Pacquiao keeps boxing above all sports in 2011 

MANILA — World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao had a controversial win over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez in their World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight match last November but, just the same, the first-ever boxer to hold eight division titles kept the Philippines on top of the sports map with more punches and high marks on the judges’ score cards.

Of course, on the heels of Pacquiao are World Boxing Council (WBC) and WBO bantamweight champion and three division titlist Nonito Donaire and WBO flyweight king Brian Viloria who knocked off Fernando Montiel and Julio Miranda, respectively, for more honors for the country.
In billiards, a 32-year old former fisherman from Surigao who racked up US$ 107,588 total earnings in 2011 maintained his status as World Pool and Billiard Association’s (WPA) as No. 1 player.
Dennis Orcollo edged Japan’s Yukio Akagariyama of Japan with 2,570 points in the WPA and also captured the gold medal in the men’s 8-ball Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) competition last November.
Not to be outdone was the pair of 57-year old Efren “Bata” Reyes and the tiny 30-year old Rubilen Amit for defending their World Mixed Doubles crown in China last December by beating the highly-regarded American pair of Johnny Archer and Jeanette Lee, 10-6.
Golf came up big with 32-year old Bacoleno Juvic Pagunsan’s crowning himself as the 2011Asian Tour Order of Merit champion. Pagunsan capped it with the Asian Tour Player of the Year award which none of his countrymen ever won.
In basketball, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) had a great year with the Manny V. Pangilinan-owned, three-year old Talk ‘N’ Text ballclub nearly achieving a title grandslam only to be foiled by Petron Blaze (formerly the San Miguel Beermen) in the Governors’ Cup. Had the Texters beaten Petron, it could have been the fifth team to achieve grandslam four times by only three franchises in Asia’s first play-for-pay league.
In college basketball circuit, Ateneo de Manila Blue Eagles reigned kings in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) by playing a perfect 14-0 in the elimination round but allowed themselves to be beaten by Adamson in the Final Four before sweeping Far Eastern University (FEU) in the finals.
Over at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), San Beda grabbed its second straight crown by dumping San Sebastian College despite the absence of American slotman Daniel Sudan.
The Filipinos were treated to National Basketball Association’s Ultimate All-Star Weekend with American cagers of superior talents like Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and five others at the sparkling renovated Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Smart-Gilas National Team were awed by the NBA players while the PBA squads were easily trounced by the world’s best basketeers.
The Philippine’s much-hyped Azkals had a moment of glory when British soccer superstar David Beckham and the MLS champs LA Galaxy breezed in town last December for an exhibition match at the Rizal Memorial football stadium that was renovated by the private sector.
It was British-Filipino Philip Younghusband who scored the lone goal for the Philippines but Beckham and Co. were simply too much with a final 6-1 triumph at the end of the game witnessed by 12,000 fans.
The Philippines’ dropping to sixth place finish with 36 gold medals in Indonesia’s Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) last November was a sad reflection of the country’s sports situation. It fell short of the delegation’s 38 gold output in Laos in 2009. It is the second worst finish we ever had since the 2007 edition.
The only bright spot was sports that were not expected to bring home the gold like softball, baseball, bridge, fin swimming, wall climbing, fencing, equestrian, rowing, chess, cycling, judo, wushu, tennis, wrestling and dragon boat were the ones that performed very well. (PNA)