Gilas Pilipinas Knocks off Korea to barge into 2013 FIBA Asia Finals

 

The spell of heartbreaking defeats to Korea is finally over.

     Spurred by the capacity-crowd and the millions of Filipinos watching from their homes, Smart Gilas Pilipinas took home an emotional 86-79 win over their South Korean tormentors, to book a slot in the gold medal game of the 2013 FIBA Asia  Championships last night at the MOA Arena.

     

     After some anxious moments in the endgame, the Philippine National Basketball Team managed to impose their will in the final moments of the game, thereby setting a date with Asian superpower Iran in the championship match and also, securing a slot in thw World Cup of Basketball to be held in Spain next year.

     The Gilas battlecry of "Puso!" was clearly personified in this game, especially after main guy Marcus Douthit was injured in the second quarter, prompting guys like Marc Pingris, who finished the game with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Ranidel De Ocampo to fill the void left by their hustle and end game heroics.

     The Koreans proved to be a tough adversary, led by their 19-year old superstar Kim Ming Goo, who finished with a game-high 27 points, including a sensational 4 point play in the home stretch to push the Koreans to within a point, 73-72 after Gilas led as much as 10 after their third quarter storm.

    But Jimmy Alapag kept the Filipinos' heads above water with a cold-blooded 3 pointer, to up the lead to five points, 84-79 with only 53 seconds remaining to seal the deal in this grudge match.

     The entire Gilas squad showed immense emotions after the hard fought win, most especially head coach Chot Reyes, who was visibly weeping after the game.

 Photo courtesy of: ph.sports.yahoo.com

Mayweather Stays Unblemished via Impressive Win over Guerrero

The Ghost falls victim to the streak

Undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. put on a boxing clinic as he claimed the WBC and Ring Magazine Welterweight crown after cruising past a determined Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero via unanimous decision in front of the ecstatic crowd in MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas Nevada last May 5.

After several heated off-ring encounters, the two boxers finally let their fists do the talking and Mayweather thoroughly proved that he was the superior fighter as he pummeled Guerrero round after round that he followed up with the quick and slick defense that he is known for.

Mayweather began to take control in the 2nd and 3rd round and he never looked back, even busting up Guerrero's eye in the 8th round on his way to registering his 44th win in his perfect boxing career with 26 KO's.

Guerrero showed some flashes of brillance in the opening round but it clearly wasn't enough as he was completely outclassed by "Money" Mayweather. Guerrero was missing badly for majority of the fight and was repeatedly tagged with precise shots by the champion.

Guerrero kept on stalking Mayweather around the ring but it was for naught, as he couldn't keep up with excellent hand and foot speed of  Mayweather who kept slipping past him.

All 3 judges scored the bout, 117-111.

Penalosa shows potential by demolishing Thai foe

A tougher opponent would be the real barometer.

3rd generation boxer Dodie Boy Penalosa Jr. defeats first foreign opponent in Kong Kiatpracha Gym of Thailand via 3 knockdowns in the 2nd round to impress his countrymen that waited to see if he is the real deal or just all hype in the jam packed Mandaue Sports and Cultural Center in Cebu.

The son of 2-time world champion Dodie Penalosa Sr. showed the punching power he was known for as he improved his record to 6-0 (6KO's) after steamrolling the visiting Thai who showed no signs of even boxing basics and it is really obvious from the start who the victor will be.

Penalosa Jr. will now qualify for an undercard in the Pacquiao-Marquez battle in November where many will await for him to receive a tougher opponent and a better challenge to really determine what he is made of.

"I am proud and so happy for him" said a jubilant father in Dodie Boy Penalosa Sr.

The responsibility of providing quality fights for Penalosa Jr. will fall to his promoter and uncle Gerry Penalosa who is also a 2-time world champion.

NBA stars emerge over persistent Smart Gilas

Too much skill,too much power.

The visiting NBA stars led by Kobe Bryant flattened the Smart Gilas National Team 98-89 to get a 2-0 record in their stint here after they also defeated the PBA selection in the "NBA Ultimate Weekend in front of the awed fans at the Araneta Coliseum.

Fresh from their demolishing of the PBA Selection, the NBA stars got off to a hot start capped by numerous highlight plays by Javale McGee and the steady showing by Kobe Bryant with 7 straight points in the first period to get a 28-16 lead.

The domination of the NBA stars continued in the second quarter but Gilas tried to fight back with Dondon Hontiveros hitting back to back threes and Marcio Lassitier drained his own trifecta to cut the lead to a sizable 38-31 before McGee and the rest of the NBA Squad let off a 7-0 bomb to get away again, getting a 55-37 halftime lead.

The lead went up as much as 22 points in the 3rd quarter as the NBA stars stepped it up a notch, utilizing their very evident height advantage with Bryant and Kevin Durant posting up their smaller defenders at the post.

Gilas mounted a last ditch effort led by JV Casio who scored 11 points in the fourth quarter and the national team got to within 10 points after a put back slam by Marcus Douthit with 4 and a half minutes remaining but their effort was put to waste by the NBA stars as their supremacy in the game showed again as they answered by monster dunks to end the game.

Bryant said he is looking forward to playing here again. "It's been a pleasure to play in front of the Filipino fans."

Viloria captures third world title

Delivering his best on a make or break match of his career.

Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria notched his third world title by stripping the WBO Flyweight Championship from Mexican Julio Cezar Miranda in their world title fight via convincing unanimous decision in one of the biggest fights in his career in front of the supportive Hawaiian crowd in Honolulu Hawaii.

The Fil-Hawaiian meant business from the start as he scored an early knockdown in the first round against an apparently shocked and weakened Miranda who had to shake off 2 pounds in the day of the fight just to meet the weight requirement.

Miranda seemed to gain his second wind in the third round as he disrupted Viloria's game plan by being aggressive and straightforward but his lack of defense proved costly throughout the fight.

Viloria regained control in the fifth round by using smart punch selection and constantly draining Miranda with well placed body shots while keeping his distance to avoid the foe's brawling style.

Miranda almost went down on the 7th round as the body blows forced him to lower his guard but he managed to hold on despite his groggy state while Viloria suffered a cut in the left eye in the process.

Viloria slowed down in the last 3 rounds but fortunately for him, his lead that he built in the earlier half of the match was enough to propel him to victory and the coveted championship belt.

Importless Ginebra keeps Air21 winless

A little scare towards the end but a win nonetheless.

The Barangay Ginebra Kings survived the late surge by Air 21 despite playing without their import Curtis Stinson to win 89-87 and improve their standings to 3-2 while keeping the Express winless in six games last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Air 21 got off to a hot start led by the strong performance of Carlo Sharma with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter and Wynne Arboleda added two 3-pointers as the Express led 24-18 at the end of the first period.

Ginebra cuffed Air 21 in the second period allowing only 9 points as they ran the Express to the ground with John Wilson, Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa leading their team to a 41-33 lead at halftime.

JC Intal ignited a huge run to open up the third quarter of the Kings as he scored back to back 3's and a dunk leading to the biggest lead 51-36 for the Kings but Air 21 managed to stay within striking distance towards the end of the quarter.

Air 21 intensified their rally in the fourth quarter with an all Filipino lineup with Alpha Bangura saddled with 4 personal fouls and a non-factor throughout the game with only 7 points, with only 3 markers in the first half in 1/9 shooting from the field mostly due to the tough defense by Ronald Tubid.

KG Canaleta exploited his matchup with Intal in the pay-off period to bring his team within 2 points and a final possession with 3.5 seconds to go but Tubid blocked Alpha Bangura's attempt off a good inbound pass.

Bangura had one last chance to salvage the game for his team but his hurried jumpshot with 2 seconds to go went off the iron, giving the Kings the victory.

Philippine Azkals demolish Sri Lanka to advance into the next round

Too much firepower from start to finish.

The Philippine Azkals showed the Filipino crowd that their anticipation and hope on their squad won't be for nothing as they clearly outclassed the visiting Sri Lanka Brave Reds in their second match 4-0 and 5-1 in the aggregate score today at the newly improved Rizal Stadium witnessed by about 13,000 fans.

Emilio "Cheiffy" Calicdong punctuated the very aggressive start of the Azkals with a goal in the 19th minute after Angel Guirado and Phil Younghusband was foiled of their goal attempts in the 2nd and 7th minute respectively.

A very controversial goal by Phil Younghusband gave the 2-0 lead after the main referee overruled the foul called by the assistant referee in the 23rd minute leaving the Sri Lankan players confused and enraged by the huge break that came the way of the Azkals.

Fil-Spanish Angel Guirado reaped the fruits of his hardwork throughout the game with a goal in the 50th minute by eluding the Sri Lankan goalie Manjula Fernando as the latter left the box in his attempt to close out and prevent the shot.

Phil Younghusband drained his second goal in the game off an exceptional penalty kick in the 57th minute to set the final margin, giving the Filipino fans jubilant at their team's explosive effort.

The Azkals will face Kuwait in the next leg but they may face some unexpected problem as Anton del Rosario was given a yellow card meaning an automatic suspension for the next game and the same happened to one of the mid-fielder after getting into an altercation with an opposing player.

Nevertheless, this is still a huge reason to celebrate for the Pinoy fans all over the world as the Azkals move one step closer to their 2014 FIFA World Cup dream and we can be assured that coach Hans Weiss will make the appropriate adjustments for the Kuwait series.