Amit repeats as best athlete in SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards

(File Photo by Josh Albelda/Rappler)

CEBU, Philippines – Double World Champion Cebuana pool player, Rubilen Amit, was honored as the Athlete of the Year for the second time in the 32nd edition of the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC)-San Miguel Brewery, Inc. (SMB) Cebu Sports Awards at the Activity Center of Ayala Mall Cebu on Wednesday, March 26.

Amit recently won two world titles in 2013, the Women’s Ten Ball World title and the Mixed Doubles World title with living legend Efren ‘Bata’ Reyes, and a gold medal in the Southeast Asian (SEA) games, which led her to loom in the field of Cebu athletes.

Amit, when she first won the World 10 Ball title, was also chosen as Athlete of the Year during the 28thstaging of the event.

Aside from being the first female World Pool Champion, she was also the first athlete who became a recipient of the same major award in the history of SAC-SMB Cebu Sports Awards.

Aside from Amit, Frank Gatdula also received the Orlacsan Award for his contribution to cycling, and taekwondo coach Glenn Lava received the Presidential Award for helping Cebu win two world titles in taekwondo.

(SAC Awardees pose for a photo op. Photo by: Mary Jane Catriz)

Here is the list of the Cebuano athletes who received major awards:

Athletics – Julius Nierras

Basketball – Andres Paul Desiderio, Arnie Christian Padilla and June Mar Fajardo

Billiards – Rubilen Amit

Bowling – Kim Lao

Boxing – Donnie Nietes, Johnriel Casimero and Merlito Sabillo

Dance Sport – Pearl Caneda and Wilbert Aunzo

Football – Don Bosco Technology Center and PAREF Springdale School

Golf – Cebu Country Club

Judo – Kiyomi Sarausad Watanabe

Running – Mary Grace de los Santos and Mary Joy Tabal

Sepak Takraw – Rhey Jay Ortouste

Taekwondo – Glenn Lava, Mikaela Calamba and Rinna Babanto

Tennis – Arthur Craig Pantino, Jan Godfrey Seno and Johnny Arcilla

Triathlon – Joseph Miller, Justin Liam Chiongbian and Fredric Albert Yuan Chiongbian

Meanwhile, Veteran sports analyst Quinito Henson praised the awardees in the Cebu sports field and said they deserve not only recognition in Cebu but nationwide.

“Athletes of the Cebu are world class. I feel the entire country should be aware of how good Cebu athletes are,” he said.

SAC, is an independent organization which consists of sports columnists, writers and editors in Cebu, is called “The Oscars” of Cebu sports, who gathered all the Cebuano best athletes in the whole world, and honor the year’s top sports performers. 

(This article was also published at rappler.com, to visit, click this: http://www.rappler.com/sports/philippines/54070-rubilen-amit-repeats-athlete-of-the-year-sac-smb-cebu-sports-awards)

10 Visayans heading to Jr. NBA Philippines 2014 training camp

(Jr. NBA Finalists from Cebu Regional Selection Camp from left to right: Andre Dadivas, Donn Lim, Andrew Velasco, Wayne Kirby Besaluna, Steven Co, Jomari Ranuco and Jethro Rocamora. Photo by jr. NBA PR/Rappler)

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines - Out of 61 junior basketball player tryouts of Cebu Regional Selection Camp (CRSC) of Jr. NBA/WNBA Philippines finalists, only 5 Cebuanos, 3 Cebuanas and 2 Bacoleños made it to National Training Camp (NTC), it was announced on Tuesday, March 24 at the Ateneo de Cebu in Canduman, Mandaue City, Cebu.

The seven boys, who came from Cebu and Bacolod, include: Wayne Besaluña, Andrew Velasco and Steven Co of Ateneo de Cebu; Jomari Ranuco of the University of San Carlos; Jethro Rocamora of the First Christian Baptist School in Cebu; Andre Dadivas of University of St. La Salle in Bacolod and Donn Lim of St. John Institute, Bacolod.

(L-R: Mary Jean Pascual, Lyniel Padilla, Ma. Kassandra Bayking -- Jr. WNBA Finalists from Cebu Regional Selection Camp. Photo by: Jr.NBA PR)

While the girls, who will be the pioneering batch of Jr. WNBA players from Cebu are: Mary Jean Pascual of the University of Southwestern Philippines; Ma. Kassandra Bayking of Abellana National High School in Cebu; and Lymiel Padilla of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. (READ: Jr. NBA tips off for 7th year, expands program to females)

The Cebu finalists, who were evaluated by the Jr. NBA/WNBA committee headed by Jr. NBA coach and Basketball Operations of NBA Asia Specialist, Chris Sumner, and Jojo Lastimosa of the Alaska Power Camp, will represent Central Visayas at the NTC on April 25-27, at the Philippine International Convention Center and the SM Mall of Asia.

The 10 chosen rookie players were among the 1,152 kids who registered in Cebu for the camp this year, which set a program record for most participants registered in the Jr. NBA/WNBA since it was started in 2007.

The players were tabbed for their all-around basketball skills, and utilized the Jr. NBA’s gist – S.T.A.R., play off the values of Sportsmanship, Teamwork, (a positive) Attitude and Respect.

“We looked at how the players worked with their teammates, their skills and fundamentals. We also looked out for a positive attitude. Like, if they lose the ball, how did they react? If they went right back on defense, that’s a positive attitude. This was a very competitive group, very energetic. We have some pretty skilled players here,” said Coach Chris Sumner.

There are three more regional selection camps on track after Cebu, in Dagupan on March 29-30 at the Stadia, Puerto Princesa on April 5-6 at the Puerto Princesa Sports Complex, and Manila at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) Forum.

Jr. NBA/WNBA Philippines presented by Alaska, was organized by the NBA with Gatorade and Phoenix Petroleum as official partners. 

(This article was also published at rappler.com, to visit the site, click this: http://www.rappler.com/sports/by-sport/basketball/53805-10-visayans-jr-nba-philippines-training-camp)

WBC MOVE MAKES PACQUIAO-MAYWEATHER FIGHT CLOSE TO REALITY

Right after Manny Pacquiao's November 24 win over Brandon Rios which earned him the WBO international welterweight title and garnered a PPV buyrate of only 500,000, speculation has been swirling around on who Pacquiao's next opponent will be.

According to Scott Christ of BadLeftHook, the Pacquiao's win over Rios didn't move the needle in the build-up, as the fight was Pacquiao's lowest buy rate since 2008. Pacquiao's fights are not just about the opponents or the gates, but also, and more importantly, about pay per view buys. There is not another fight where the boxing fans are itching to witness either in the stadium or on the hi-definitation PPV telecast -- Paquiao vs Mayweather fight.

The awaited dream match between Pacquiao and Mayweather has gotten an unexpected boost and may now be nearer to materialize than ever before. In a surprising move, the WBC has installed Pacquiao as its top contender of the welterweight division in its latest rankings replacing previous No. 1 Luis Abregu of Argentina. And guest what? Floyd Mayweather Jr is the current WBC welterweight champion.

According to Tempo's Nick Giongco, the inclusion of Pacquiao to the WBC welterweight class is so sudden since Paquiao wasn’t even rated in the last rankings that were released during the boxing body’s annual convention in Bangkok last month.

The WBC may be in the process of preparing for the much awaited megafight by making Pacquiao the number contender to Mayweather's throne.

It is also possible that Golden Boy Promotions, who promote all of Mayweather's fights, may have a hand in the rankings since it works closely with the WBC. Showtime, which has a TV contract with Mayweather, may also be working behind the scenes to make the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight possible.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, told BoxingScene.com that if Bob Arum, Top Rank’s CEO, wants Mayweather-Pacquiao, then make Top Rank should make Pacquiao available and Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions will take care of everything.

On the other hand, Top Rank, which has a promotional contract with Pacquiao and works with Showtime's rival HBO, might be also working behind the scene to make the fight happen possibly in 2014.

Arum has announced during his interview with USA Today that his company was ready and willing to make Pacquiao-Mayweather showdown.

“We’ve announced we’re willing to make anything happen. Now somebody has got to contact us so we can sit down and explore how it can happen. Isn’t that the way normal people deal? You can’t wave a wand. I’ve said unequivocally, we’re ready to sit down and see if a deal can be reached,” Arum said.

Pacquiao-Mayweather is still the biggest money fight in the history of boxing that the world awaits.

WILL 'PACMAN' AND 'THE GHOST' FINALLY MEET IN THE BOXING RING?

The highly popular classic arcade game Pac-Man where the yellow pellet-eating creature try to evade the ghosts, may soon have its real-life counterpart when Filipino boxing hero Manny 'Pacman' Pacquiao battles American Robert 'The Ghost' Guerrero.

According to Joaquin Henson’s article of The Philippine Star, “The Ghost” has declared himself available to fight the “Pacman” and express his confidence that the match will be a PPV blockbuster. Guerrero said that neither of them will be running and believes the fans would want to see their fight.

“Neither of us will be running. Everyone knows the fight will have fireworks. And I do believe the fans would want to see us fight so they can make their own comparison. I come from a hard-working family and we know how hard it is to earn a dollar and to pay top dollar for a pay-per-view, you want to see an explosive fight. When Mayweather feels threatened, he gets on his bike and runs and when Manny feels threatened, he fights toe-to-toe and that’s why he’s loved world-wide,” Guerrero told the Star.

Pacquiao is currently shopping for an opponent for his next fight after his successful comeback fight where he demolished Brandon Rios in Macau more than two weeks ago. If the Mayweather fight cannot be made, Top Rank has floated the names of Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley and Ruslan Provodnikov as Pacquiao's most likely opponents. Top Rank may add Guerrero up to the list.

Except for Marquez, Pacquiao has defeated more impressively Oscar De La Hoya (TKO 8), Ricky Hatton (KO 2), Miguel Cotto (TKO 12) and Shane Mosley (KD 3, UD 12) than Mayweather did (De La Hoya, SD 12; Hatton, TKO 10; Cotto, UD 12 and Mosley, UD 12). If again Pacquiao beats Guerrero more impressively than Mayweather where he beat Guerrero by unanimous decision last May 4 in Las Vegas, it will add additional pressure to Mayweather to finally fight Pacquiao.

Guerrero is rated WBC No. 8 welterweight while Pacquiao has been elevated by the WBC to No. 1 contender on its latest rankings. Mayweather is the current WBC welterweight champion.

Is Mayweather hyping up a future fight with Pacquiao with his memes?

Another social media post by Floyd Mayweather Jr goes viral after his “Manny Roach” photo and “Christmas card to the world” directed towards his nemesis Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao.

Once again the undefeated American boxer mocked the Filipino boxing champ where he now dubbed as a "leftover" from his defeated opponent.

The posted photo shows Mayweather hits Pacquaio’s with a solid punch in the face that goes with the caption: "Juan Marquez ate Timothy Bradley's leftovers. Now you're telling me I got to eat Marquez's leftovers? Let me talk to the IRS about this..."

The photo is reaping more than 5,000 shares, close to 60,000 likes and nearly 10,000 comments on Facebook while nearly 3,000 retweeted it on Twitter.

Mayweather, on his first attack to Pacquiao, made a humorous meme where Pacquiao made the plea to fight him after Pacquiao was knocked out by Marquez, It gained almost 190,000 likes, nearly 33,000 shares and more than 20,000 comments on Facebook.
His “Manny Roach” photo with a caption: “Manny Pacquaio mixed with Freddie Roach. Meet my friend, Manny Roach” earned more than 100,000 likes, almost 7,000 shares and nearly 10,000 comments on Facebook.

All in all, by the numbers, Mayweather has earned almost 500,000 shares, likes and comments on his memes with Pacquiao on Facebook.

Is this a marketing genius on the part Mayweather in preparation for finally taking a fight with Pacquiao?

Lopez, Biagan top at the First Oslob Triathlon Race

      Abet Biagan and Lorhiz Echavez-Lopez, who were former members of the National Triathlon Team, took the title as champions in Oslob’s first-ever triathlon race, “Hunat Sugbo Triathlon” of Parklane International Hotel on October 6, 2013.

Biagan of Fish18 Sport, grabbed the top plum in Male Standard category when he conquered the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run to finish in two hours, fourteen minutes and twenty-five seconds (2:14:25) while Elmo Clarabal of Equicredit made it in second with 2:24:19 and Ralph Arche at the third place with his time of (2:25:00).

Lopez, on the other hand, reigned first in Female Standard category in two hours, forty-six minutes and sixteen seconds (2:46:16) and enjoyed two minutes and sixteen seconds lead over Nia Durano-Aldeguer who came in second at (2:48:32) and Parklane Tri Team’s Hannah Lou Galo at the third place with the time of (2:57:22).

“This is one of the most difficult swim in my years of competing in triathlons because of the big rocks caused by gigantic waves… that is why I really salute for those newbie because it is really difficult to manage” said Lopez, who was also  known as Cebu’s more accomplished swimmer.

In the open sprint race, another Parklane Tri Team’s Kristiane Lim ruled the Male Sprint category with the time of one hour, forty-two minutes and one second (1:42:01) over Yuan Chiongbian, who also finished second during Talisay Triathlon Race this year, with a time of (1:42:19) and Magic Stationary Prod’s Ralph Eduard So clinched the third place at (1:42:41).

Meanwhile, Aaliyah Mataragnon of Magic Stationary Prod, 13-year-old, prevailed over 14-year-old Shaia Ruth Uy of Team Cebu, who has been Mataragnon’s tough co-triathlete, came in second at (1:55:14) while Iloilo Multisports’ Christine Joy Guillergan clinched the third place at (2:08:06).

Unluckily, Justin Chongbian, who recently won gold medal in Singapore last week, collapsed after he managed to finish fourth in the men’s sprint distance. 

The age-group top male finishers were Paul Jake Castillo (25-29), Franklin Echevarria (30-34), Allan Leith Ting (35-39), Cary Marlowe Remotigue (40-44), Richardo Paulo Yusay (45-49) and Jose Richardo Dizon (50 and above) while the top female finishers are Natalie Joy Sy (18-29) and June-Marq Ocana (35-39).

BAUTISTA VS MENDOZA: WHO WILL REMAIN STANDING ON SATURDAY NIGHT?

In the midst of a rainy Thursday afternoon, the final press conference for Pinoy Pride X was held at the EGI Hotel and Resort in Mactan, Cebu which indicates that the battle is near.


Defending IBF International Featherweight Champion Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista (31W 2L, 23 KO's) and his Mexican challenger knockout artist Miguel Angel Mendoza who will headline the event, answered questions from the media about their upcoming bout this Saturday at the Hoops Dome in Lapulapu City. 

As regards to their statements, Bautista said, "Naa siya'y 17 KO, pasabot ana ka'y maayo jud na siya nga boksingero pero tan-awon nato kon mahimo niya to sa akoa" (He has knocked 17 opponents out, which means he is a good fighter, but let’s just see if he can do the same to me). Mendoza, who predicted that he will knock Bautista out within six rounds, told Bautista, "Let's see each other on top of the ring." 


They have different visions but the same mission for their highly anticipated bout -- to win. 

Will Bautista's belt taken away? Or the Mexican KO artist will no longer be undefeated come Saturday night? Who among the two good fighters will remain on the top of the ring? 

“Atangi jud ni, kay nindot kaayo ni nga duwa!" (Watch this fight because this is a good fight!) said Edito Villamor, the trainer of Bautista. 

Villamor knows that this is a tough fight. The two fighters have the power, agility and ability to win a boxing match which makes this bout highly unpredictable. With their excellent records and their proud countries behind, each one has something to prove. 

Only the best man will remain standing come Saturday night.