GM Bitoon suffers third straight loss in Pacquiao Cup

LUCK has totally left Cebuano GM Richard Bitoon’s side as he suffered his third straight loss, pushing him back to 37th place.

Bitoon (2410) lost for the third time, this time to Chinese IM Yunguo Wan (2509), in the $100,000 Manny Pacquiao Cup – Asian Continental Open and Women’s Open Chess Championships in Pasay City.

Limpag: An open letter to Gov. Davide

WHAT'S up, Gov? How are you doing these days? I know you are busy preparing for your June 30 takeover of the provincial seat, and I hope you get that much needed rest before June 30, when you become the third person to sit as governor of Cebu in 12 days.

QCU rules Interclub

CEBU Queen City United clobbered San Roque Rehab, 5-0, to rule the men’s open of the 13th Cebu Interclub Football Cup yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

The game opened with an exchange of attacks between the two teams with Ariel Cahilig of CQCU shooting wide in the first minute, while San Roque’s Epifanio Ynot hit the post in the third minute.

Cebu begins hunt in PNG

THE Cebu City Sports Commission delegation has arrived in Manila for the Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission Philippine National Games.

PSC beach volleyball consultant Eric Lecain said he was amazed by the number of participants in this year’s multi-event competition, which has 46 events.

QCU faces San Roque

CEBU Queen City United (CQCU) dethroned two-time champion Hirsohi FC, 2-0, in the 13th Cebu Interclub Football Cup, setting up an exciting finals match at the Cebu City Sports Center today.

The second semifinals featured an intense match between the league’s top contenders until Jade Paghubasan broke the deadlock in the 46th minute to give CQCU the upper hand in the match,1-0.

Frenz-Malaysia routs Global FC in Asean tourney

GLOBAL FC 15-Under team lost to the visiting Frenz Malaysia- B, 3-0, in its debut in the Football Association of Malaysia- Frenz U-15 Asean Champions Trophy yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Ten minutes after Sebastian Patangan’s shot off a miss by Major Dean Ebarle was disallowed for offside, the visitors took the lead on a solo effort by Masir Lansing, who beat keeper Harel Dayan.

Two teams share lead after 3rd round in The View

TWO teams share the provisional lead after the third day of The View Invitational 2013 at Alta Vista Golf and Country Club.

Brothers Marvin and Marco Mendoza combined for 152 points after 36 holes, while Alvin Suarez and Baltaire Balangauan had the same aggregate to share the top spot at press time.

Pages: Basti Lacson’s Europe to Africa swim

LAST Thursday, I wrote about Sebastian Lacson. He’s a young man, only 42, who’s achieved success in every step of life — including sports.

Back in college at the Ateneo, he was captain of the Blue Eagles basketball team. While taking his MBA in Spain, he finished the Barcelona Marathon in 3:56. But these cannot compare to what he achieved in October 1996.

Mendoza: Yuck! LeBron turns from hero to heel

WHY did LeBron James suddenly become gun-shy?

Was it on orders from his coach that he had to pass, not just once but twice?

Quijano: Froch takes on the Viking Warrior again

IT’S time for one of the most awaited rematches in super-middleweight history. Carl Froch and Mikkel Kessler first faced off back in 2010 as part of the Super Six Super-middleweight tournament.

Kessler won that one via unanimous decision, but the verdict did not sit well with the garrulous Froch. He felt the Danish fighter was the beneficiary of a hometown decision, the fight having been held in Denmark.

Pagara’s major test

FOR prospects to become true contenders they need to go through tough fights that could define their careers.

No. 4 ranked World Boxing Organization (WBO) light welterweight Jason Pagara is at that point of his career and he must prove he is a true contender and not just a pretender.

Limpag: Malditas make their case in AFC

DURING one inconsequential practice in high school, a female batchmate caused quite a stir in the campus when--wearing the school uniform and all--she joined the team in a scrimmage.

She was clumsy and all, but I remember she caused a few smiles at her audacity to join the boys’ football team in practice.

With Lebron, Miami is in good hands

IF today’s Game 2 between Miami and Indiana goes cliffhanger again, please review Game 1.

Parklane eyes triathlon in Oslob

THE Cebu Parklane International Hotel will hosting a triathlon race dubbed Hunat Sugbu Tri in October in Oslob.

Allan Ting, a member of the board of directors of Parklane, said that most of the major triathlon races over the years have been held in the northern Cebu in Bantayan Island, Tabuelan, Sogod, Danao, Liloan and San Remegio and he wants to bring it down South.

5 Cebuanos in PH team

FIVE Cebuano booters will join the 15-Under squad of Global FC that will represent the country against Malaysia in the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) - Frenz U-15 Asean Champions trophy as in the game opener today at 6 p.m. at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Moiselle Angelo Alforque, Majordean Ebarle, Vincent Erik Lovitos, Kintaro Miyagi and Lorenzo Ceniza were picked up to join the team.

Razkals survive Phoenix to win U13 title

THE Talisay Razkals are the new champions of the 13-Under title after they survived Phoenix FC, 4-3, in the finals of the 13th Cebu Interclub Football Cup at the Aboitiz Sports Field.

Angelo Colina got Phonex the lead early but Christian Agot answered with an equalizer in the 10th minute and got the lead in 20th. Jascha Tabar doubled the lead in the 43rd minute and Kenneth Miyagi joined in after he made a goal in the 57th minute.

Espina, Garcia stay ahead in The View

THERE is no change at the top of the standings in The View Invitational 2013 after the second day of action Friday at Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Pardo, this city.

As of yesterday, Edwin Espina and Tony Garcia remained on top with a total of 78 points on rounds of 42 and 36, respectively, in the Modified Stableford Scoring system.

USC routs UC anew

THE Cebu Landmasters proved its elimination round win over the Gaisano Capital South was not a fluke after scoring another rout, 116-84, in their semifinal encounter of the Enervon-Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. Partners Cup 2013 at the Cebu Coliseum yesterday.

The Cebu Landmasters-University of San Carlos banked on a strong first quarter en route to its 32-point winning margin.

PNG kicks off today in Manila

MANILA—Athletes from 17 regions throughout the country will pit skills against members of the national pool as the 2013 Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission (POC-PSC) National Games kicks off today at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

A total of 6,000 including 600 elite athletes have so far registered to see action in 41 sports disciplines of the 10-day competition held here for the last time in 1994.

Pestaño: Manny Pacquiao, a man of many talents

ACCORDING to Wikipedia ,Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao is the first eight-division world champion in boxing. He is also one of the richest men in the Philippines and the second highest paid athlete in the world with earnings of $63 million in 2012.

He was named “Fighter of the Decade” by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).

Villaflor: These Malditas aren’t that bad, you know

AS I am writing this column, the Philippine Women’s National Team, or the Malditas, are squaring off with erstwhile tormentors Thailand for a berth in the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualification.

3rd Hunat run to separate local, foreign elite runners

TO encourage more local elite runners to join, organizers of the Hunat Sugbu Tres: Dagan Para ni Maning has put up a different category for foreign elite runners in the men’s and women’s 21K.

The event, sponsored by Cebu Parklane International Hotel, will be held on June 23 at the Ayala Terraces Cebu. It also features a 5K, 10K and 21K divisions.

Pagara sees KO win

WHEN two hard-hitters share the same ring there’s only one way out – a knockout.

“Everything will unfold on Saturday and I assure you somebody is going to get knocked out,” Jason Pagara said yesterday in the final press conference of Pinoy Pride XX – “Laban kung Laban” boxing show.

Cebu to host Asean U16 club competition

CEBU will host the four-month long Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) - Frenz Under-15 Asean Champions Trophy this Saturday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Just a few weeks after hosting an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) interclub competition, Cebu was nominated by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) to host this league-style club completion for the 15-Under age group sanctioned by the Asean Football Federation body.

Espina, Garcia take lead

THE tandem of Edwin Espina and Tony Garcia set the early pace in first day of The View Invitational 2013, the annual member-guest tournament of Alta Vista Golf and Country Club.

Espina and Garcia combined for 78 points in the two-man team event using the Modified Stableford Scoring System. Espina fired a six-under-par 42 points while Garcia made an even-par 36.

Phoenix, Talisay in finals

PHOENIX FC and Talisay Razkals set up an exciting finals in the 13-Under division after winning their semifinal matches in the 13th Cebu Interclub Football Club yesterday at the Aboitiz Sports Field.

Phoenix booted out Sacred Heart School- Ateneo de Cebu, 2-0, while the Talisay Razkals upset Group A leader Don Bosco Technology Center-Bro Nationals, 3-0.

Perea belittles Jaca

JOSE Emilio Perea expects his title fight with former world title contender Jimrex Jaca to be a tough battle on Saturday night. But it’ll be a war that he is certain will go his way.

Dynamo FC stuns USC-BED in 11-Under final

DYNAMO FC got past the University of San Carlos - Basic Education Department (USC-BED) in a penalty shootout, 2-1, to bag the 11-under title in the 13th Cebu Interclub Football Cup yesterday at the Aboitiz Sports Field.

Shawn Philip Canlas scored the first goal for Dynamo FC before Juan Pablo Fernan of USC-BED equalized.

Pages: Basti Lacson and the Strait of Gibraltar

BASED on estimates, the number of people who’ve reached the summit of Mt. Everest is 3,425.

If you think this number is very small compared to the world’s population of seven billion, consider this: An estimated 625 people have ever swum from Europe to Africa via the Strait of Gibraltar.

Limpag: Malditas face Thailand in historic match

ONE of the biggest matches in Philippine football will happen today, in faraway Bangladesh. No, it doesn’t involve the Azkals, but the Malditas, the Philippine women’s national team that is seeking a berth in the Asian Football Confederation Women’s Cup.

Not much has been written about the team, a fact that fiery coach Ernie Nierras is using as a challenge.