’s team never seriously tried to get a rematch with Donaire and instead the ‘Raging Bull’ moved up to the Super Flyweight Division.

He’s called out fighters such Daisuke Naito and Takefumi Sakata but neither showed any inkling on sharing the ring with Donaire. Forget the excuses about Japan’s unwillingness to recognize IBF, WBO and IBO as legitimate world titles. The fact is Naito and Sakata never wanted to fight Nonito. A true champion should want to fight top fighters in their division and it doesn’t necessarily have to be for a belt.

There were talks about a Nonito Donaire vs. Fernando Montiel bout a few months ago but it fell apart, when Fernando decided to move up to bantamweight for the reason that he can no longer make the weight for the super flyweight division.

Fernando is a great fighter and I don’t think he’s avoided Donaire, but it seems that whenever a fight with Nonito is within reach; his opponents suddenly have the inkling to move out of the division or find other excuses to not fight Donaire.

Paul Williams was forced to fight in multiple divisions to get notable fights. Nonito forces fighters out of the division.

Nonito has moved up to the Super Flyweight division, but still has not found success in luring any of the top fighters to meet him in the ring.

Darchinyan has been vocal recently about facing Donaire again. But that’s because he needs Donaire again to gain credibility as he was exposed by Agbeko. Same as it was for Rafael Concepcion when he lost to Jorge Arce.

Have you ever wondered why fighters in the lower weight division often call each other out, but Nonito’s name is almost never involved? Sure Israel Vasquez has called him out, but he’s currently fighting at featherweight, which three divisions higher than Donaire.

There are good reasons why Donaire has been avoided. He’s a solid technical fighter with speed and great power. He’s also probably one of the most complete fighters pound for pound.

Top Rank has been hesitant to put Donaire on a Pacquiao undercard, because of economic reasons. It’s more profitable for Top Rank to keep putting Donaire as the main feature for boxing events such as ‘Pinoy Power’.

But the incentives that Donaire will attain from being on a Pacquiao undercard is well worth it. It will introduce Donaire to the casual boxing fans and the lure of being in one of Pacquiao’s last few fights will probably be too much for the top fighters in his division to turn down since it’s nothing but big fights for the true pound for pound king from now on.

Donaire has a fight coming up against Gerson Guerrero in February of next year, but that fight can easily be put off for a better opportunity. It’s often done in boxing.

Donaire is the top candidate to take the mantle from Pacquiao as the best ‘Filipino’ boxer. There is no better time and place for Donaire to have another signature fight and display his package of skills than in an undercard for one of Pacquiao’s last few fights.

Source: Rick Reeno, Boxing Scene

-- In the wake of Brian Viloria's upset loss to Carlos Tamara, there is already some talk of a possible scenario where WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes (26-1, 15KOs) would move up to junior flyweight to challenge unbeaten WBO champion Ivan Calderon (33-0, 6KOs). Nietes fought on Saturday's Viloria-Tamara undercard, stopping Jesus Silvestre in ten rounds.

Viloria was being positioned for a unification with Calderon for the month of April. Peter Rivera of PR Best Boxing told BoxingScene.com that a two fight series was being planned but in order to close the deal Viloria had to win the fight with Tamara. On paper Viloria was the heavy favorite in the fight. Viloria's stamina betrayed him in the late rounds. He built an early, but faded down the stretch before the referee stopped the action in the twelfth.

Source: gmanews.tv

Standings after 7 rounds:

5.5 points - A. Giri (Netherlands)

4.5 – W. So (RP), D. Howell (England), H. Ni (China), E. l Ami (Netherlands)

4.0 – Naiditsch (Germany), P. Harikrishna (India)

3.5 – P. Negi (India)

3.0 – E. Sutovsky (Israel)

2.5 – T. Nyback (Finland), A. Muzychuk (Slovenia), L. Nisipeanu (Romania)

2.0 - V. Akobian (USA)

1.5 – D. Reinderman (Netherlands)

-- GM Wesley So of the Philippines made it two in a row in the 72nd Corus chess tournament Saturday (Sunday in Manila), pulling off a decisive seventh-round win over GM Dimitri Reinderman of the Netherlands at the wind-swept De Moriaan Community Centre.

Buoyed by a breakthrough win over former European champion GM Liviu-Dieter Nisipeanu of Romania in the sixth round Friday, the sixth-seeded So wisely steered the game out of the book line and methodically cut down his lower-rated Dutch opponent with two bishops and a passed pawn in the end game.

The end came for Reinderman in 36 moves of the Dutch Defense Stonewall Variation with So threatening to capture one of his opponent’s two rooks with a deadly bishop push to b5.

Chessdom.com analyst GM Buenaventura “Bong" Villamayor said So played exceptionally well considering “he only encountered the Dutch Defense only once since 2004 - in his second game against GM Gata Kamsky during the 2009 World Cup in Khanty-Mansiysk which ended in a draw."

“After Wesley’s 29. Rc1, he already had clear advantage due to passed pawn and two bishops and needed only to consolidate," Villamayor noted.

Overall, So vaulted into a tie for second to fifth places with 4.5 points, only a full point behind hometown hero GM Anish Giri, who halved the point with compatriot GM Erwin l’Ami.

Tied with So for second to fifth places in the 14-player, category-16 tournament were GM David Howell of England, GM Ni Hua of China and l’Ami.

Howell pulled off the only other win during the seventh round, beating GM Tomi Nyback of Finland.

Ni drew his match with top seed GM Arkadij Naiditsch of Germany.

Naiditsch, who drew with So in the opening round, now shared sixth and seventh spot with GM Pentala Harikrishna of India.

So gets another big test in the eighth round Sunday, playing black against Ni.

Giri, the 15-year-old Dutch champion, battles Howell in another keenly-anticipated match.

Source: Albert Alba, gmanews.tv
-- The Smart Gilas Pilipinas team avenged its only loss in the elimination round of the 21st Dubai International Basketball Championship by defeating Jalaa of Syria 107-98 to grab third place honors in the tournament.

It was yet another come-from-behind victory as Smart Gilas, playing all-Filipino once again, never had the upperhand in the tight contest until Chris Tiu’s free throws off a technical foul on Jalaa’s assistant coach gave the Filipinos a 78-76 lead.

From there, Smart Gilas never relinquished control, leading by as many as 11 points, 97-86, with 1:09 left on two free throws by Marnel Baracael.

Smart Gilas' sniping from the three-point area from Baracael, Mark Barocca, Tiu and JV Casio, as well as gutsy penetrations from Barocca over the taller defenders of the Jalaa squad resulted in their breakaway from an erstwhile tight ballgame.

The Nationals trailed at every end of the first three quarters, 18-26 in the first, 40-48 in the second and 67-70 in the third, before making their move in the final canto en route to a vengeful win over the Syrians. Jalaa accounted for Gilas’ 76-90 at the start of the tournament.

Casio, a former gunner from La Salle, was also adjudged the best point guard of the tournament.

Source: Reuters
Puerto Rico's Juan Manuel Lopez stopped American Steven Luevano in the seventh round to win the WBO featherweight title in New York Saturday.

A hard right-left combination from the challenger knocked Luevano down and although the American made it to his feet referee Benjy Esteves stopped the contest.

"It was a tough fight. He's an intelligent fighter," said Lopez, a former WBO super-bantamweight champion making his first appearance at featherweight. "It wasn't one of the toughest, but it was a little uncomfortable, because he is difficult."

The fight began cautiously with Luevano (37-2-1) trying to dictate with his jab but Lopez (28-0) took charge from the third, landing a series of jarring left hands.

Luevano rallied in the fifth, fighting well on the inside, but southpaw Lopez regained control in the sixth, cutting his opponent under the left eye and bloodying his nose.

Lopez may make a first defense of his title against Cuban exile Yuriorkis Gamboa (17-0), who knocked down Rogers Mtagwa three times in a second round stoppage in the co-main event.

Source: Dan Rafael, espn.go.com

-- This is the blueprint for building toward a big fight. It's a blueprint that Top Rank promoter Bob Arum knows very well after 40 years in boxing.

It's slow and steady and in the not too distant future he figures -- and he's probably right -- that fight fans will be begging to see a featherweight showdown between titleholders Juan Manuel Lopez and Yuriorkis Gamboa.

After the performances that they each turned in on Saturday night, Arum can probably already hear the cash register humming because both looked sensational blowing out their legitimate opponents.

Lopez, a junior featherweight titleholder, moved up in weight and blitzed Steven Luevano for a one-sided seventh-round knockout to capture his second world title.

"I dream of being a world champion in four divisions. This is the second one," he said. "I'm very happy I gave the crowd a great fight."

And in the co-feature, Gamboa crushed Rogers Mtagwa in two lopsided rounds in defense of his 126-pound belt before an enthusiastic near-sellout crowd of 5,142 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.

"I've got two horses and I want them to wipe out everybody in the featherweight division and when they finally meet, people will go crazy," Arum said.

Arum is as savvy as anyone. He has no intention of putting them together right away. He'll milk it, tend to it, grow it and do his best to make it into a blockbuster fight in which everyone gets paid a lot of money.

"From what I've seen tonight, I want these guys to go against every great featherweight out there," Arum said.

The first stop on the ride to the showdown he hopes will be a summer HBO card from two sites featuring Lopez defending his title at home in Puerto Rico and Gamboa defending his belt in his adopted hometown of Miami.

"We'll have just cleaned up all the featherweights and then when everyone is panting about seeing these guys fight each other, I'll do a big, big blowout kind of show," Arum said. "I promote both of them. I owe it to both of them to make them the biggest amount of money they can make. I'm not going to rush it. I can build it like a son of a gun. Then in the summer of 2011, with all the Cubans and all the Puerto Ricans, we'll talk to [New York Giants owner] Steve Tisch about putting it in the new Meadowlands Stadium.

"It's a great fight, but it's got to be the kind of fight where, even though they are only 126 pounders, they will make a s---load of money."

Arum said he would be willing to match either of them with the likes of featherweight titleholder Chris John, junior featherweight titlist Celestino Caballero and the winner of the Feb. 13 Mario Santiago-Bernabe Concepcion fight.

"Don't I owe it to my two guys to build this into the biggest fight I can? It will be a huge, huge fight, but not right now," Arum said.

It was the second consecutive card that Lopez and Gamboa have fought on together. They did so in October, when Gamboa looked terrific in a knockout victory, but Lopez was in a life-and-death battle with Mtagwa, nearly getting knocked out in the 11th and 12th rounds.

That sure wasn't the case on Saturday, when Lopez dispatched Luevano (37-2-1, 15 KOs) with surprising ease.

With the heavily Puerto Rican crowd on his side, Lopez was pitching a shutout on two scorecards going into the seventh and had lost only one round on the third card.

"I knew I had to do better than I did last time here. I had to be smart," Lopez said. "The four pounds was a big difference, moving up to 126. I knew I had to be smart and be patient, and that's what I was."

Lopez (28-0, 25 KOs), 26, had swelled up Luevano's left eye and bloodied his nose with pinpoint right hooks and uppercuts before finishing him with a series of shots.

Luevano, 28, who was making his sixth defense, collapsed in the corner and was very wobbly getting to his feet. When he stumbled taking a step forward, referee Benji Esteves called it off at 44 seconds.

Gamboa (17-0, 15 KOs) had an even easier time with Mtagwa (26-14-2, 18 KOs) and made a big statement about how the proposed future fight with Lopez might go, especially after Lopez struggled so severely with Mtagwa last fall.

Gamboa, the electrifying 28-year-old former Olympic gold medalist and Cuban defector, was not tested in the slightest. Making his second defense, Gamboa's speed was overwhelming and obvious immediately, and in the first round every punch Gamboa landed seemed to rock Mtagwa.

A left hand on top of the head knocked Mtagwa down with about 10 seconds left in the round.

It got no better for Mtagwa, 30, the rugged Philadelphia brawler originally from Tanzania.

Gamboa, who showed more patience and a tighter defense than he has in recent fights, was landing flush shots with both hands and then knocked Mtagwa down on the end of a left hand with about a minute to go in the round.

Mtagwa survived but Gamboa launched another assault and dropped him again, forcing referee Steve Smoger to call it off without a count.

"We knew he was fast but we felt we would try to get through three rounds and battle, but he just caught real bad, really early," said Joe Parella, Mtagwa's manager.

Although Mtagwa had lost to Lopez last year, he earned rave reviews for his gritty performance and the shot at Gamboa. Gamboa, however, didn't want to compare himself to Lopez.

"I hope that with this performance that nobody compares me to Juanma. He's Juanma. I am Yuriorkis Gamboa," he said. "We are two different boxers. You can't compare. I am here to demonstrate my skills. I am here to face anyone and beat anyone in my division.

"You have to look and see that we were in different weight divisions when each fought Mtagwa. I don't think you can get anything from seeing me and Mtagwa and him and Mtagawa."

When asked if he wanted to fight Lopez, Gamboa was noncommittal.

"It's in the hands of promoters," he said. "I am ready for whatever boxers they put in front of me."

Lopez agreed.

"This is business. If it makes sense, fine with me," he said of the possible future showdown. "If it makes sense now, we'll do it. If it doesn't, we'll wait. Whatever the company [Top Rank] wants. But I know eventually I'll fight him."

And if Arum has his way, we'll all be panting for it.

Duddy blows out Astorga

Middleweight John Duddy (28-1, 18 KOs) made quick work of Juan Astorga (14-4-1, 9 KOs), dropping him twice and stopping him at 1 minute, 55 seconds of the first round.

Duddy, 30, the New York-based Ireland native, had a large contingent of fans in the crowd and they were excited when he dropped Astorga, 31, of Texas, early in the round with a right hand high on his head.

Astorga did not appear hurt from the knockdown but he didn't last much longer as Duddy landed a left to the body that dropped him again as referee Wayne Kelly called it off.

Duddy will next fight March 13 on the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey undercard at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. If he wins that fight, Duddy will be back on June 12 on the undercard of the almost-finalized Yuri Foreman-Miguel Cotto fight at Madison Square Garden. Arum mentioned former "Contender" star Jimmy Lange as a possible opponent for the June fight; Lange isn't available for March.

Duddy, once considered as a challenger for middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik, was rebuilding from a surprising split-decision loss in April 2008 to Billy Lyell, who, coincidentally, landed a title shot on Saturday as a late replacement to face Sebastian Sylvester in Germany next week.

Duddy rebounded from the loss to outpoint Michi Munoz at the Garden Theater in October on another card featuring Lopez and Gamboa.