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.

Crucial games for Top 3 on Sunday

THE Big Three squads -- Sharp, Negros Basketball Group and Panasonic -- are in for a final test in the last day of elimination of the Condura Cup of Basketball Unified Sports Group 2nd Invitational Tournament for 40 Up on Sunday at Po Hang gym of Bacolod Tay Tung High School here.

Sharp, which faces PESO BAYS, has the best quotient of 1.48 among the trio after giving Panasonic its worst beating, 104-73 last week. If the TV Makers stay sharp and repeat the teamwork it showed against the Ref Makers, the number one spot is theirs.

Moulic to represent PH in int'l competitions

ELLA Grace L. Moulic, 14, will be representing the Philippines in the upcoming 14th ASEAN Age Group Chess in the 16 under girls’ category at Chang Mai City, Thailand this coming June 5 to 14 and in the 2013 Asian Youth Chess Championships in Mashhad City, Iran on June 20 to 27.

Currently Ella is preparing for the upcoming tournament by practicing her openings and tactics with her coach and father Alfred Moulic.

Hour Run 2 set for June 2

THE Ayala Business Club of Davao will be having its Hour Run 2 on June 2 for the benefit of Children’s Hour at Abreeza Mall.

The Hour Run 2 aims to generate funds for the construction of classrooms for the San Alfonso Elementary School in Cateel, Davao Oriental.

L. Garcia beats Agdao 61-59

BARANGAY Leon Garcia defended a late rally from Barangay Agdao Proper to edge out a 61-59 win against them at the Barangay Lapu-Lapu Covered Court yesterday. The win brought Barangay Leon Garcia a record of two consecutive wins in the Tok-Hang Basketball Tournament since their triumph over Barangay Lapu-Lapu last Wednesday.

The game was a normal fare, with Barangay Leon Garcia leading comfortably going into the fourth quarter with a score of 49-44.

Kenyan sets eyes on Baguio full marathon

THE race gets tougher and tougher.

While Baguio elite runners are seen to dominate the 1st Baguio City Marathon, Kenyans have made the race an international flavor with top runners expected to join the race slated June 2.

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.

The View Invitational kicks off today

IF THERE is one thing that the players and visitors immediately notice when they go to Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Pardo, Cebu City, it is the spectacular view from the clubhouse and the golf course.

Today, the club hosts The View Invitational 2013, which is AVGCC’s annual member-guest tournament.

Velez wins gold in PNG gymnastics

THE University of the Visayas’s (UV) Karen Sthea Velez captured the gold medal in the hoops event of the seniors’ rythmic gymnastics competition of the Philippine National Games (PNG) in Manila.

However, Velez shares the limelight with AJ Sirios of Muntinlupa, who came up with the same points as Velez.

Fiery start for the Malditas

THE Philippine Malditas opened their bid for the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers with a 6-0 thrashing over the favored I.R. of Iran in their Group B tussle.

Coach Ernie Nierras was all buoyed up prior to the competition, expressing full confidence for his team. With this initial result, the team is serving notice to the rest of the field that it is very serious in its bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Barangays Leon Garcia, San Antonio dominate Day 3 of Tok-Hang

BARANGAYS Leon Garcia and San Antonio were declared winners in yesterday’s Tok-Hang Basketball Tournament. The first game, held at Barangay Paciano Bangoy covered court, was between Barangay San Antonio and Barangay Paciano Bangoy. Paciano Bangoy, having a home advantage, was a favorite among the crowd and was expected to win the game.

Unfortunately, San Antonio took control of the game leading by a whopping 43 points at 76-33.

Instatech Volleyball enters semi-finals

FOUR volleyball teams are set to compete in the volleyball semi-finals of the Instatech Inter-Hospital Basketball & Volleyball Tournament this coming May 25 at the Ateneo de Davao University Matina Campus.

The following teams are: Southern Philippines Medical Center – Tamaraws; Davao Regional Hospital – Heat; Soccsksargen County Hospital - Lady Spartans; and the Davao Mediquest Hospital Incorporated - Cowgirls.

Yamyamin, Alba top Loyalty Cup

JOEL Yamyamin and Carloz Alba came out on top of the golfers who played in Class - A for the 1st Loyalty Cup last May 18 at the Apo Golf & Country Club.

The tournament was played using the Modified Stableford scoring system, where Yamyamin garnerd 37 points to be crowned Gross Champion and Alba scored 42 to take the title of Net Champion.

Four games today for Tok-Hang tournament

THE First Tok-Hang Cup Basketball Tournament continues today with four games to be played.

Barangay W. Aquino 1 will kick off the day's game against Barangay Lapu-Lapu from 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Right after, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Barangay Leon Garcia faces off against Barangay Agdao Proper. Both of the games in the morning will be played at the Barangay Lapu-Lapu covered court.

Vinluan: Personality, role in sports

“GREAT athletes are born, not made”, is a statement that has given rise to the belief that characteristics that determine superior athletic abilities are inherent rather than developed.

Although identifying these characteristics in this premise is a probability, we hope of being able to recognize their presence in young athletes. While the slogan “Sports Build Character” is one that many individuals accept without question. There are no definite answers as to the truth of the latter statements; there are however, considerable insights of the role of personality in sport.

Pagara is ‘mediocre’

THERE is no denying that Jason Pagara is currently the best Filipino at light welterweight. He is ranked fourth in the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and is just a few steps away from a shot at the coveted gold.

GM Bitoon scores second win over Prasad

CEBUANO GM Richard Bitoon picked up his second victory after beating GM Subramanian Arun Prasad of India in their Round 3 encounter in the $100,000 Manny Pacquiao Cup-Asian Continental Open and Women's Chess Championships held at the Midas Hotel in Pasay City.

Quijano: Is Jason Pagara ready to step up?

CIRCA 2005-2006, when Manny Pacquiao was on a meteoric rise to the top of the fistic world, Philippine boxing aggressively pushed for the development of new faces, new talents. Among those who benefitted from that impetus were boxers Rey “Boom-Boom” Bautista and AJ Bazooka Banal.

During that time they represented some of the new faces; the next generation eager to step up and follow in Pacquaio’s footsteps.

CFA hangs after draw with BFA in Suzuki

CEBU Football Association’s chances still hanging in the balance after a 1-1 draw against Baguio Benguet Football Association yesterday in the Philippine Football Federation Suzuki National Cup in Dumaguete City.

Although Baguio started out aggressively, CFA was quick to attack in the 8th minute through Agapito Baclaan, who pushed the ball into the net.