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10 BY EMIL C. NOGUERA REPORTER
sports The Manila Times TUESDAY D ecember 14, 2010
HE Philippine football team is all set to plunge into action against powerhouse Indonesia in the
pore did not look at us when we were in Hanoi, Indonesia will not commit the same mistake,” said the 32-year-old British mentor. “Indonesia will be facing an ‘im-
semifinals of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Football Federation (AFF) Suzuki Cup beginning on Thursday at the 80,000-seater Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta.
movable’ object. While the Indone- sians will try to break us down, we will also try to break them down,” he added.
The 22-man squad led by the tow- ering Filipino-British goalie Neil Etheridge will leave today for Indo- nesian capital.
“They [Indonesians] are going to be the obvious favorites. I’m sure if there was anyone they would have picked in the semifinals they would have picked us up,” said national coach Simon Alexander McMenemy during their courtesy call with Phil-
»NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE RESULTS AND STANDINGS
STANDINGS Buffalo
Jacksonville Pittsburgh Tampa Bay Atlanta Detroit
San Francisco San Diego
New England New Orleans
13 Cleveland 38 Oakland 23 Cincinnati
6
31 7
17 Washington 16 31 Carolina 7 Green Bay 40 Seattle
31 Kansas City 0 36 Chicago
21 7
Arizona 43 Denver 13 Miami NY Jets Dallas
27 NY Giants at Minnesota, postponed
AMERICAN CONFERENCE WLT PCT PF PA
AFC East Division x-New England11 2 0 .846 415 276 N.Y. Jets 9 4 0 .692 273 242 Miami
7 6 0 .538 225 244 Buffalo 3 10 0 .231 256 339
AFC North Division Pittsburgh 10 3 0 .769 290 198 Baltimore
8 4 0 .667 260 201
Cleveland 5 8 0 .385 235 252 Cincinnati 2 11 0 .154 262 345
AFC South Division Jacksonville 8 5 0 .615 295 331 Indianapolis 7 6 0 .538 347 318 Houston 5 7 0 .417 288 321 Tennessee 5 8 0 .385 291 265
AFC West Division Kansas City 8 5 0 .615 295 268 San Diego 7 6 0 .538 354 253 Oakland 6 7 0 .462 314 307 Denver
3 10 0 .231 269 376
NFC East Division Philadelphia 9 4 0 .692 374 308 N.Y. Giants 8 4 0 .667 308 247 Washington 5 8 0 .385 238 310 Dallas
4 9 0 .308 321 366
NFC North Division Chicago
9 4 0 .692 253 228
Green Bay 8 5 0 .615 306 189 Minnesota 5 7 0 .417 227 253 Detroit
3 10 0 .231 285 309
NFC South Division Atlanta 11 2 0 .846 335 243 New Orleans 10 3 0 .769 330 240 Tampa Bay 8 5 0 .615 260 267 Carolina 1 12 0 .077 164 338
NFC West Division St. Louis 6 7 0 .462 245 268 Seattle
San Francisco 5 8 0 .385 243 280 Arizona
x-clinched playoff berth
6 7 0 .462 261 329 4 9 0 .308 243 351 AFP
Peter Senior defies years to win Australian PGA
PETER SENIOR outlasted Geoff Ogilvy in a sudden-death play-off to seal his third Australian PGA Cham- pionship title in dramatic style Monday, 21 years after his first win. Senior, 51, won with a par on the second extra hole at the Coolum course after last week’s Australian Open win- ner Ogilvy missed his 2-meter par putt. It was Senior’s 28th career title,
his 20th on the Australasian PGA Tour and he is the oldest winner of Australia’s oldest professional title. “What a great way to finish the year
Pros gear up for PHL Open showdown
FRANKIE MIÑOZA and company get their final chance to test the tough Valley Golf Club layout in the Philippine Open pro- fessional-amateur tournament today hoping to make the nec- essary adjustments in their respective games in time for to- morrow’s start of the P2-million event. The par-72 championship layout offers a different kind of challenge to the strong 120-player field with its rolling hills, meandering brooks and unpredictable putting surface. This marks the fourth time that VGC will stage the Open after host- ing it in 1975, 1983 and 1991. Miñoza, chasing his third Open crown in 12 years, looms as the player to beat in the country’s premier and Asia’s oldest golfing event owning to his form, which netted him a spot in next year’s US Seniors Champions Tour.
Others seeing action in the 18-hole professional-amateur are defending champion Elmer Salvador and title contenders Artemio Murakami, Marvin Dumandan, Benjie Magada, former champion Cassius Casas, Ferdie Aunzo, Rey Pagunsan and young turks Antonio Asistio 2nd, Gene Bondoc, Michael Bibat. The Philippine Open will also mark the debut for former national champion and many-time Philippine team spearhead Mhark Fernando while a host of jungolfers will also be join- ing the title hunt as part of their training under the NGAP youth program. The event is sponsored by San Miguel Corp. and backed by
Pagcor, Orient Pearl, Amalgated Motors (Philippines) Inc., Mercedes Benz, Mitsubishi, Rudy Project, EFC and friends of NGAP and Club Car Philippines as hole-in-one sponsor and A Round of Golf as media partner. Motorola is the event’s two-way radio supplier.
off,” said Senior, who also won in 1989 (Riverside Oaks) and 2003 (Coolum). “I hit my two best shots of the day both on the 18th hole,” he added, having made a 3-meter birdie putt on his 72nd hole to force the play-off. Former US Open champion Ogilvy returned to the water-logged resort course early on Monday to complete his rain-delayed final round in six-under 66, seizing the clubhouse lead at 12-under 276. Ogilvy (70-69-71-66) then watched on as several rivals failed to force a
play-off before Senior (70-67-68- 71), the last player to finish, sunk his birdie putt to join him and con- tinue the drama. “I was surprised 12 under held up,” said Ogilvy, whose missed playoff putt handed Senior the $270,000 ($266,000) winner’s cheque. “It was a bonus to be in a playoff.
I was more annoyed at missing that putt on the second playoff hole,” Ogilvy said. “You don’t like losing with a three putt.”
Australians Nick O’Hern (70-70- 68-69), Peter Fowler (66-70-70-71) and Andre Stolz (67-69-70-71) fin- ished joint third on 11-under 277. Senior was listed at 126-1 by bookmakers to win the tournament after his opening round of 70. Despite his age, Senior is not the oldest winner of an Australasian tour title.
That achievement belongs to Kel
Nagle, who won the New Zealand Open at 55 and celebrates his 90th birthday next week.
Kobe Bryant’s 32 points lift Los Angeles Lakers
KOBE BRYANT scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half and delivered two key assists in a late scoring run Sunday to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 99-92 NBA victory over New Jersey. The triumph gave the Lakers a sixth vic- tory in their last 11 games, but even though the two-time defending NBA champions boast a 17-7 record, Bryant said they aren’t playing well enough. “We have to muster up the energy and muster up the motivation to play every night,” Bryant said. “We’re not doing a good job of doing it. Today, we read the defense and made the right plays.” Bryant forced the Nets to double-team him when he scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. When he wasn’t open, he set up Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom for easy bas- kets in an 8-0 fourth-quarter scoring run.
Odom had five of his 22 points in the run and Spain’s Gasol had the other three as he notched 15 points and 11 rebounds. “I thought we did a better job of spread- ing it out and making the better pass down the stretch,” Bryant said. “We can’t just stand around and wait.
We have to cut and move the ball. We were moving the ball better and got the win.” Brook Lopez scored 25 points with 9 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost seven straight games.
Devin Harris added 16 points with 10 assists and Kris Humphries chipped in 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Gasol broke an 87-87 tie with the second
of two free throws with 2:28 remaining. After Harris missed a drive, Bryant took advantage of the Nets double-teaming him
and delivered a pass to Gasol, who got the layup for a 90-87 Lakers lead. When Harris again failed to capitalize at the other end, Bryant made a cross-court pass to Odom for a dunk. While Bryant continued to focus on the deficiencies of the victorious Lakers, Odom said he wasn’t worried. He noted, however, that the Lakers had more trouble than they should have against the lowly Nets. “We can’t be great every single night,” Odom said. “But it’s just the way we’ve been going for the last 10 to 15 games. We get a lead, give it away and have to fight back. “We’re not playing to our potential. Not taking anything away from the Nets, but we’re just not playing well right now. It’s a little disappointing.”
AFP Ali Peek bags PBA’s ‘best of the week’ plum
TALK ‘N Text completed their elimina- tion round assignments with an 11-3 slate, just enough to clinch the top spot and the first twice-to-beat advantage going into the quarterfinal round of the 36th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Cup. Ali Peek was instrumental in the
Tropang Texters two most recent wins; the first was against Ginebra (109-102) and the second over Air21 (103-89) Sunday to
tie San Miguel Beer in the standing. For his feat, the 6’6” Peek earned the
Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors for the period December 6 to 12. “Ali is such a luxury to have. We don’t
run any specific plays yet he delivers when needed,” noted Texters coach Chot Reyes. “Can you say ‘monster?’ That’s the type of game he played the last three times out.” In the game over the Gin Kings, the 35- year-old center-forward finished with 25
points and 9 rebounds and settled with 8 points and 6 rebounds against the Express. Thus, the Tropang Texters reclaim the No. 1 position following a high 1.05 quotient over the Beermen’s 0.951. Peek’s average of 17.4 points, 9.2 re- bounds in their last five games somehow speak for his value to the team, which was a significant increase to his previous average of only 10.8 points in their first nine games in the elimination.
FRANK CALAPRE AFP
Pinoy IMs top Penang chess tilt
THE national chess team stamped its class in the 2010 Penang International Open Chess Championships as International Masters (IM) Oliver Dimakiling and Oliver Barbosa took the top spots in the men’s division. The fourth-ranked Dimakiling finished with a nine-round total of 7.5 points on six wins and three draws to clinch his first major title. He was actually in a two-way tie
on top with the top-seeded Barbosa who had the same output. But Dimakiling took the crown by superior tiebreak score of 54.5 compared to Barbosa’s 53.5. Grandmaster Niaz Murshed of Bangladesh defeated Filipino IM Yves Ranola in the final round to grab the thirds spot with seven points. Ranola and compatriot IM Luis Chiong shared the fourth to fifth places with 6.5 points while FIDE Master (FM) Christopher Castellano led 10 other players with six points. The other players with six points
were Filipino National Master (NM) Ian Cris Udani, FM Haridas Pascua, NM Edgard Reggie Olay, FM Julius Joseph de Ramos, Singaporean Andre Jerome, and Malaysians IM Mas Hafizulhelmi, Edward Lee, Ng Tze Han and Tan Khai Boom. “Once again, our players proved
that we’re a force to reckon with,” said National Chess Federation of the Philippines President Prospero Pichay Jr.
EMIL C. NOGUERA »DIFFERENTLY ABLED ATHLETES
The Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled (Philspada) swimming delegation to the Asian Para Games, December 12 to 19 in Guangzhou, China headed by coach Tony Ong, (from left) Eric Villanueva, May Rose Devaras, Daniel Damaso Jr., Arnel Aba and Ernie Gawilan.
31 St. Louis 13 10
6 Philadelphia 30
10 3
ippine Sports Commission Chair- man Richie Garcia.
Riding on the crest of their im-
pressive 2-0 demolition of de- fending champion Vietnam two weeks ago, McMenemy said no new strategies would be employed against Indonesia.
“Indonesia will make their due diligence, which makes the situation more difficult. Vietnam and Singa-
Indonesia topped Group A with three wins while the Philippines placed second behind Vietnam in Group B. “I won’t be playing anything dif- ferent. Just try to keep a clean sheet. Just what like coach said, we will just be out there to do our job,” said Etheridge, a member of Fulham squad in the English Premier League. Team manager Dan Palami, for his part, remained optimistic of the team’s chances. “Just the same, this is just another obstacle that our boys hope to overcome as we try to bring honor to flag and country and make our countrymen proud,” Palami said.
UST NIPS LA SALLE IN UAAP BASEBALL TOURNEY THE University of Santo Tomas (UST) nipped De La Salle
University, 8-7 in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) baseball tournament Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium. JOSEF T. RAMOS
Azkals expect tough fight from Indonesians T
■ Members of the Philippine national football team a.k.a. Azkals Nonito Donaire promises Filipinos a good fight against Montiel
NONITO “THE FILIPINO FLASH” Donaire Jr. assured his fellow Filipi- nos they could count on him when he fights bantamweight king Fer- nando Montiel February next year. Donaire, showing no sign of in-
timidation after Montiel (44-2-2 win- loss-draw with 34 knockouts) whipped Giovani Soto on Friday. “It’s time to prove it, that’s what I’m doing, the same thing. I’m going to prove that I’m better than him,” the 28-year-
old Donaire (25-1 card with 17 knock- outs0 told boxing site
examiner.com. Donaire, who scored a vicious fourth round knockout against former World Boxing Association bantamweight win- ner Ukrainian Wladimir Sidorenko on
December 4, said he will begin training to hone his boxing skills the soonest. “That’s what he needs to do,” said
Donaire, referring to Montiel’s state- ment that he is also ready to face him. “I feel that I am better than him and
it’s going to be good. I’m waiting. I’m excited and this is the fight I want.” Montiel is the present World Box- ing Council and World Boxing Or- ganization bantamweight champion. JOSEF T. RAMOS
SEN. ZUBIRI LAUDS FEAT OF AZCALS
SEN. Juan Miguel Zubiri lauded Monday the Philippine football team for reaching the semifinals of the Suzuki Cup, while lamenting the disarray of the sport in the country. In a privileged speech, Zubiri said
that the Azcals, the name given to the members of the team, are winning glory for the country in defeating defending champion Vietnam and in drawing with Myanmar and three-time champion Singapore. “These men are teaching us
Passion, Skill and Joy, the football mantra,” he said, while adding that they are also converting basketball- loving Filipinos over to football. He pointed out that the all-time
top scorer in world football history is a Filipino, Paulino Alcantara, who scored 356 goals in 357 games from 1912 to 1916. “In the present crop of our football
players, we already see that glimmer of hope that Filipinos will once more gain glory for the country through football,
the only sport called ‘The beautiful game,’” he added. At the same time, Zubiri
lamented the failure to bring the Philippine team to play in their home court in the semifinals against Indonesia. Because the Philippines has no accredited facility to host an international football game. “It seems that we are so predis-
posed to the fact that our football teams cannot win and, therefore, we need not prepare our stadiums for championships,” he said. He described this as a shame because smaller neighbors like Cambodia and Laos have accredited facilities. He also noted the irony that the Philippines has Philippine Basketball Association and National Basketball Association certified courts in most of the provinces. He said that the physical inadequacies are compounded by the disunity of sports officials in
charge of football. “There is a brewing word war among the directors and officers of the Philippine Football Federa- tion—where the extreme position calls for the replacement of its heads,” he observed. He said that the missed
opportunity for a home match in the football semifinals should force officials to look into what is ailing Philippine sports programs. He cited the 188-member national delega- tion to the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, that brought home only three golds, four silvers and nine bronze medals. Zubiri appealed to President
Benigno Aquino 3rd to stand up for Philippine sports for the nation’s glory and unity of the people. “Let us learn from the super-
powers that used sports to rally their people to unite behind their nation and behind their flag,” he stressed.
EFREN L. DANAO
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