Limpag: The Azkals in the provinces

I SAW a picture promoting the Azkals football clinic and that reminded me of a friend’s reaction to what former CFA board member Tony Moraza said during the general assembly that was attended by both PFF president Nonong Araneta and national team manager Dan Palami.

4 Cebuanos relish training with PHL U19 team

IT was a good a learning experience for the four Cebuanos who showed up for the second camp of the under-19 Teen Azkals in Manila last week.

University of San Carlos booters Keen Agot, Junjay Arizabal, Renko Gaudiel and University of San Jose Recoletos’ Raphael De Guzman were among the many hopefuls who joined the nationwide camp.

Melindo gets title shot

MILAN Melindo finally earns his long overdue world title shot following a striking knockout victory last Saturday night in Macau’s first major boxing event.

The World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 1 rated flyweight outclassed WBO No. 1 light flyweight Tommy Seran and sent him to dreamland in the fourth round of their scheduled 10-round fight in one of the featured bouts in Top Rank’s boxing show at the Venetian Casino and Resort.

Bilangdol, Tan rule NAGT in Sogod

EARL Jason Bilangdol and Rochelle Tan took the men’s and women’s over-all title in the standard division of the National Age Group Triathlon (NAGT)-Cebu at the Alegre Beach Resort and Spa in Sogod, Cebu yesterday.

Pinoys take lead

TREAT Condrad Huey and Francis Casey Alcantara got the Philippines a step closer to the third round after giving the host a 2-1 lead over Thailand in their Davis Cup Asia Oceana Group 2 tie at Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

The Pinoys bucked a third set scare to beat Thailand’s Nattanon Kadchapanan and Pruchya Isarow in the crucial doubles match, 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

Otico ends Tru-Flex debut in style

BRYAN Otico ended his first foray in the Tru-Flex National Age Group Championships in style, beating Hong Kong’s Fabien Callaud, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, in the finals to win the 14-Under age group.

Otico, seeded fifth in his age group, changed strategies in the second and third sets after Callaud showed he can match his drives in the first.

Great comeback

A SLOW start doesn’t necessarily end in a loss and this is what Jose Nobles and Kate Vince Lagman proved when they topped the boys’ and girls’ divisions of the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers at the Alegre Beach Resort and Spa on Saturday.

Wild Rice 07 earns first win after wild finish

THE wait is finally over for Wild Rice 2007 as it earned its first win, 58-51, over PTT 2005, in the Cebu Eastern College Alumni Basketball Association’s 12th Dr. Chen Lieh Fu Memorial Cup last Friday night at the City Sports Club-Cebu gym.

Raymark Ryan Ong scored 20 points and Juan Carlo Espada added 14 points to snap Class 2007’s 12-game losing slide.

Pinoy stops Thai, makes bantamweight finals

KEVIN Belingon advanced to the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix finals following an imposing stoppage victory over Thanh Vu last Friday in the blockbuster ONE FC—“Kings and Champions” show at the Singapore Indoor Arena.

Belingon ended the fight a minute into the second round with a flurry of vicious strikes.

Pages: Amazing Thailand? It’s more fun in the Phils!

IN A battle between neighbors, true, Thailand is amazing. Their elephants can strut and dance. Thai food is spicy delicious. And shopping in Bangkok is cheaper than 888.

But today in Plantation Bay Resort and Spa with the game of tennis, I believe it will be the Pinoys who’ll have the most fun and smiling faces.

Quijano: 2nd quarterly pound-for-pound update

IT’S been a lethargic first quarter so far, but boxing is set to bounce back with some compelling matchups in the next Q. Here’s our quarterly update for our pound-for-pound rankings

1.) Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KOs). No change here as the “Pretty Boy” is still the sharpest tool in the shed. He is set to battle Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero this coming May and he recently cornered a three year, multi-million deal with Showtime/CBS.

Mendoza: It’s about time to ‘de-worm’ SEA Games

A LIE repeated a thousand times becomes truth. That’s a line propagated by Hitler’s propagandist. In case you’ve forgotten, Hitler was the German madman who almost conquered the world. Failing, he killed himself with his own gun.

That line has a parallelism to this, “A misdeed done a thousand times becomes commonplace in the end.”

Philippines splits singles

THE Philippines and Thailand split the first two singles matches for a 1-1 score in their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 2 tie at Plantation Bay.

Otico humbles Seno twice in Truflex semis

JAN Godfrey Seno wanted to finish what he started but luck just wasn’t in his favor.

He lost to Brian Otico twice—in the Boys 14 and Boys 16 semifinals — to end his Truflex National Age Group campaign. In the Boys 14, Seno lost, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, and in the Boys 16, he got routed 6-4, 6-0.

Deep Blue holds U18 tilt

THE young and upcoming chess players will converge at the Deep Blue Cafe for the one-day Rose Pharmacy’s Under-18 Chess Open tournament at 10:30 a.m today.

Cebu Chess Association (CCA) Chief Arbiter Marvin Ruelan announced the tournament is a gathering of Cebu’s best junior 18-Under players who will be vying for prestige and cash prizes.

Limpag: I started a joke...

I HAD fun making up facts and interviews for that April Fools story about how Global FC supposedly snagged Manny Pacquiao for its AFC President’s Cup campaign in Cebu. I usually write April Fools stories in my blog and at the beginning of the year, when I found out that April 1 fell on a Monday, when I had a column scheduled, I’ve been thinking of a good story.

I really looked forward to writing one, and after it got published and we all had fun--including Dan Palami who gamely tweeted it--I thought that was it.

Mendoza: Solaire Open sideswipes PH Open—sadly

GAMBLING is money. But golf is also money.

You need money to gamble. But you also need a casino for the gambler to go to.

Alegre hosts NAGT today

SOME of the aspirants for the Youth Olympic Qualifiers (YOG) are in Cebu for today’s YOG Qualifier at the 2013 Alegre Beach Resort & Spa.

However, one of the top five aspirants Jemuel Patillan will be skipping this race but Cebuano Justin Liam Chiongbian still feels nervous with the presence of other YOG aspirants.

Young guns take lead

TWENTY-SEVEN-YEAR old Ruben Gonzales will take on teenager Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul in the opening singles match of the Davis Cup Group 2 tie between the Philippines and Thailand at 3:30 p.m. at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa today.

Enriquez shocks top bet in Truflex 18-Under

CEBU’s Marc Norman Enriquez booted out top seed Dave Sebastian Mosqueda, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals then ousted Changmai Necessario 6-2, 6-3 in the semis to book a final seat in the boys 18 under division of the 14th Truflex National Age Group Tennis Championship at the Amores tennis courts, Lapu-Lapu City.

In his quarterfinal match, Enriquez shocked Mosqueda with a strong backhand return in the tie break.

4 Cebuanos eye spots in PH U19

FOUR young Cebuano booters have taken the opportunity to be part of the national under-19 team dubbed as the Teen Azkals.

Keen Agot, Junjay Arizabal, Renko Gaudiel and Rafael de Guzman are now in Manila to join the training for the national team. This is a follow up from the first tryouts last March in San Carlos City and the four got into the 39-man pool.

Pestaño: Suprise twist to candidates tournament

THE 2013 candidates tournament was the strongest tournament of its kind in history.

The prize fund totaled €510,000 and was held in London from March 14 to April 2. The main sponsor for the Candidates was the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (Socar).

Pinoy seeks ONE FC redemption

TEAM Lakay standout Kevin Bellingon is in for a crucial fight tonight because a win positions him closer to a crack at the ONE FC bantamweight belt.

Bellingon is taking on Vietnamese-Australian Thanh Vu in the semifinals of the ONE FC Bantamweight Grand Prix at the Singapore Indoor Arena.

USJ-R wants Partners Cup title

IT’s an open race for the sixth edition of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) Partners’ Cup tournament as the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) Jaguars vowed to give defending champion University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers a run for their money.

Leaders clash in PBA

MANILA--Co-leaders Alaska Aces and Rain or Shine part ways today when they face each other, while Petron stakes its solo hold of third spot against Meralco in the 38th PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round at the Araneta Coliseum.

IBP Basketball Season 10 sugdan ugma

ANDAM na ang tanan alang sa pormal nga pagsugod sa Integrated Bar of the Philippines Basketball league Season 10 ugmang adlawa sa alas 10 sa buntag diha sa Capitol Parish Church, Escario st., dakbayan sa Sugbo.

Iglupas beats Pages

KHIM Iglupas battled through four deuces to finally overcome Jana Pages in three sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, in the Girls 18-Under semifinals of the 14th Truflex National Age Group Tennis Championship at the Mactan Ebuen Benito Air Base tennis courts in Lapu-Lapu City.

Iglupas ended the match with a cross-court return to book the first final seat against top seed Roxanne Resma of Cagayan de Oro City. Resma routed third seed Dominique Ong, 6-1, 6-2.

Cebu to host AFC License C seminar

CEBU will host the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) C-License course from May 25 to June 7 at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).

Cebu Football Association (CFA) is inviting Cebu-based coaches from the grassroots team and football clubs to apply for this accreditation course. The forms are available at the CFA office beside the CCSC on a first come, first served basis.

Trap feels trapped by ITU cap for qualifiers

THE Philippines will be limited to sending four triathletes—two girls and two boys—in the qualifiers for the Asian Youth Olympic Games next year due to the limit imposed by the International Triathlon Union.

Pages: Thailand vs. Philippines: Who’ll win?

MY WIFE Jasmin and I relish Thai food. Tom Yum? Yum, yum. That’s our favorite spicy soup. Pad Thai, the stir-fried noodle dish? Delicious. Here in Cebu, from Ayala to SM to BTC, we can easily savor Thai cuisine.

Thai massage? Even more prevalent. In almost every major there’s a Nuat Thai or Thewi Thai or Wat Pho.