NOT all their exploits translated to victories, but their inspiring stories were enough to make an entire nation proud.
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MANDAUE City-raised Eriberto "Yukka" Gejon challenges World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight kingpin Yutaka Niida in Japan sometime in March, bidding to become the next Filipino world boxing champion.
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EXCEPT for the funds, everything appears to be in order for the country's hosting of the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
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FILIPINO Grandmaster-candidate Mark Paragua halved the point with Chinese GM Zhang Pengxiang after 34 moves of a Sicilian Defense in the ninth and final round to finish as runner-up in the Singapore Masters International Open Chess Championships Friday night at the Tao Nan School, Marine Crescent District in Singapore.
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ERIK Morales, another great Mexican fighter, has ruled out a future rumble with Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao. While admitting he would have loved a clash with Pacquiao, recent developments have ruined the possibility of Morales colliding with the Ring Magazine featherweight champion next year.
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ALTHOUGH terribly homesick, Jennifer Rosales is going to cut short her vacation to answer the most important call of all -- that of her country's.
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MANNY Pacquiao crushed his ambitious Thai foe with thundering combinations to score a merciless fourth-round knockout that touched off a wild celebration at The Fort in Taguig City last night.A crowd estimated at 25,000 roared in approval and awe as Fahsan 3K Battery landed hard on his back after taking an ax-like left uppercut to the jaw. It was the Thai's first knockout defeat in 53 fights.
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AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Aotearoa)--Dindo Castañares further boosted Filipino ring pride when he captured the World Boxing Foundation junior welterweight crown with a stirring fourth-round technical knockout of Colombian Guillermo Mosquera Saturday night at the Unitec Technological Institute gym here.
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VETERAN Corazon Soberre and young Syrel Ramos combined for a one-hit 8-0 shutout by the Philippine Blu Girls over Thailand yesterday at the start of the 8th Asian Women's Softball Championship at the Rizal Memorial ballpark.
The 25-year-old Soberre mesmerized the Thai batters with an array of pitches, striking out five batters and giving up only a hit in four innings.
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WHAT he failed to do in the world arena last month, whiz kid Wesley So will try to accomplish at the Asian level this time.
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THE FINEST swimmers of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) led by Athens Olympian Timmy Chua leave for Surabaya, Indonesia, today for the 12th ASEAN University Games.
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BELIEVING the success of the national team lies on the basketball philosophy of its coaching staff, the Philippine Basketball Association has begun the selection process by subjecting the aspiring coaches to a written examination. PBA Commissioner Noli Eala has furnished Coca-Cola's Chot Reyes, Yeng Guiao of Red Bull, Joel Banal (Talk N Text) and Tim Cone (Alaska) questionnaires to provide the league a perspective on how they will run the RP national team.
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MACAU, China--A small rock found on her engine spoiled defending champion Michelle Bumgarner's bid for another big victory in the Formula Open class last weekend in the fourth leg of the 2004 Asian Zone Open Karting Championship here.
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FILIPINO light flyweight king Bert Batawang stopped world-ranked South African Sithembele Kibiti in the seventh round to win the World Boxing Association Pan African junior flyweight championship in Cape Town, South Africa recently.
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CRETE, Greece--Team Philippines, led by Chardine Cheradee Camacho, came through with a strong finishing kick in the 2004 World Youth Chess Championships Saturday at the Creta Maris hotel here.
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MANNY Pacquiao will begin sparring Monday at Davao City's Almendras Gym in preparation for his Dec. 11 tuneup fight against International Boxing Federation No. 4 super bantamweight Fahsan 3K Battery of Thailand.
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"JUST imagine yourself eating paper," says Jerick Ternida as he tucks into a small heap of naked spaghetti. Four times a day for the past eight months, he has had to eat this tasteless stringy mass, along with half a kilogram of boiled yellowfin tuna and the whites of five hardboiled eggs. He can't dip the fish in patis (fish sauce) or vinegar nor add a single grain of salt to the egg whites. Neither can he have the tuna grilled or fried, nor the eggs done any other way. His only break from this boring diet? A liquid lunch of whey protein in soya milk.
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THE PHILIPPINE wushu team made a smashing performance by winning 17 medals, including five golds, in the recent World Traditional Wushu Festival in Zheng Zhou City, Hunan province, China.
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LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu--Reigning Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) super featherweight champion and World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 2 Randy "Komong Bato" Suico solidified his reputation as the country's hardest puncher as he stopped Indon challenger Ibrahim Aroby with a right straight to the jaw in the eighth round of their 12-round bout here Saturday.
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UNHERALDED Bicolano Santos Sambajon bested Mike Davis, 7-5, recently to capture the World Summit of Pool title in New York City.
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I AM not totally blaming the beleaguered Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) foreign-born players who are now undergoing summary deportation proceedings for submitting falsified documents to prove their Filipino roots. These players are more like victims in this caper and the main culprits are the agents who recruited them and prepared their papers.
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THE "DONE deal" that was promised last week did not come.
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A TRIUMPH over injustice.
This was how former Senator Robert Barbers described Sunday the decision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) upholding his committee's recommendation for the summary deportation of some foreign-born players in the Philippine Basketball Association.
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MALLORCA, Spain--The Philippines found Colombia a tough cookie and had to lean on Grandmaster Joey Antonio's victory at the top board to secure a narrow 2.5-1.5 victory in the second round of the World Chess Olympiad Saturday.
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THE SOUTHEAST Asian (SEA) Games Federation convenes for its final two-day meeting starting Monday at the New World Hotel in Makati City to finalize the number of sports and their respective events for the 23rd SEA Games the country will host next year.
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ASI TAULAVA and seven other Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) cagers will be called "Fil-shams" no more.
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THE RP-PAGCOR Casino Filipino Trade team ran a brilliant tactical race in the Dji Sam Soe Tour of Indonesia Tuesday to wrest third overall from the Hong Kong riders after the eighth and penultimate lap from Jember to Banyuwangi.
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EFREN "Bata" Reyes exacted revenge on compatriot Marlon Manalo, 11-8, on Saturday to win the World 8-Ball Championship in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates.
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HIS promoter in the USA obviously meant well but, if you were Manny Pacquiao, would you fight someone who's not even in the Top 10 of an alphabet-soup boxing association?
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STRIKER Edna Agravante cut loose to score the clincher in the second half as the Philippines nipped Singapore, 2-1, Saturday to get back on track in the Asean Football Federation (AFF) Women's Championship in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
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JUSTICE Secretary Raul Gonzalez has ordered the investigation of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) officials, who might have helped eight Fil-foreign cagers now facing deportation for faking their citizenship papers.
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THE BASKETBALL Association of the Philippines (BAP) and the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will pool their resources to secure the hosting of the 2007 Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) championships.
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GRANDMASTER-ELECT Mark Paragua made amends for his first round defeat by beating six-time Turkmenistan champion International Master Orazly Annageldyev in the third round Saturday of the third and final leg of the Alushta Tournament in Crimea, Ukraine.
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WHILE others have lost interest pushing the case against foreign players who gained Filipino citizenship through allegedly fraudulent means, Sta. Lucia Realty's Kenneth Duremdes is pursuing the issue together with his teammates and the entire FedEx squad.
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FRANCES Bondad, the Australia-based teener who is the reigning Philippine Ladies' Amateur champion, has been stricken off the RP Team to the World Amateur championships in Puerto Rico next month.
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A WORKING agreement between the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) would be a tremendous boost in the country's bid to host the 2007 Asian Basketball Confederation men's championship.
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JENNY Rosales failed to capitalize on an early morning tee-off as she soared to a five-over-par 77 in the second round Saturday (Sunday in Manila) and virtually surrendered her bid for the crown in the Safeway Classic at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon.
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FILIPINO whiz kids Wesley So and Jan Nigel Galan captured a pair of gold medals each Sunday to lead the Philippines to a five-gold haul and a respectable third place finish in the 5th Asean Age-Group Chess Championships in Vung-Tau, Vietnam.
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THEIR bruises are still healing but the heartache of losing in the Olympics is long gone.
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JANUARY 30, 1994. Afternoon. It was hot. Inside the full-packed Ninoy Aquino Stadium, sweat came down my face and body as I rested, having barged into the quarterfinals of the prestigious Asian Taekwondo Championships welterweight division. I had just outpointed an awkward but tough Kuwaiti.
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AT ABOUT 8:30 in the evening, the whistle blew inside the University of Santo Tomas gym and the squeaking sound of shoes against the polished hardwood came to a halt. The women's volleyball team huddled into a final prayer and one final school spirit cheer.
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MANDAUE, Cebu--Z "The Dream" Gorres made a tough task look routine as he easily decisioned Sairung Suwanasil of Thailand over 10 rounds Saturday evening.
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EVERYBODY loves a winner, so declared Eric Buhain, who definitely knows what winning is all about. The multi-awarded former national swimmer, visibly leaner, made the statement upon emerging from the failed RP medal hunt in the Athens Olympics.
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WHEN the International Olympic Committee holds its next session in Singapore in July next year, the Philippines should lobby for the inclusion of new sports like billiards and bowling in the 2008 Beijing Games because it is in these sports where the Filipino athletes have a good chance of winning medals, including that elusive Olympic gold.
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FILIPINOS copped the overall championship in the 2004 Ice Skating Institute of America's World Championships held recently at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minneapolis, in Minnesota.
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HOW do you send the Philippine flag waiving proudly in the Olympics without winning the elusive gold medal? By breaking a leg.
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SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Kharzma Handang is just a little over five feet tall. With her lean frame, it's hard to believe that she packs enough power to become one of the world's best taekwondo players.
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ATHENS, Greece--Veteran Romeo Brin finally gave the Philippines something to cheer about in the 28th Olympic Games Sunday by winning his opening bout on the second day of boxing competitions.
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ATHENS, Greece--Veteran Romeo Brin finally gave the Philippines something to cheer about in the 28th Olympic Games Sunday by winning his opening bout on the second day of boxing competitions.
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MEXICAN Marco Antonio Barrera, the former pound-for-pound featherweight king, would rather settle an old score with Filipino Manny Pacquiao than face Erik Morales for the third time.
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PICTURE this unique scenario: With the famous Manila Bay sunset as the perfect backdrop, thousands of athletes and officials march past the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Luneta and then assemble in front of the Quirino Grandstand.
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ATHENS, Greece--Organizers of the 28th Olympic Games are doing everything to make the coming Games the best ever, but the first batch of Filipino athletes and officials thought the Greeks have to work a lot harder to achieve their goal.
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NEWLY installed International Master (IM) Yves Rañola deftly handled the white pieces to down Mats Orndhal of Sweden in the seventh and final round Saturday and gain a piece of third to fifth places in the Nice Open chess tournament at the Grand Aston Hotel in Nice, France.
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ATHENS, Greece--First-timers Timmy Chua, Jasmin Figueroa and Jethro Dionisio expressed delight and excitement as they arrived Saturday morning together with seven officials of the Philippine team to the 28th Olympic Games set August 13-29.
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THE COUNTRY'S leading bowlers, led by reigning World Cup champion CJ Suarez, have started their bids for the Bowling World Cup national title in 25 venues all over the country.
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NO, it was not one for Ripley's. It could've happened anytime, anywhere.
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FILIPINO International Master (IM) Joseph Sanchez conquered Grandmaster (GM) Vadim Malakhatko of Ukraine to climb into a tie for second to eighth places after the eighth and penultimate round of the Cannes Open International chess tournament in Cannes, France.
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IF THERE is any doubt that newly crowned world pool champion Alex Pagulayan is pure Filipino, take it from the diminutive cue artist himself.
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FILIPINO International Master (IM) Jayson Gonzales and National Master (NM) Yves Rañola drew their last assignments to finish in a tie for sixth to 11th places Saturday in the 2004 Balaguer International Open Chess Championships in Balaguer, Spain.
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COACH Dong Vergeire, admitting the RP Cebuana Lhuillier team is not a title contender in the Taipei Jones Cup, said the best the Filipinos could aim for is develop cohesion and improve on the country's fifth-place finish in 2002.
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THE SEARCH for the first Filipino world champion in muaythai starts August 21 with the staging of the "Kings of the Square Ring" championships at the Philsports Arena.
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SAN DIEGO, California--The Philippines' JR Gonzales made himself an instant sensation by winning the boys' 9-10 years division in the Callaway Junior World golf championships after a gripping shoot-out with a never-say-die blond boy Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the Singing Hills-Pine Glen course here.
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SAN DIEGO, California--The Philippines' JR Gonzales made himself an instant sensation by winning the boys' 9-10 years division in the Callaway Junior World golf championships after a gripping shoot-out with a never-say-die blond boy Thursday (Friday in Manila) at the Singing Hills-Pine Glen course here.
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SAN DIEGO, California--Jayvie Agojo played out her final Callaway Junior World stint without expectations. All she wanted was to make her father, Jun, happy.
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THE PETRON Philippines taekwondo team sustained its strong international performance by bagging 30 medals, including four golds, in the recent World Taekwondo Festival and 6th Korea Open championships in Chungcheong, Korea.
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THE RESULT of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) election this November won't affect the country's preparation to host the 23rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) next year.
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Marlon Manalo, who brought down several cue icons on his way to the quarterfinals, watched his run end there Saturday at the hands of Sweden's Marcus Chamat, 11-6, and left the 2004 World Pool Championship at the World Trade Center in Chinese-Taipei without a Filipino contender.
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THE RESULT of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) election this November won't affect the country's preparation to host the 23rd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) next year.
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DONGGUAN CITY, China--The Philippines dragon boat team won two medals -- a gold and a silver -- in the Shilong Cup at the Pearl River in Guangdong province last weekend.
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DJANGO Bustamante and two other Filipinos roared to their third straight victories even as Jose "Amang" Parica bounced back Sunday in Day 2 of the qualifying round of the 2004 Taiwan World Pool Championship at the World Trade Center in Taipei.
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SAN DIEGO, California--Definitely not among the big stars of the Philippine contingent to this year's Callaway Junior World golf championships, six-year-old Rupert "Dodong" Saragoza can disarm anybody with his infectious smile.
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SIX FedEx players will reinforce the Philippine team competing in the 13th Super Kung Sheung Cup Basketball Championship starting on July 20 at Queen Elizabeth Stadium in Hong Kong.
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FILIPINO junior golfers are on a roll abroad.

AR Ramos picked up a second victory in the Country Youth Classic in Bloomington, Illinois. He had earlier won the 6-7 years division of the Pepsi Little People also in Illinois.
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SOUTH HADLEY, Massachusetts--Third-round leader Jennifer Rosales of the Philippines started the day with a three-shot cushion and birdied the first hole, but it was all downhill thereafter as she struggled to a 75 and finished fourth at 3-under 281 in the US Women's Open.
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AFTER staying out of the political limelight for quite sometime, Jose "Peping" Cojuangco is just about to make a big comeback in the hustings. In Philippine sports, that is.
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THERE won't be a shortage of cash for the country's first Olympic gold medallist. A day after the Philippine Sports Commission announced a guaranteed 10-million-peso incentive for an Olympic champion, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) Wednesday declared it would also reward such a historic feat.
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CARMONA, Cavite--Defending champion Michelle Bumgarner was virtually unchallenged in posting the most impressive of three Philippine victories Sunday in the 2004 Casino Filipino-Shell Asian Karting Open championship at the Carmona Circuit Philippines here.
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TWO Filipino swimmers secured gold medals in their respective events but narrowly missed clinching Olympic slots in the ongoing Malaysian Pram swimming championships in Kuala Lumpur.
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CEBU CITY--The Philippines added 11 more golds to its medal vault, but that was far behind the 30 victories scored by the United States Saturday on the penultimate day of the 8th World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation Championships held at the Doce Pares International headquarters in Santo Niño Village, Banilad, Cebu City.
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INTERNATIONAL Master Mark Paragua upset Grandmaster Viktor Bologan of Moldova in the opening round of the 17th World Chess Championship Saturday in Tripoli, Libya. Playing with white, the 20-year-old Filipino (ELO 2529) crushed the world No. 36 Super GM (ELO 2665) in 42 moves of a Caro Kann Defense-Panov variation.
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THEY were supposed to give Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) teams a vivid sample of how the game is played the Canadian way.
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AFTER beating former World Boxing Council (WBC) junior fly champ Yosam Choi last March 27, Federico Catubay continued to make waves abroad with a 7th round stoppage of former Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA) champ Yura Dima in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday.
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NELSON Mariano achieved the required 6.5 points to complete his third grandmaster (GM) result in the recent Asean Masters Chess Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
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THE PHILIPPINE contingent to the Athens Olympics is leaving for Greece on August 7.

Chief of mission Steve Hontiveros said the only remaining minor problem is finding a flight that can accommodate the six of 13 athletes, who have so far qualified, and a handful of officials.
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DANAO CITY--Not even a heavy downpour and slippery track could keep the RP Team from completing a sweep of Sunday's Southeast Asian Mountainbike Championships Cross Country event at the Ramon Durano Sr. Memorial Sports Complex.
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NO Filipino boxer faked his name; it was purely a journalistic error.

Thai matchmaker Narong Hengtrakul issued this statement to correct an erroneous report by Thai journalist Damrong Simakajornboon, which came out in the boxing website Fightnews.com, whereby boxer Nonoy Gonzales was supposedly identified as "Rev Santillan" in his losing bout against Pan-Asia Boxing Association welter champ Sintung Kietbusaba.
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FAR from her best, but good enough to set a new national mark and provide a fitting climax to the meet.
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IT took a sponsor's invitation to finally get Filipino pool legend Jose "Amang" Parica into the WPA World Pool Championship.
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BADMINTON fanatics came in droves Saturday to witness the opening of the two-day Inquirer Badminton Expo, the biggest ever exhibition of the booming sport, at the Megatrade Hall 2 of the SM Megamall inn Mandaluyong City.
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MARVIN Dumandan won international glory for the first time last week, salvaging second place in the 17th HLA Saujana Open amateur championship against a crack field in Malaysia. The 23-year-old former factory worker shot a final round 75, three-over at the tough Saujana Golf and Country Club for a three-round total of 219.
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A DAY after Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) champion Randy Suico lost by split decision, another Filipino OPBF titleholder fell, this time without throwing a punch.
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THE PHYSICS of a body in motion is a complex subject that leaves many baffled and bewildered. Sandra Araullo not only understands how the human machine functions, but she wields enough power to maximize her every bodily movement.
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LEE Van Corteza produced his best shots as Francisco "Django" Bustamante ran out of luck again Sunday and captured the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour's Manila leg with a 13-11 victory at the Octagon Hall of the Robinson's Galleria mall in Mandaluyong City.
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PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) president Celso Dayrit said Wednesday sports officials should focus on the development and training of homegrown talents amid efforts of a US-based group to supply the country with Filipino-American athletes.
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TONY Robles of the United States defeated an erratic Santos Sambajon of the Philippines, 7-2, to top the prestigious Billiards Congress of America 9-Ball tournament at the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
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THE ORGANIZATIONAL structure of the controversy-rocked National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) is "flawed" and needs to be fixed to avoid more money scandals in the future, grandmaster Eugene Torre admitted Tuesday.
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FILIPINO athletes who qualified in the Athens Olympics will get additional training expenses of 2,500 dollars each from the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Olympic Solidarity.
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DENIED a win because of erroneous scoring, Team Manny Pacquiao has sought the intervention of the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) in correcting the error and declaring the Filipino winner of his title bout against Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico in Las Vegas Saturday.
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THE PROTEST filed by the camp of Manny Pacquiao regarding the Filipino boxer's recent controversial 12-round draw against world featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico drew this reaction from sports critic and former Philippine Olympic Committee president Julian Malonso.
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STOCKBRIDGE, Georgia--Jennifer Rosales of the Philippines captured her first LPGA Tour title here Sunday, firing a seven-under par 65 to overcome a four-stroke deficit and win the 1.6 million-dollar Chick-Fil-A Championship.
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LOS ANGELES, California--Manny Pacquiao and his renowned trainer, Freddie Roach, share a winning formula, a secret weapon they've vowed to explode at the end of the week.
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PHILIPPINE bantamweight champion Joel Bauya was a big flop in his first crack at the World Boxing Council International bantam title on Saturday, losing by technical knockout in the first round to South African Vusi Malinga at the Nasrec Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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HONG KONG--Filipino Efren "Bata" Reyes remained on course for a third straight crown on Sunday as he held off Japan's Satoshi Kawabata, 9-6, to advance to the semifinal round of the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour leg at the Hong Kong Football Club's sports hall.
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LUCENA CITY, Quezon--The RP-Burlington Youth Team repeated over Singapore, 99-53, Saturday and captured the 4th Southeast Asian Junior Basketball Championship before a packed crowd at the Quezon Convention Center here.
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SHELL did not actually say Americans are good-for-nothing bums.

No. But the Shell team has just made the strongest statement in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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TANAUAN CITY, Batangas--DepEd Bacolod Softbelles won the titles in both the Little League and Junior League division of the Little League Philippine Series baseball/softball tournament at the Tanauan fields in Barangay Pagaspas here.
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DOUBLE Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) men's sabre gold medalist Wally Mendoza leads five other Filipino fencers when they seek Olympic slots in the Sharp Asian championships and Olympic qualifying competitions on April 19-26 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
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BACOLOD City, the reigning Girls Softball World Series champion, will defend its title in the 2004 Little League Philippine Series that kicks off on April 12 in Tanauan City, Batangas.
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WORLD Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation champion Juan Manuel "Dinamita" Marquez will have two unbeaten sparmates in his camp as he steps up his buildup for his May 8 title defense against universal featherweight king Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
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ROOKIE Patrick John Tierro upset Hong Kong top seed Hiu Tung Yu, 6-4, 6-3, in a rousing Davis Cup debut on Sunday that capped the Philippines' 4-1 win in the Asia-Oceania Zone Group II relegation tie at the Ynares Socio-Cultural Sports Center in Antipolo City.
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WITH his mammoth clash against World Boxing Association (WBA)/International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez drawing near, consensus featherweight king Manny Pacquiao found himself getting the boot as the Mexico-based World Boxing Council (WBC) took him out of Top 10 in its latest rankings for March.
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ADVENTURE racer Leo Oracion will have to pass the proverbial eye of the needle before he can fulfill his dream of scaling Mt. Everest.
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INTERNATIONAL Master Mark Paragua is still the Philippines' top chess player.

Paragua, the most bemedalled Filipino athlete in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games, was given an Elo rating of 2529 by the International Chess Federation, keeping his lead over GMs Joey Antonio (2523) and Eugene Torre (2521).
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IT'S the Filipinos' turn to conquer the roof of the world. Thirty climbers will be training night and day for three years with a final team of seven getting the historic task of undertaking the country's first-ever expedition to Mt. Everest in May 2007.
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TAGAYTAY CITY--Host Tagaytay made history Saturday night by nipping Guangzhou of China to capture the 14th Asian Cities Chess Championship before a banner crowd at the Tagaytay International Convention Center here.
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FILIPINO pool master Jose "Amang" Parica nosed out former world champion Ralf "Kaiser" Souquet of Germany, 10-9, Sunday to reach the finals of the Brunswick Men's Professional Players Championship at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
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SEVENTY-YEAR-OLD Harold Gomes, the man Flash Elorde knocked out in the March 1960 inauguration of the Araneta Coliseum, walked up to the golden bust of his late tormentor, bowed then lovingly touched the image.
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THE MANILA Smart Eagles nipped Jakarta, 4-3, in extra inning Sunday to cap a three-division championship romp of host Philippines in the Southeast Asian Youth Baseball-Softball Tournament at the Alabang Country Club grounds.
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THE MARCH toward marquee stardom continues for reigning consensus featherweight king Manny Pacquiao. On Saturday, the Ring Magazine, considered as the "Bible of Boxing," upgraded the southpaw Pacquiao as the No. 5 pound-for-pound best fighter in the planet for March, up a notch from his No. 6 billing just last month.
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RIGHT on track.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Celso L. Dayrit Saturday reiterated that "we're on schedule as far as preparations for the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games are concerned."
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THE ATMOSPHERE is a complete turnaround from the hectic schedule he left behind which include movie and endorsement shoots, party invitations, pool hall visits, and a little boxing.
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THE BASKETBALL Association of the Philippines (BAP) is not in a hurry to join the proposed basketball superbody.
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BRISTLING with newfound confidence as a result of a long, well-planned and arduous training under strict and seasoned coaches, golden moments await members of the Philippine boxing team in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games in August.
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NO way. Manny Pacquiao can never prepare for his next fight as sufficiently hard as he did against Marco Antonio Barrera last year.
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IT will be uphill for local triathletes and Filipino officials won't be caught deluding themselves about the Philippines' chances as time ticks down for the 2004 Speedo-Asian Triathlon Championships set in Subic on April 4-5.
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BOXING champ Manny Pacquiao didn't show up for his scheduled meeting Saturday with the editor of the esteemed Ring Magazine which will present him its version of the featherweight championship belt.
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TALK about corporate support to a booming sport like badminton and Dunlop comes to mind.

Dunlop, a renowned sports equipment developer and manufacturer, recently joined the growing list of badminton supporters by launching the Dunlop Badminton Range at the Palms Country Club in Alabang, with prominent personalities headed by former First Lady Amelita "Ming" Ramos, president of the Philippine Badminton Association, gracing the blue-ribbon affair.
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THE "BIG W" almost came and Jenny Rosales just made everybody know that she's serious about it.

Unable to match the scorching pace put on by Annika Sorenstam, Rosales did the best that she could and rewarded herself with an impressive tie for third place in the cash-rich ANZ Ladies Masters at the Royal Pines Golf Club course in Gold Coast, Australia.
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THE MAN must be averse to merrymaking, or maybe he hates being swept in a triumphant stampede and going up on a victory ride.
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BECAUSE dancesport, the newest addition to the 2005 SEA Games calendar, is a rich source of medals in the biennial meet which the country is hosting, the Dancesport Council of the Philippines is leaving nothing to chance. It is conducting local competitions and sending top dance athletes to various international tournaments this year.
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THE TITLE showdown has yet to be officially sealed but reigning World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation (IBF) featherweight titlist Juan Manuel Marquez has already started to belittle the credentials of Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao.
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ALL or nothing.

Unless the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) accepts this condition, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will no longer have anything to do with the formation, training, and fielding of the Philippine team to the Asian Games.
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WHEN Richard "Rich" Alvarez was in his early teens and growing up in Guam, his father Rudy made him a bet. "Rich, if you can dunk the ball, I will give you 500 dollars," he told his athletic son, fully thinking that the young man didn't have the hops to do it. One day, Alvarez dragged Rudy to the gym nearby without saying why. Alvarez warmed up and said, "Dad, look." The young Alvarez then elevated for a resounding slam dunk as Rudy looked on in shock and awe. "So, I had to pay him in installments," Rudy says, laughing at the memory.
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THEY are a fascinating mix of young men, all linked by their burning wish to play at the top level of basketball in the country. Regardless of their different origins and destinations, they are all linked as the hopeful newcomers to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after the 2004 annual draft. Meet the rookies:
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THERE'S a strong likelihood Manny Pacquiao could be recognized not just as the planet's best featherweight, but also as Asia's first undisputed world champion even before the year is over.
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CHANCES of a Filipino pro ending the country's five-year drought in the Asian Tour remain strong despite an impending invasion of foreign pros in the DHL-sponsored 88th Philippine Open golf championship on February 26-29 at the Langer course of the Riviera Golf and Country Club.
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THE NATIONAL pool of 1,000 athletes will become the "Golden 500" next month.

Despite threats of mass action by the national sports associations (NSAs), the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) finally announced its decision to cut down by half the number of athletes under its payroll and use the 70-million-peso savings to build a formidable national team for 2005.
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IF to a boxer's weapon, that was a killer punch Graham Lim had thrown.

Problem was the poor guy also exposed his chin to an even bigger knockout shot.
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SEVERAL national sports association (NSA) presidents, with the backing of Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Celso Dayrit, have petitioned Malacañang asking for the resignation of Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairperson Eric Buhain because of his "lack of concern and support," particularly in giving financial assistance to the NSAs. But will removing Buhain from the PSC be the best solution to the problem? Many don't think so.
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THE MANNY Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez showdown appears to be a done deal but World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight champ Oscar "Chololo" Larios has not given up on the hope of fighting the Filipino ring hero within the year.
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TAEKWONDO fighters who won gold, silver or bronze medals in the 22nd Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Vietnam last December received cash incentives recently from Petron Corp.
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LIKE so many Filipinos trying to make a name for themselves, Ansey Castañeda learned the tricks of the trade on the streets -- literally.
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AN EXHAUSTED Johnny Arcilla put off much-needed rest Sunday to notch a win that prevented a more humiliating shutout for the Philippines in its Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group II tie with China at the Yñares Socio-Cultural Center in Pasig.
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CEBU CITY--Cebuano Yukka "Wiseguy" Gejon of the Wakee Salud Stable Sunday won the Fedelatin minifly title over Panamanian Carlos Melo at the El Poliedro de Caracas in Venezuela. The sketchy report received by Salud from Japanese promoter Joe Koizumi said Gejon, who was leading in the scorecards, was declared winner by technical decision when the fight was stopped possibly due to cuts suffered by one of the fighters.
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CEBU CITY--Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) superfeatherweight king Randy "Komong Bato" Suico inched closer to a world title crack this year with a second-round demolition of Korean mandatory challenger Seungkwon Baek in the main event of the "Explosion at the Waterfront" card here.
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I HEARD the news today, oh boy.

That's a line from The Beatles' song, "A Day In the Life."

I quote that today because the week past, news came out that the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has started groundbreaking moves for the country's preparations in hosting the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. It never landed on any page of any sports section in any of the nation's major broadsheets.
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FILIPINO ace Efren "Bata" Reyes ruled three events Saturday to capture the overall crown in the prestigious Annual Derby City Classic in Louisville, Kentucky. Reyes topped the bank pool, one-pocket and 9-ball categories to capture one of the most coveted titles in professional pool. He won 9,000 dollars (about 462,000 pesos).
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WITH its aerodynamic "W" and procession of silky-smooth vowels, Weena Lim's name alone connotes speed and agility, a strong but invisible gust of wind. It is, after all, the name of the greatest Filipino badminton player -- ever.
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THE ONLY fighter in the world who keeps on saying that Manny Pacquiao is ducking him will now vie for the Filipino's International Boxing Federation (IBF) superbantamweight title.
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GERALD Rosales returns to the scene of his most memorable feat as an amateur when he competes as the lone Filipino entry in the one-million-dollar Johnnie Walker Classic at the Alpine Golf Club in Bangkok, Thailand, on January 29-February 1.
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Team Philippines' goal in the just concluded 22nd Asian Boxing Championships was to send four boxers to this year's Athens Olympics. Only three made it.
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SINGAPORE--The Philippines dominated the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour (ABT) Grand Slam championships here Sunday as Liza del Rosario and Purvis Granger downed their respective rivals in the finals at the National Service Resort and Country Club here.
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FILIPINO boxing hero Manny Pacquiao has given up the International Boxing Federation (IBF) superbantamweight title so he can work on a megabuck fight against unified world featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez of Mexico.
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FRANCES Bondad, a daughter of a Filipino couple now based in Australia, pulled off one of the biggest comebacks in the history of the Philippine Ladies Open when the 15-year-old came from seven strokes behind to win by two over Lucy Landicho.
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PARDON Jose "Amang" Parica for complaining. He said the so-called experts of billiards didn't know what they were doing when they virtually ignored his past achievements at the pool table while heaping praises on his longtime rival, Efren "Bata" Reyes.
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FOR PROVIDING a stream of light, hope and pride in a year darkened by the war in Iraq, the SARS outbreak, the Oakwood mutiny, corruption scandals and the sleazy political wheeling and dealing in the run-up to this year's election, boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has been chosen by the Inquirer as the Filipino of the Year 2003.
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RETIREMENT beckons for former champ Joma Gamboa after he was stopped in the second round Sunday by World Boxing Council (WBC) junior flyweight king Jorge "Travieso" Arce in their scheduled 12-rounder at the Hipodromo De las Americas Banamex in Mexico City, Mexico.
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ALEX Pagulayan downed Efren "Bata" Reyes, 11-3, Sunday to join seven other players in the winner's bracket of the 2nd Annual US Professional Pool Players Association (UPPA) Pro Tour Championships at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens in Los Angeles, California.
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PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, maybe in top fighting form, was a no-show.

But world boxing phenom Manny Pacquiao, black coat with no tie, 10 pounds over the featherweight limit, came and promptly declared readiness to fight for the retention of Freddie Roach, his trusted American tutor and trainer.
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THREE Fil-Ams from California are joining the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft slated on January 16. The three pro hopefuls, all point guards, are Kim Valenzuela, Denver Lopez and Nicholas Joseph Fasano.
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IT was only fitting that the most bemedalled Filipino athlete in the last Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) is ranked No. 1 in his sport. Mark Paragua, the rapid chess champion who picked up two more golds in the team events in the Vietnam SEAG, was officially listed as the top Filipino player with an ELO rating of 2529 among the 55 Filipino pawnpushers listed in the Fide January ratings released Sunday.
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IT is business as usual for the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) when the country hosts the 22nd Asian Boxing Olympic Qualifying tournament on January 10-18 at the Puerto Princesa City Coliseum in Palawan province. Twenty-four slots in 11 weight categories are up for grabs in this first of three zone qualifiers for the 2004 Athens Games.
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CEBU CITY--The country's next hope for a world crown, the undefeated Randy "Komong Bato" Suico, moved closer to a shot at the World Boxing Association (WBA) junior lightweight crown following the win on Sunday of reigning champ Acelino Freitas in the lightweight category over World Boxing Organization (WBO) champion Artur Grigorian in Ledyard, Connecticut.
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