Saludar, Barriga Move On To Second Round!

Asian Games gold medalist Rey Saludar and Mark Anthony Barriga got the PLDT-ABAP campaign off to a rousing start by posting contrasting victories in the opening round of the World Boxing Championships, here in Baku Azerbaijan.

Saludar managed to survive a late rally from Canada's Kenny Lally to win 21-20 while Barriga posted an easier 12-5 victory over Romanian Stefan Caslarov.

Climbing up the ring next for the Filipino team are Charlie Suarez, Delfin Boholst, Joan Tipon and Rolando Tacuyan.

Our boxers must post 3 victories to get to the quarterfinal round, which is also the Olympic standard and would give automatic Olympic tickets to winning boxers.

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PBA To Form 16-Man Pool For National Team!

A 16 man pool for elite international competitions.

That is the PBA's new plan of action as support to the SBP. But this proposal comes with a set of rules and regulations including one that may be a dealbreaker: PBA players will only play in tournaments set from August to September.

In the past 3 years, the Gilas National Team was composed of amateur standouts who played for flag and country before applying for the PBA. They were joined by 4 PBA veterans, handpicked by coach Rajko Toroman to reinforce the team's weakest spots.

If the Gilas program will follow the same system that Toroman instituted, a 16-man pool seems excessive. But if we were to revert to our old style of putting together a "team" at the last minute, then all the good that Gilas has done in the past 3 years will go to naught.

My suggestion: Gilas has to act independently of the PBA. They've got to stay the course, find new players with skills and size, hone them and train them in the international brand of basketball and try to win with them. If they sorely lack players that the PBA can provide, then a loan may be arranged. But Gilas must not be reliant on the PBA.


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Toroman To Be Kicked Out?

Seriously?

Coach Rajko Toroman brought respectability back to international Philippine basketball. In the last yera and a half, the Smart Gilas team has made it to the top four in each of the international tournaments they played in.

At the FIBA-Asia Championships, they came within 1 minute of a bronze medal and a slot in next year's Olympic qualifiers.

Philippine basketball also rose to #45 in the world, from #53, the third biggest rise in ranking behind Macedonia and Great Britain.

And yet he now leaves the country without a contract extension.

Toroman has been phenomenal, transforming a uni-dimensional shooter Chris Tiu into a brainy defender and willing rebounder, molding a tentative Marnel Baracael into a stretch forward with three point range, Japeth Aguilar into tough defending big man with a mid range shot and JV Casio into arguably one of Asia's top point guards.

Chot Reyes's name has been mentioned as a possible replacement. And, with all due respect to Chot, I say their is currently no local coach who can out-train and out-coach Rajko Toroman. He's like the Bear Bryant of international basketball. He can take his and beat yours then take yours and beat his. Letting him go is not just a step backwards. It's like jumping off a 40-story building and hoping you learn how to fly before you reach the pavement.


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Blu Girls Make It To Semis!

And now, another Philippine Teams makes it to the semis!

The Blu Girls thrashed Singapore 10-3 before dispatching off elimination round conqueror South Korea in a pulsating 6-5 contest to move to within one win of a bronze medal in the 10th Asian Women's Softball Championships.

The Blu Girls must now face host Chinese Taipei for the bronze medal, a chance to play China for a finals slot as well as one of three tickets to the World Championships.

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I Do Not Hate Pacquiao - Marquez

Mexican boxing legend Juan Manuel Marquez says that while he considers pound-for-pound champion Manny Pacquiao a rival, he, contrary to beliefs, does not hate the Pacman.

Marquez has been very insistent in his claims that he won both fights with Manny Pacquiao and has gone out of his way to taunt and insult Manny into giving him a third fight. The strategy worked when a November 12 fight was arranged between them.

Both Marquez and Pacquiao are aiming for a knockout to prove once and for all who the better fighter is.

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Ariza Predicts Early KO for Pacquiao!

KO before 6.

That's the prediction of Pacquiao's strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, as he watches the Filipino champion train for Juan Manuel Marquez.

Juan Manuel Marquez is the only boxer to legitimately claim that he is a match for the pound-for-pound king. Their first fight ended in a draw while the second one ended in a controversial split. Marquez has been angling for another rematch, to the point of taunting Pacquiao in one of his fights.

Now, he gets his chance to prove his worth.

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Philippines To Host 2013 FIBA Asia?

MVP is at it again.

After bringing world-class basketball to the Philippines in the form of the Smart All-Stars, he is now hard at work in bringing the best of Asian basketball to Manila.

MVP, in a conversation with FIBA officials during the just concluded Fiba Asia Championships, bared plans to bid for the FIBA Asia Championships in 2013, a qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championships in 2014 that will be hosted by Spain.

MVP also revealed some thoughts he had on roster formation, saying that Gilas will take a look at bigger guards, to offset our height liabilities. This might mean tapping more Fil-Ams to join the team as tall homegrown guards are hard to find.

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Gilas Loses Heartbreaker To Korea 70-68!

Sorry, I just can't write about this.

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