THE SPORTSTER

Basketball Game On!

2011-11-28T16:13:00.001+08:00

And yes, it is finally on!

The NBA and the players' representatives have come to a tentative agreement on their new CBA, paving the way for an abridged NBA season that is slated to start on Christmas Day.

This news is greeted by cheers and, admittedly, a few jeers. Some players still expressed their discontent with the proposal but for a majority of players, it is met with enthusiasm and relief.

Several tours have already been cancelled in preparation for the opening of training camp, including those of Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Paul.

More on this story here.

SEA Games Update: End of Day 5!

2011-11-15T18:59:00.001+08:00

Good news!

The Philippines has added to their gold medal haul! Our medal haul currently stands at...

13 golds (with additional golds from tae kwon do, billiards, wrestling and fencing)
18 silvers
and 24 bronzes!

SEA Games Update: Day 5!

2011-11-15T07:19:00.001+08:00

The Philippines will be starting out the day with a total medal haul of 8 golds, 14 silvers and 20 bronzes.

Several disciplines, including athletics, sculling, karate do and Tae kwon do are hoping to hit their predicted gold medal output today.

Kapit, mga kababayan!

SEA Games Golden Heroes: Dennis Orcullo

2011-11-15T07:14:00.001+08:00

There's a reason Dennis "Robocop" Orcullo is ranked #1 in the world...and the reason was plain to see as he demolished Indonesia's Ricky Yang 7-2 in the billiards competition here in Palembang.

Orcullo adds this SEA Games gold medal to his achievements this year, which includes the WPA World 8-Ball Championship.

SEA Games Golden Heroes: Rene Herrera

2011-11-14T16:36:00.001+08:00

Steeplechaser Rene Herrera reinforced his claim as the SEA Games top steeplechaser by winning his fourth gold medal in the 300m men's steeplechase event.

Herrera has won this event since the 2005 SEA Games and was barely challenged by his opponents, posting a time of 8minutes and 52 seconds.

SEA Games Medal Update!

2011-11-14T16:26:00.001+08:00

As of 4:30pm, November 14, 2011, the Philippines has...

7 golds (athletics, tae kwon do, wallclimbing, billiards, bridge)
11 silvers (athletics, tae kwon do, diving, swimming, karate, cycling)
and 14 bronzes (athletics, tae kwon do, bridge, diving, karate, cycling)

Latest victories:
Sinag Philippines wallops Cambodia, 127-68. Standouts were Kiefer Ravena, RR Garcia, Garvo Lanete, Chris Ellis and Ray Parks.
Discovery Perlas Philippines defeats defending SEAG women's basketball champions Malaysia, 64-56.

SEA Games Golden Heroes: Marestella Torres

2011-11-14T11:19:00.001+08:00

She was the acknowledged Philippine queen of the long jump. She has struck SEA Games gold since the 2005 Manila Games. But for the 30year old Negros oriental native, this SEA Games would give her a taste of even brighter glory.

Marestella Torres started off the Philippine campaign on the right foot by jumping to a gold medal, a personal best, a Philippine best and a SEA Games best.

Torres jumped a distance of 6.71m, which was better than her old record of 6.68m which she set in in the Laos SEA games in 2009. Te winning jump was her third attempt. And yet, had she stopped at her first attempt (6.65m), she still would have won as Indonesia's Maria Natalia Londa could only manage a 6.47m for the silver medal.

More on this story here.

SEA GAMES MEDAL UPDATE!

2011-11-14T11:06:00.001+08:00

As of 11am, November 14, 2011, the Philippines has...

4 golds (women's long jump, men's steeplechase, women's poomsae, woman's tae kwon do and women's wall climbing)

9 silvers (athletics, swimming, tae kwon do, cycling, diving)

and 13 bronzes (athletics, tae kwon do, karate do, cycling, diving)

Thrilla In Manila

2011-11-08T20:14:00.001+08:00

Thanks Joe Frazier!

Smokin' Joe Frazier Dies.

2011-11-08T20:10:00.000+08:00

If Muhammad Ali is known as "The Greatest", shouldn't the man who took him to the brink also be known as such?

I certainly think so. And that is why I will now refer to Smokin Joe Fraizer as "The Greatest 2".

Frazier succumbed to liver cancer yesterday, leaving the world another boxing champion short.

Joe Frazier was the perfect foil for Ali. Hulking and menacing, Ali all but obliterated Frazier when it came to the media. But the boxing ring was a different matter as Frazier's boxing prowess was just as great as Ali's.

They had 3 iconic fights, the first with Frazier dealing Ali his first defeat, the second, Ali returning the favor.

The third, called the "Thrilla In Manila" was the boxing match the rocked the world. It was like the ending match of Rocky 4, except it was real.

Frazier is known as a fierce competitor but also a gallant man. He will be missed.

More on this story here.

U23 Azkals Lose TO Timor 2-1!

2011-11-08T19:37:00.002+08:00

The Azkals' atrocious defense let them down yet again.

Timor-Leste, a team that seems to be following the Azkals module for international football success, had a relatively easy time dispatching of the Azkals in a game that solidified their darkhorse status in the SEA Games.

With several Timorese-Portuguese with experience in the Australian league in their lineup, Timor Leste found themselves unexpectedly leading Vietnam, a title favorite.

Roland Muller was the lone bright spot on defense, as the Fil-German logged several top notch saves once again. But even the uber-talented Muller can not stop all the shots as the Azkals back four was outmaneuvered several times leading to 2 on 1 situations with Muller trying to stop 2 Timorese attackers.

If this is how the U23 Azkal play defense, then expect more heartbreaking losses in the upcoming games.

More on this story here.

Ali Peek Shot!

2011-11-08T19:14:00.001+08:00

Ali Peek, the amiable Talk N Text power forward whose hulking presence belies a polite and gentle personality was shot at the back of the head last night.

The 36-year old Peek was coming from a plyometrics session at the RFM gym and was about to get into his car when a lone gunman sneaked up behind him and shot the player. The gunman fled, even as Peek stumbled across the parking lot and sought aid from 2 passersby.

The passersby brought Peek to The Medical City where the player is now in stable condition.

Police are still waiting to talk to Peek so they can ascertain possible motives and suspects.

Manny Pangilinan has offered a P500,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman.

More on this story here.

Azkals Lose To Vietnam 3-0!

2011-11-03T19:25:00.000+08:00

For 60 minutes, the Azkals led 1-0. Unfortunately, football is a 90minute game.

The Vietnamese scored 2 easy goals and took advantage of an own goal from Matthew Hartmann to rout the Philippines in the last 30minutes of the match.

Despite the decent score, the Vietnamese actually dominated the Philippines at all facets of the game. The Azkals could barely get out of their own half of the field, and the Vietnamese goalkeeper was barely tested in the second half.

If it wasn't for the individual brilliance of Azkal goalkeeper Roland Muller, the score would have been 10-1. Muller singlehandedly kept the Viets from finding the back of the net, even on one-on-one situations.

The Azkals defense was so bad that Muller was put in jeopardy for almost the entire second half. Twice, Muller had to go with kick saves to stop the Viets from scoring, both of which pitted Muller against a Viet attacker and no Azkal defender in sight. On another occasion, Muller made a brilliant one handed save.

But Hartmann's own goal opened the floodgates for Vietnam and they scored a second goal 5 minutes after that.

The Azkals play against Timor-Leste on November 7.

Pacquiao To Knock Out Marquez, Says Mosley.

2011-11-03T12:31:00.001+08:00

If you ask Manny Pacquiao's latest victim, Marquez is going to be in a lot of trouble this November 12.

Shane Mosley made this prediction, saying Marquez may have had a chance at the lighter divisions but that Pacquiao at the welterweight limit is nigh unstoppable.

Mosley has gone as far as saying that if Pacquiao catches Marquez with even just a touch, Marquez will go down.

More on this story here.

Junior Azkals Try To Jumpstart PHL's SEAG Campaign

2011-11-03T10:06:00.000+08:00

The opening ceremonies for the 2011 SEA Games are still 8 days away...but the Philippine campaign starts this afternoon as the U-23 Azkals take on an extremely formidable Vietnam side.

The U-23 Azkals hope to build on the recent success of the senior Azkals but team officials hope that expectations for the team remain manageable.

After all, only Jason de Jong was in the regular rotation of the senior Azkals, with the Hartmanns, Carlos de Murga, Jeff Christaens, OJ Porteria and keeper Ronald Mueller playing only in the last few tuneup games.

They will be joined by local standouts Neckson Leonora, David Basa, Gerardo Valmayor and Joshua Beloya.

Stand by for the coverage later at 5:30pm.

More on this story here.

Amit, Ranola Win Fisrt Games In 10-Ball Championships!

2011-11-03T09:32:00.000+08:00

Rubilen Amit and Iris Ranola led the Pinay charge in the 2011 Yalin World Women's 10-Ball Championships, being held at the Robinson's Galleria, with both women winning their first matches against fancied opponents.

Amit, who is one of the favorites in Gruop 1, took on Russia's Nataliya Soresthan, winning easily via 6-2 decision.

Ranola, on the other hand, is definitely not among the favorites in Grouop 2, still managed to exact sweet revenge on China's Fu Xiao Fang, 6-3. Ranalo was probably extra motivated because the last time these two met, the Asian Games bronze medalist and 2009 9-Ball world champion Fu managed to blank out Ranola.

Another Filipina, Mary Rakin, from Cavite via Daly City, also won her first game over Russian Anastasia Necheava, 6-2

More on this story here.

BIg Mouth Mayweather Sr. Strikes Again!

2011-10-14T21:23:00.000+08:00

Like father, like son.

And Floyd Mayweather Sr., estranged as he may be to his son, thinks Junior will knock out Manny Pacquiao if the mega-fight ever happens.

And, in his loudmouthed opinion, the only thing keeping the fight from happening isn't his son's obvious cowardice that Junior inherited from Senior but Manny's Pacquiao's history with PED's.

Oh wait. Manny Pacquiao doesn't have one. Let's just put it down to the legendary Mayweather stupidity.

More on this story here.

Azkals 4, Nepal 0!

2011-10-11T21:23:00.000+08:00

Matthew Hartmann added another goal in the 89th minute as the Philippines totally dominated the game against Nepal, a team ranked 31 spots above the Azkals.

Congrats, guys!

Azkals 3, Nepal 0!

2011-10-11T20:37:00.001+08:00

First it was Phil Younghusband with a strong kick from a brilliant assist courtesy of Paul Mulders!

Then it was a brilliant long shot from brother James to make it 2-0.

Then it was Phil Younghusband again with his second goal of the match!

What a show from the Younghusbands, Mulders, Cagara, Caligdong, Burkey, Borromeo, Araneta et al!

Paul Lee: Star In The Making?

2011-10-10T10:44:00.001+08:00

Once again, it was the Paul Lee show.

Paul Lee scored 19 points and was on the floor during the most crucial stretch of the game to help Rain Or Shine lodge a 96-93 win over the Powerade Tigers.

Jeff Chan also exploded for 19 points while Gabe Norwood logged 11 points.

The Elasto Painters' defense also played a key role, limiting Tiger gunner Gary David to just 14points, after David scored 31 points in the Tigers' last game. Doug Kramer led the Tigers with 16 points while Marcio Lassiter scored 12points.

More on this story here.

Japeth Aguilar: Monster on the loose?

2011-10-10T09:36:00.000+08:00

27 points, 8 rebounds 2 steals and 1 block.

That could easily be the stat line of a PBA import. Except that it's the stat line of one Japeth Aguilar, a seldom used Gilas player in the last FIBA-Asia Championships and former #1 PBA draft pick who demanded a trade so he could play for the national team.

Aguilar highlighted his dominant performance with a tomahawk dunk over former Gilas teammate Jason Ballesteros, serving notice to the PBA that he was certainly back with a vengeance.

More importantly, he led Talk N Text to a 98-80 win over sister team Meralco, despite the absence of three key players, Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo and Kelly Williams.

More on this story here.

Ilgauskas Retires!

2011-10-05T13:41:00.000+08:00

It was finally time to leave the game.

11 years ago, Zydrunas Ilgauskas was nearly forced into retirement by incessant foot injuries. But the big man persevered and soon, he found himself an All-Star and playing in the NBA Finals.

But 12 seasons later, he finds himself at another crossroads of his life, contemplating life without the NBA.

Citing health reasons, Ilgauskas formally retired from the NBA and will now concentrate on being with his family.

More on this story here.

Chieffy Caligdong's 2nd Goal Against Macau!

2011-10-04T23:02:00.000+08:00

Azkals Win Over Macau, 2-0!

2011-10-04T22:59:00.001+08:00

Chieffy Caligdong does it again!

With the Azkals looking for an offensive spark, the diminutive guy from Barotac Nuevo stepped up, ignored an injury and score a brace of goals to catapult the Philippines into second place in the long Teng Cup.

Here is Caligdong's first goal.

MVP Parks Has Something To Prove.

2011-10-03T18:40:00.001+08:00

Bobby Ray Parks is the first UAAP MVP to come from NU. He's also the first to come from a non-Final Four team.

And that seems to be enough for people to question whether he deserves to be the UAAP MVP.

The young Parks hears all the questions and criticisms but says he prefers to let his actions speak for him. Parks aims to improve his game over the year-long break and prove to one and all that his MVP title is well-deserved.

Parks averaged 20 points and 6.5 rebounds but NU finished the season at 5th place with a 6-8 win-loss record, just outside their target of making the Final Four.

Many UAAP observers are saying that Parks inability to lead NU to the Final Four should have eliminated him from the MVP race, citing the performances of Ateneo's Greg Slaughter, FEU's Aldrech Ramos and RR Garcia and Adamson's Alex Nuyless as more worthy MVP candidates.

My opinion: It's called the Most Valuable Player Award, not Most Valuable Team. Parks played tremendously well and brought NU to the brink of the Final Four, something NU has never reached before. But what is more important is that NU is no longer an automatic out, a game most teams would think of as an automatic win. Parks changed the league's perception of NU from whipping boy to dangerous opponent. That's what an MVP does.

More on this story here.