MANILA, 1 November — International Boxing Federation (IBF) super bantamweight titlist Manny Pacquiao floored Thai mandatory challenger Fabbrakob Rakkiatgym four times in the first round and retained his crown in just 160 seconds into their scheduled 12-round title fight at the Rizal Memorial College gym in Davao.
Referee Bruce McTavish of New Zealand halted the bout at the 2:46 mark after the Thai kissed the canvas for the fourth time, a victim of a non-stop blitz mounted by the Filipino champ before a packed crowd of nearly 3,000. A mean right cross by Pacquiao that caught Rakkiatgym while he was backing up to avoid a left started the end for the Thai fighter, who first hit the deck halfway through the round. Although he managed to beat the count, it was clear his eyes were glassy and his legs wobbled.
Sensing blood, Pacquiao, 23, went for the kill, throwing a variety of punches to the head and body of the dazed challenger who tried to cover up, in vain.
The Filipino champ landed more or less 20 punches in that barrage, his last, a right, felling the Thai for the fourth and last time. Even before the Thai, 27, hit the deck, McTavis stopped the fight.
Reyes settles for runner-up
finish in Masters
Efren “Bata” Reyes bowed to German Ralf Souquet, 9-4, in the finals of the 2002 World Pool Masters at the Woughton Center in Milton Keynes, England.
The Filipino ace settled for the second prize of $7,000 (364,000 pesos) while Souquet, who took a record fourth masters crown, pocketed $15,000 (780,000 pesos).
Against Souquet, Reyes was never in his element. Though he took the first rack, Reyes started missing his pot shots, allowing the German to surge ahead at 4-1. Reyes took the next rack when Souquet missed a Masse shot, but the Filipino scratched and Souquet proceeded to clinch the match.
Reyes downed Nick Van Den Berg of Holland in the quarterfinals and Fabio Petroni of Italy in the semifinals.
Fil-Canadian Alex Pagulayan shared third and fourth with Swede Marcus Chamat, claiming $4,000 (208,000 pesos) each.
Busan Asian Games gold medalist and 2001 World Pool Masters champion Francisco “Django” Bustamante, Pagulayan’s victim in the quarterfinals, wound up tied for 5th to 8th and took home $2,000 (104,000 pesos).
RP, Que best from Asia
Angelo Que closed out with an even-par 72 to finish a strong third in the individual category as the Philippines emerged the top Asian contender at the close of the World Amateur Team Championship at the Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Playing his last major tournament as an amateur, the 24-year-old hitter from Bulacan stayed within striking distance of the leaders in the final round and was in fact just a stroke off the pace when he bogeyed the par-five 18th hole en route to a 72 and a 283 total.
Que also bogeyed the first and 12th holes but made up for them with birdies on the seventh, 13th and 14th. He had previous rounds of 72-70-69 in the tournament, which was held just a couple of weeks after the Philippines’ dismal campaign in the Busan Asian Games.
After rounds of 74-75-78, Jerome Delariarte finally clicked, firing a four-under 68 built on five birdies against a lone bogey while Juvic Pagunsan matched par for the first time in four rounds, hitting four birdies against the same number of bogeys. He went 76-77-74 in the first three days.
Jao pockets sixth road racing title
Jolet Jao of Shell Advance-Rolex Engineering has achieved what no other local rider has ever done before: win a record sixth road racing title in seven years.
Jao swept the final two races of the season, beating Benjo Mendoza in the 11th round and Rod Scott in the 12th round to wrap up the overall title in the 2002 Shell Advance Super Bike Championships at the Batangas Racing Circuit.
In winning his sixth road racing title since 1996, Jao won 11 of 12 rounds held this year.
“What can I say? It’s been another great year for me,” said the 37-year-old Jao, who had also won four motocross and three scooter titles before shifting to road racing seven years ago.
Overall, Jao finished with a runaway total of 266 points, way ahead of perennial rivals Toti Alberto and Rod Scott based on the 25-20-16-13-11 scoring system by the National Motorcycle Sports and Safety Association (Namssa).
Tour Pilipinas kicks off
The heroes of summer are ready to take the road again.
Air21, the logistic service of Airfreight 2100, raised the curtain amidst raining confetti and strobe lights on the Tour Pilipinas 2003, a signal that the fabled cycling marathon of yore will be on the road each summer. But unveiling the Tour Pilipinas turned out to be just part of a bigger picture Airfreight 2100, sole licensee of FedEx in the Philippines, is painting.
Air21 chairman Bert Lina is hopeful that the Tour Pilipinas his company initially intends to bankroll for the next four years will lead to the countryís participation in the Tour de France.
“We want to develop world-class cyclists who are capable of competing in the Tour de France,” said Lina, who allotted 1 million pesos for the winning team — the biggest team prize in Philippine cycling history — and 200,000 pesos for the individual champion.
The Tour de France is the ultimate of road racing in cycling and lures annually the legends of the sport from all over the world.
The lavish launch at the National Sports Grill in Makati City officially kicked off the Tour Pilipinas 2003 season which begins with the pre-qualifiers on Nov. 10-17 in Pililia, Rizal, for Luzon aspirants and Nov. 23 in Argao, Cebu, for Visayas and Mindanao hopefuls, respectively.
RP chess teams out to prove a point
Both the Philippine men’s and women’s chess teams taking part in the ongoing 35th World Chess Olympiad in Bled, Slovenia, are out to prove to people back home that the sport is worth supporting.
The men’s squad, seeded 41st among 141 entries, battles Guernsey and Jersey, a British protectorate, late Friday in first round play while the women’s team, seeded 40th among 94 countries, takes on Brunei.
Both squads are going for shutout wins, according to RP team captain Sammy Espino.
“We have to score heavily to start our campaign on a winning note. More importantly, we have to make people aware that chess is a sport that is worth supporting,” he said.
Grandmasters Eugene Torre, Joey Antonio and Bong Villamayor will be fielded in the top three boards while board four will be manned by 19-year-old International Master Mark Paragua, who is bidding to earn his second GM norm in the tourney.
Grandmaster aspirant Arianne Caoili, International Woman Master Beverly Mendoza and former national champion Sheerie Joy Lomibao are likely to see action for the women’s squad.
“The next few rounds will be the real test,” said Estimo.
The country is bidding to match at least its 17th place finish in the 2000 Olympiad in Turkey.
Paragua, who has one GM result tucked under his belt, will face his baptism of fire in a tourney of this magnitude.
PSC promise support to Mindanao
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) officials see the possibility of a Mindanaoan delivering the first Olympic gold medal for the country as they promised to give full attention to the region during the opening of the second Mindanao Friendship Games at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sr. Memorial Sports Center in Cagayan de Oro.
PSC chairman Eric Buhain reiterated Palarong Pambansa will finally return to Mindanao next year and announced the launching soon of a sports academy in the region in a speech that received thunderous approval from the athletes, local officials and the mammoth crowd during colorful opening rites. Interior and Local Government Secretary Joey Lina, representing President Arroyo, promised full support as he believes sports “inculcates good values to the youths who will lead us in the future.”
Lina said he will issue an appropriate circular among local government units, calling on them to actively participate and back the 2003 Palarong Pambansa to be hosted by Tubod, Lanao de Norte.
Filipino lifters strike gold
in World Masters
A two-man Philippine powerlifting team bagged three gold, two silver and one bronze medals in the recent 2002 World Masters Powerlifting Championship in Villa Maria, Argentina.
Lt. Col. Antonio Taguibao, a member of the PSG-Special Operations Group, lifted a total of 963 pounds to win three golds and a silver in the 52-kilogram class. He has been a World Masters champion titleholder for three consecutive years.
Rene Dio, a Fitness International, Gold Gym and Clark Hatch personal trainer, lifted a total of 1,535 pounds to cop the silver in deadlift and third place overall against 14 participants including those from USA, Russia and Canada in the 82.5-kilogram class.
The two Filipinos actually bested entries from 25 countries. The first two days of the competition were dominated by lifters from Asian countries wherein the first five weight categories out of a total of 11 were won by teams from RP, Japan and Iran.
