NAKHON Ratchasima – A sign of surrender or a symbolic sacrifice to make a point?The act made by the Filipino campaigners  in the 24th Southeast Asian Games finals of boxing, arguably the sportsfest's most popular event, on Thursday  might look unpopular and unsportsmanlike to some, if not most, for  those who saw and heard it happen.But Filipino sports officials here, led by Bacolod lawmaker and chef  de mission Monico Puentevella, said   the decision to order the RP box...

Middleweight Junie Tizon and lightheavyweight Maximino Tabangcora ended the Philippine boxing team's campaign here by conceding their respective matches after one round. Both fighters refused to mix it up and thus failed to score a single point. Tizon was down 0-9 and Tabangcora 0-3 to tehir Thai opponents when they quit. The Philippines thus ended its boxing campaign in the men's division with seven silver medals.I will try to interview ABAP president Manny Lopez and head coach Nolito Velasco ...

Superlightweight Larry Semillano earned the respect of the hostile Thai crowd by slugging it out till the end with Athens Olympic gold medallist Manus Boonjumnong before losing on points, 4-10. It was the first bout featuring a Filipino to be completed in what had been a bizarre afternoon of boxing here. Semillano gamely fought the Thai champion in the latter two rounds after playing it safe in Rounds 1 and 2. At the end of the match and during the medal ceremony, he was widely applauded by the...

Apparently, the boxing officials have offered a compromise: they will allow our boxers to trade punches, but not finish their bouts. Featherweight Orlando Tacuvan called it quits at the end of the second rund with his Thai opponent miles ahead, 19-3, while lightweight Joegin Ladon didn't even bother to finish the first round after taking a standing eight count and falling behind 8-2. The crowd has been booing the Filipino boxers during the medal ceremonies. Three more boxers are scheduled to f...

In a stunning move, the Philippine boxing team has decided to concede all its gold medal matches against host Thailand in a protest over what it perceives to be biased officiating. So far as of this time flyweight Godfrey Castro and bantamweight Junel Cantancio have both entered the ring only to concede after the first round bell was rung.   "We are sending a message to the officials, " said a visibly angry chef de mission Monico Puentevella. "If they want the gold medals we will give it ...

NAKHON Ratchasima –Newly-crowned individual compound archery champion Amaya Paz was often right on the mark, leading the three-woman national squad to the team championship of the same event Wednesday in the 24th Southeast Asian Games at the Suranaree University of Technology Football Field 2 here.With Paz shooting four perfect 10s and veteran Jennifer Chan hitting a pair, the nationals, who also include Abbigail Tindugan, bested the Indonesian side made up of Dellie Dinda, Heliarti and Lilies, ...

NAKHON Ratchashima – Believing he has finally found his groove, Cecil Mamiit defends his men’s singles tennis title against Thai top seed Danai Udomchoke in the the 24th Southeast Asian Games Friday.“I felt I wasn’t really in shape when I first met Danai here. I hope things will be different this time,” said Mamiit, who dropped a 4-6, 4-6 decision to the Thai in the men’s team event a week ago.The second-ranked Mamiit and Udomchoke take to the His Majesty’s the King’s 80th Anniversary Tennis Cen...

NAKHON Ratchasima – Fil-Ams Cecil Mamiiit and Denise Dy teamed up to topple the top-seeded Thai tandem of Somchat Ratiwatana and Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6-4, 6-0, to enter the mixed doubles finals of the 24th SEA Games tennis competitions  here Thursday.After a relatively close first set, Mamiit and Dy blanked the Thai pair in the second set to wrap up the contest in 63 minutes and silence the hometown gallery at His Majesty the King’s 80th Anniversary Tennis Center.The RP duo will be battling...

I had a brief chat with Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Patrick Gregorio minutes after the Philippines lost to Malaysia, 56-74, in women’s competition, relegating the RP cagebelles to the bronze medal. We discussed the future of women’s basketball in the Philippines and what programs the SBP is coming up with to develop the sport. Excerpts of the interview:     On the performance of the team in the SEA Games Our women’s team is a very young team, in terms of age,...

NAKHON Ratchasima – At 32, Victor Espiritu knows there are only few years left in his cycling career.But that didn’t stop him from turning back time late Monday to rule track’s points race at the 24th SEA Games cycling competitions at the velodrome of the His Majesty’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Main Stadium.The Malabon native and current Navotas resident seemed like his old youthful self, sprinting away right from the start and easily keeping his chasers at bay.With teammates Stephen Pelaez and ...