Source: GMA News
LOS ANGELES - David Beckham's Los Angeles Galaxy beat Houston 1-0 on Sunday to win Major League Soccer's MLS Cup, giving the English superstar the Hollywood ending he sought to his ground-breaking Galaxy deal.
Landon Donovan's 72nd-minute goal, from a pass by Irish international Robbie Keane, was enough to secure the victory for the Galaxy.
Beckham and his Galaxy mates will have little time to celebrate, as they are scheduled to embark on an Asian tour that will include a friendly match against the Philippine Azkals at Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila on December 3.
Their American championship adds even more buzz and prestige to the much-anticipated match in Manila. The Younghusband brothers from England, Azkals stars, idolized fellow Briton Beckham while growing up.
Beckham, who won six Premiership titles with Manchester United and a Spanish League title with Real Madrid, captured his first MLS championship in the final match of his five-year deal.
The triumph put the finishing touches to a season in which the Galaxy produced the best regular-season record in the league and were unbeaten at home.
The lone goal of the match came as Beckham headed a ball to Keane, who ran into the area and fed Donovan, who fired home.
When the final whistle blew, Beckham wrapped his arms around Donovan and lifted him off his feet in celebration.
Donovan paid tribute to his "warrior-like" teammate, saying Beckham injured a hamstring earlier in the week and was "playing on one leg."
Beckham himself was just happy to claim the title so widely predicted when he arrived Stateside to great fanfare in 2007 -- a move that raised the profile of MLS with US sports fans and opened the door for other marquee international players to follow.
"It's about time," said Beckham, who could yet have a sequel with the Galaxy if team officials can persuade him to return after his contract expires at the end of December.
Beckham, who is also being wooed by French club Paris Saint-Germain, preferred to celebrate rather than speculate on his future.
"I'm glad all the hard work of the season paid off," he said.
"I play the game to win. Whether I stay or not I've had an amazing five years," added Beckham, who was serenaded by chants of "We want Beckham" after the final whistle blew.
A record crowd of 30,281 turned out at the Home Depot Center, undaunted by the rain that pelted Los Angeles all day.
The fact that the stadium had been selected in advance to hold the championship match was a bit of serendipity for the Galaxy, making it a virtual home fixture for them.
Houston suffered another blow when they lost leading scorer Brad Davis to a torn quadriceps in the Eastern Conference championship match.
Los Angeles dominated play in a scoreless first half but couldn't capitalize.
Beckham delivered a corner directly to forward Adam Cristman's head in the 12th minute but Cristman -- replacing injured Chad Barrett in the starting lineup -- missed.
In the 27th, he was unable to finish another header after Beckham lofted a pass to him, and he then misplayed a ball from Donovan in front of the goal after slipping on the wet pitch.
Keane, who this month helped Ireland book their Euro 2012 berth, appeared to score in the 56th but the goal was ruled offside.
Source: Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines - Eight-division world champion Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao is confident that he was the rightful winner of his last fight against rival Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico, even if some boxing analysts continue to question the result of the fight.
Pacquiao defeated Marquez via a controversial majority decision, but his performance lacked the same explosiveness that he displayed in his previous fights.
In a brief press conference after he arrived in Manila, Pacquiao told his critics: "Sa mga ibang tao na naniniwala na hindi tama ang desisyon, magpakatotoo ka. Maging Pilipino ka."
Pacquiao said he knew he had won the fight even before the bell sounded in the 12th round.
"Ang paniniwala ko, bago pa natapos ang 12 rounds ay lamang ako at panalo ako," he said, but added that he was not completely satisfied with his performance inside the ring.
"Yung ine-expect ng mga tao at ine-expect ko rin na maibigay ko sa mga tao, hindi nangyaring ganoon," he said.
The boxer said that his fans have gotten used to seeing him dominate his opponents. Before his tough battle against Marquez, Pacquiao rose to the top of the boxing world by beating up and knocking out fighters who were naturally bigger than him
Pacquiao had knockout victories over Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Miguel Cotto, as well as decision victories over Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.
He was a heavy favorite against Marquez, as many felt that the Mexican boxer will not be able to deal with the additional weight and that Pacquiao had improved greatly since the two boxers last met in 2008.
'It's my fault'
"Kasalanan ko rin ang lahat ng pangyayari. Hindi ko masisising may doubts sa pagkapanalo ko, dahil sinanay ko kasi sila na palagi akong panalo ng knockout, o binubugbog ko ang kalaban ko," Pacquiao said.
"Baka naman payagan n'yo ako na pwedeng manalo kahit na close fight. Hindi ba ako pwedeng manalo ng close fight?" he said. "Kailangan ba ang panalo ni Manny Pacquiao laging one-sided fight?"
Pacquiao said that he suffered from foot cramps during the bout, which hampered his performance.
"'Yung kaliwang paa ko, tumigas ng third round, pinapisil ko kay Buboy (Fernandez) nung pang-apat na round dahil halos hindi ko maigalaw," he said, adding that the pain subsided in the last five rounds of the fight.
His lackluster showing in the bout cost him his place as the pound-for-pound king in the ratings of ESPN, Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports, with undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. taking his place at the top spot.
"Hindi ko alam kung saan lumabas yan," Pacquiao said of the pound-for-pound ratings. "Sa ibang mga tao lang siguro na hindi dugong Pinoy ang nag-iisip ng ganyan."
Pacquiao remains number 1 in THE RING magazine's pound-for-pound ratings.
Source: Philippine Star,
JAKARTA – The country's amateur cagers proved more than enough to get the job done in winning the SEA Games men's championship, routing Thailand, 85-57, last night to complete their golden mission here.
Sinag Pilipinas, a mix of collegiate stars and PBA D-League mainstays, just won’t let the gold medal that mattered most slip away, posting an unassailable lead right in the first half en route to scoring another blowout win to cap a masterful five-game sweep.
"This means a lot to us, not just for me but the whole team. We're very happy to win the gold and make the country proud," said Sinag PH coach Norman Black.
FIBA Asia veteran Chris Tiu and his younger teammates, who trained together for only three weeks, twice tore apart the Thais, whose core members were part of the Thai team that ruled the last ABL (Asean Basketball League) championship.
They also fashioned out overwhelming victories over Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia earlier.
"What’s amazing about this team is it's a young team. It shows that we have a bright future ahead of us," said Black.
UAAP stars Greg Slaughter, Bobby Ray Parks and RR Garcia put in double-digit outputs to lead the Nationals to their gold-medal game conquest, stretching the country’s reign in SEAG men’s basketball to 20 years.
Meanwhile in boxing, with two gold medals and one bronze, the Philippine boxers bid for a finish of four golds as Charly Suarez and Dennis Galvan go up against Indonesian rivals in the finals of the boxing competitions today at the Basketball Hall at the heart of the city here.
Source: Nick Giongco, Manila Bulletin
MANILA, Philippines — It’s time for Manny Pacquiao to look for a new dancing partner.
After doing the tango with Juan Manuel Marquez three times, the Filipino has no choice but to dump the Mexican in favor of the flashy Floyd Mayweather Jr., a prominent figure inside Team Pacquiao said recently.
Cebu kingmaker Wakee Salud, who has been at ringside in Pacquiao’s US fights dating back to 2005, said a more lucrative trilogy awaits Pacquiao once he decides to abandon plans to face Marquez for the fourth time.
“Because this fight is so big, there’s going to be a rematch whatever happens in the first fight,” said Salud. “And the rematch could also lead to a rubber match.”
“Manny has nothing to prove anymore with Marquez as he has beaten him twice,” Salud said.
Pacquiao is coming off a close 12-round majority decision over Marquez but despite the win, his reputation has been affected and leading boxing media entities like Yahoo! Sports, ESPN and Sports Illustrated have demoted him to the No. 2 spot in their respective pound-for-pound rankings.
Only The Ring magazine has retained Pacquiao – barely – as its No. 1 fighter on the elite list.
Meanwhile, Marquez’s belief that he had been robbed by the judges was solidified further after he watched the video of the fight in Mexico City.
Marquez told fight scribe Salvador Rodriguez of Record that he is “even more convinced” of his win over Pacquiao last week at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Marquez added: “I beat him again and he knows that I did.”
And this is probably the reason why Top Rank chief Bob Arum is pushing for a fourth fight set for May 2012 even though key members of Pacquiao’s team are already talking about fighting Mayweather instead.
Source: Marlon Bernardino, ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines – Filipino Grandmaster (GM) Wesley So and Woman Fide Master (WFM) Rulp Ylem Jose each scored wins in the ongoing 26th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) chess competition in Palembang, Indonesia.
So defeated International Master (IM) Jimmy Liew of Malaysia to gain a share of the lead in the Men’s Standard with GM Susanto Megaranto of Indonesia.
In the Women Standard category, 2-time National Open champ Jose upset Woman Grandmaster (WGM) Irine Kharisma Sukandar of Indonesia.
Jose now has 2 points, half point ahead of second-running Woman International Master (WIM) Nguyen Thi Mai Hung of Vietnam.
National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President Prospero "Butch" Pichay Jr. is confident that the Filipino woodpushers will perform well.
"Confident ako na makaka kuha tayo ng 3 hanggang 4 na gintong medalya sa Southeast Asian Games. Maganda ang chances nina Wesley at Rulp Ylem," said Pichay.
Other players competing in the SEAG chess competition are GM Oliver Barbosa, GM Rogelio "Joey" Antonio Jr., GM Mark Paragua, and Beverly and Jedara Docena.
Source: AFP,
World Boxing Council middleweight champ Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr aims to keep his unbeaten record intact when he defends his title for the first time on Saturday against Peter Manfredo.
The son of Hall of Fame boxer Julio Cesar Chavez will be defending the title he won in a unanimous decision over Germany's Sebastian Zbik five months ago.
"Once you become world champion, you accept the responsibility of training hard and getting better," Chavez said. "I want to be champion for a long time. I've never trained this hard for a fight. I want to give the people of Houston a great fight."
Chavez's (43-0-1, 30 KOs) first title defense was originally supposed to be against Ronald Hearns, son of another boxing legend.
Hearns, 32, is the son of Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, who is the first boxer to win four world titles in four divisions. They were supposed to fight in September, but Ronald Hearns had to back out after cutting his hand on a ceiling fan.
Manfredo (37-6, 20 KOs), has won six straight fights and is the fourth-ranked middleweight contender.
The 30-year-old American said he would retire if he loses to Chavez but if he takes the belt he wants to go out in style with a big payday.
"Knowing this is my last shot, I've trained extremely hard for this," said Manfredo, 30. "I'm ready to fight, and I'm ready to take this title back to little Providence, Rhode Island.
The 26-year-old Chavez, of Mexico, is now trained by Manny Pacquiao's corner man Freddie Roach. He feels he is more focused and works harder with Roach guiding him.
"I trained with my family for a long time, but it's different than training with a great trainer like Freddie Roach," Chavez said. "He has given me a lot of discipline. He has taught me a lot about being a professional. He's given me that dedication through training to get ready."
Source: Angelo Gutierrez, Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao barely kept the coveted The Ring Magazine’s No. 1 pound-for-pound king title following his controversial win over Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas last Saturday.
“Pacquiao survives as the Ring’s No. 1 fighter by a hair,” Ring Magazine’s Michael Rosenthal said in a statement posted on The Ring’s website.
Rosenthal said that the magazine’s editorial board nearly declared the No. 1 pound-for-pound position vacant after Pacquiao’s “sub-par performance” in his recent fight with Marquez.
“In the end, though, we decided to leave the pound-for-pound rankings as is for one simple reason: All but one member of the Ratings Advisory Panel who provided input and the entire Ring Editorial Board believed it was the right thing to do,” he said.
The No. 2 position is held by Floyd Mayweather Jr. followed by Sergio Martinez and Nonito Donaire. Marquez is at No. 5.
Rosenthal said that they will consider putting Mayweather ahead of Pacquiao if he turns in an outstanding performance in his next fight or if Pacquiao “stumbles again.”
He said that they also considered moving Marquez up the rankings, but they could not because Mayweather, Martinez and Donaire “don’t deserve to be demoted.”
Meanwhile, Rosenthal said that The Ring hopes that Pacquiao and Mayweather will agree once and for all to a face-off.
There are reports that the camps of Mayweather and Pacquiao are working for a May 2012 fight. Top Rank’s Bob Arum, meanwhile, said they are also trying to talk on a fourth fight between Pacquiao and Marquez on the same date.
In naming Pacquiao as the Ring’s pound-for-pound king, the prestigious magazine said the Filipino icon didn’t take on a chump, pointing out that Marquez is the No. 5.
“And Pacquiao beat him, at least officially. A great fighter shouldn’t necessarily be demoted because another great fighter has his number. We didn’t think less of Muhammad Ali because he had trouble with Ken Norton three times. The same with Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler,” said The Ring.
Source: GMA News
The United Football League (UFL) revealed on Wednesday that coming elimination matches originally scheduled at the Rizal football stadium will instead be at the University of Makati football field.
“In preparation for the LA Galaxy vs. Azkals Match, Rizal Memorial has advised the UFL not to use the pitch," the UFL said in a Facebook post.
UFL teams will return to the Rizal pitch on December 5 after the friendly game between the Philippine men’s national football team—the Azkals—and the LA Galaxy of the United States’ Major League Soccer.
The December 5 games will be for the semifinals of the current UFL Cup, wherein 28 football teams and clubs are competing in seven groups. The tournament is nearing the end of its elimination stage's Round of 16, with only six games yet to be played.
Source: ABS-CBN News
MANILA, Philippines - New Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos expects to make his first title defense against former champion Brock Lesnar.
Dos Santos won the heavyweight belt when he fought Cain Velasquez last Saturday via a stunning 64-second knockout, in what was UFC's debut on FOX network.
Lesnar, meanwhile, will battle Alistair Overeem for the right to face Dos Santos at UFC 141.
"I will be watching the fight. I don't know who will win, but I'll think I'll go with Brock," Dos Santos said in an ESPN interview.
He added, however, that he is not the one who chooses his opponent.
"I'm not thinking about that now. I want to go back to Brazil and make a big BBQ for all my friends and training partners," he added.
Dos Santos' first title defense may not be for a while, however, as he suffered from a torn meniscus and may have to undergo surgery.
Source: GMA News
Filipino-American Cliff Hodge tallied 15 points to lead Sinag Pilipinas to a 103-69 thrashing of Thailand as the Nationals finished the group stages with an impressive 3-0 win-loss card.
Five other players finished in double figures as Sinag Pilipinas showed its balanced offensive attack
UAAP Season 74 Rookie of the Year Kiefer Ravena added 14 points while 2011 UAAP Finals Most Valuable Player Nico Salva scored 12.
The Norman Black-coached Sinag Pilipinas started strong outscoring Thailand, 37-21, after 10 minutes of play.
Thailand tried to rally back in the game but the Philippines survived the fightback and entered the halftime break enjoying a 54-34 spread.
It was almost the same story in the second half with the Philippines turning Thailand's 21 turnovers to 28 points mostly on open court action that included two dunks from Fil-Am Chris Ellis.
The scrappy and athletic Thai team out-rebounded the Philippines 32-28, but the Philippines played more as a team based on Sinag's 23-9 edge in assists.
Team Pilipinas also took care of the ball better, only committing 14 turnovers against Thailand's 21.
Scores:
Sinag Pilipinas 107—Hodge 15, Ravena 14, Salva 12, Slaughter 11, Ellis 11, Parks 10, Lanete 8, Garcia 7, Monfort 6, Tiu 6, Marcelo 3, Pascual 0.
Thailand 69—Apiromvilaichai (Darongpan) 12, Klahan 11, Kaedum 8, Kongkum 8, Sangthong 6, Lertmalaiporn 5, Kruatiwa 5, Dasom 3, Apiromvilaichai (Darunpong) 2, Ghogar 2.
