|
Sports bits
Germany’s Hohmann wins World Pool tilt
Twenty-four year old Thorsten Hohmann from Fulda, Germany
subdued the odds to beat the world’s best in pool and
capture the prestigious 2003 empirepoker.com World Pool Championship
held anew in Cardiff, Wales during a week long tournament
July 12-20, 2003. Hohmann, who became the youngest world champion
with the win, played some tremendous matches to overcome the
Who’s Who of World Pool—Django Bustamante in the
quarterfinals, defending champ Earl Strickland in the semis
and the talented Filipino-Canadian Alex Pagulayan in the finals.
In the same event, a total of eight Filipinos made it to
the knock-out stages of the competition, namely; Django Bustamante,
Efren Reyes, Antonio Lining, Warren Kiamco, Ramil Gallego,
Lee Van Corteza, Dennis Orcollo and Marlon Manalo with only
Reyes, Bustmante and Gallego making it to the last 16. Reyes
and Bustmante were slated to meet in the last 16 with Django
coming through in a close match 11-8 while Pagulayan defeated
Gallego 11-4. Bustmante then succumbed to Hohmann in a tight
contest 9-11.
Countrymen cheer Pacquiao’s latest conquest
Manny Pacquiao punctuated his status as the Philippines’
only world boxing champion with another successful defense
of his International Boxing Federation super bantamweight
title with a third-round TKO of Mexican slugger Emanuel “The
Butcher” Lucero last July 27 at the Olympic Auditorium
in Los Angeles, California.
With his newest triumph, Pacquaio was given a welcome befitting
his current distinction when a small group of fans greeted
his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with
spirited cheers.
The erstwhile champ dedicated his victory to the Lord, his
countrymen, and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who mentioned
his name in the latter’s State of the Nation Address
after a mutiny in the country’s premier financial district
24 hours earlier.
FEU Tamaraws lead UAAP standings
This year’s quest for the coveted UAAP basketball title
is getting more exciting with almost all teams slugging it
out for the title. Leading the way are the FEU Tamaraws who
rallied in their match against the Dela Salle Green Archers
when Mark Cardona missed the a triple at the buzzer during
the July 31 contest.
The Tamaraws sport a 4-1 win-loss card with DLSU at 3-1.
While defending champs Ateneo De Manila University’s
Blue Eagles card a 3-2 win-loss slate with a third straight
win against lowly Adamson University.
As of this writing, other schools’ standings in the
UAAP basketball tournament are as follows; UE 2-1; UST 2-2;
Adamson 1-3; National University 1-3, while the University
of the Philippines’ fighting Maroons are still winless
in three matches.
Jolas continues fight against Fil-Shams
Retired basketball player Jojo Lastimosa voiced out his concern
that the Players Union’s fight against fake Filipino-foreign
players in the Philippine Basketball Association has become
a one-man crusade from lack of support from other union members.
The 39-year old former cager said he understands the frosty
dispositions he got at the start of the battle and the probe
seven months ago might have stemmed from the players’
fear of losing their future jobs.
Lastimosa, who retired early this year and has now joined
the coaching staff of Alaska, also said that the PBA players’
support has not been that strong, one reason why they have
not even conducted their election of officers this year. Zaldy
Realubit and Bonel Balingit, also former PBA players, were
only two of the few cagers who stood with Lastimosa during
the hearing in the Senate of the alleged fake Filipino-Americans.
The 1988 Rookie of the Year awardee also mentioned that he
is waiting for the final report of Sen. Robert Barbers regarding
the investigation of the alleged fake Fil-foreign players.
The Surigao senator is making the final review of the draft
before handing it to the committee members for signing.
Back to top
|
