Sports bits

Mangubat falls short in WBC title bid

RP’s own Randy Mangubat fizzled in his bid to win the World Boxing Council flyweight title when he was outpointed anew by Thai defending champion Pongsalek Wongjongkam in a 12-round bout in June 6 in an open arena in Songkla Province, a thousand kilometers from Bangkok.
     Slapped a one-point deduction mid-way into the fight, Mangubat, 27, a native of Davao Del Norte, tried to trade heavy blows with the Thai warrior but the defending champion opted to clinch fists to muffle the Pinoy’s assault.
      The loss tumbled Mangubat’s record to 31-18-11, with 14 KO’s while the Thai champion improved to 47-2, with 26 KO’s.

Limpot vows to prove innocence

Barangay Ginebra's Jun Limpot couldn't care less about basketball at the moment.  His foremost concern at this time is to clear his name, which he said has been unjustly besmirched when the league announced that he and five others were found to have traces of the illegal substance shabu in the PBA's much-maligned drug campaign.

Suspended indefinitely with Limpot were Red Bull’s Davonn Harp, Noli Locsin and Long David of Talk ‘N text, Dorian Pena of San Miguel Beer and Ryan Bernardo  of FedEx.

“Sa ngayon, hindi na importante sa akin ang basketball o ang career ko,” Limpot said.  “Pinakamahalaga sa akin and pangalan ko na  nasira dahil sa maling paratang na gumagamit ako ng bawal na gamot.  Lalaban ako hanggang sa huli dahil kilala ko ang sarili ko,” he added.

Bata clinches Manila leg of Asian 9-ball tour

Efren Reyes proved his mastery of the pool table anew when he beat countryman Warren Kiamco in a lopsided All-Filipino finals of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball Tour at the Pearl Plaza in Paranaque City, June 1, 2003.

Reyes surged to 7-0 lead from which he never looked back.  On the 13th rack, Reyes still had four balls to clear when Kiamco threw in the white towel to ignite a grand applause from the appreciative home crowd.

Earlier, Reyes, the 1999 world champion, needed less than an hour to depose Korea’s Park Shin Young, 11-3 while Kiamco took all of two hours and more to beat Taipei’s Lee Kun Fang 13-11.

A total of 32 players representing 13 Asian countries joined this year’s tour that was cut short to two legs following cancellations of the Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taipei stops due to the SARS outbreak in the region.

Manila marathon draws massive participants

The inaugural Manila marathon, which has attracted more than 10,000 participants, kicks off in the early morning of June 22.  The race, which consists of runs in the full 42.195-km, 10-km, five-kilometer and three-kilometer events, is a project of the Manila city government under the helm of Mayor Lito Atienza to promote a healthy lifestyle among its constituents.

National runners to the SEA Games in December in Vietnam are also on the list after Philippine Amateur Tack and Field Association has given sanction on the race and made it one of the qualifying and tune-up races for the national players.

The men’s champion in the 42-km will receive P75,000 in cash while the women’s titlist in the same event will net P50,000.  Cash prizes will also go to the second to 10th placers in both 42-km divisions.  Cash prizes are also at stake in the 10-km and five-kilometer races and some of the three-kilometer categories.

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