Ceblogger's Sports Blog

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in the 2012 Australian Open Semis

ceblogger — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:16:13 +0000

It is Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal again in the 2012 Australian Open tennis. How long will the rivalry of these two last? This is their 27th meeting actually, and the Spaniard is up against the Swiss 17-9 in their previous matches.

In the first of the 2012 Grand Slam tournaments, in Melburne, Australia, the two will clash once more, but not in the finals. Both are trailing Novak Djokovic in the rankings, so they are expected to meet in the semis should they beat everyone along their way.

In the quarters, Federer defeated Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. It was an easy victory for the 4-time Australian Open Champion. On the other court, Nadal labored to dismantle the stubborn Tomas Berdych 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3. The Spaniard struggled in the first set before dominating the Czech.

Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal 2012 Australian Open Prediction

Though it is sometimes boring to hear another Federer vs Nadal match, this year should be different as neither one of them is no.1. The last time they met here in 2009, Roger cried as he was beaten in the finals by Rafa. It was also memorable for Rafa as it was his first hard court Grand Slam victory. Also, Nadal is chasing Federer’s 16 Grand Slam titles. With 10 trophies on his possession, a win in Melbourne will lessen the gap.

If we go with the trend, Rafa has the edge. But I’m no follower of Rafa, and I would always cheer for any of his opponents, even if the guy is unranked. So here I go again predicting a victory for Federer in 4 sets.

Tim Howard End To End Goal

ceblogger — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 12:23:27 +0000

Tim Howard, goalie of Everton FC in the Premier League, made a spectacular goal that stunned (and embarrassed) Bolton and their goalkeeper.

Videos are currently making rounds in youtube, (and are also deleted due to copyright issues).

It is not usual for goalies to score goals. They are ball stoppers. But for this particular play, Howard kicked the ball hard inside his own box and with the help of the wind, bounced too high for Bolton’s goalie to reach but just under the bar to stay safely in.

Howard remained poker-faced despite a teammates exuberance.

Minutes later, Bolton scored twice to win the game. Lucky for Howard, who was once USA and Man U’s no. 1 goalie. Too bad for his team as they failed to make points.

Sports Wishes for 2012

ceblogger — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:46:48 +0000

My sports wishes for 2012 covers a lot from European football to Chess. Here they are:

European Football

2011 may be FC Barcelona’s year but I wish that in 2012, it will be Mourinho’s Real Madrid that will win trophies. I wish they win the Champions’ League, La Liga, Copa del Rey and the World Club trophies.

Philippine Azkals

I wish for the Azkals to win the Suzuki Cup, and be South East Asia’s best football team. May they also find players (and coaches and trainers) better (not just better-looking) than the current team.

Pacquiao vs Mayweather

May Floyd be enlightened while serving prison term. I wish he’d fight Manny, not necessarily on May 5, but in latter part of 2012.

Pacquiao vs Marquez IV

I wish the two fight again in order to settle the score and silence the critics. A date in May is possible.

Philippines’ Chances in 2012 Olympics

I wish PH will win gold. Not just one, but a dozen.

Philippine Badminton

I know the Philippines has a big chance of producing top badminton players. WE have young players Toby Gadi whose lording over everyone else, and the likes of Gelita Castillo, Bianca Carlos and Malvinne Ann Alcala, who are dominating the top 3 of the best ladies players in the country today.

UFC

I wish GSP will fight Anderson Silva. I wish someone will defeat Jon Jones. I don’t dislike the guy. But I want him taste defeat at least once, and recapture the belt afterwards.

Philippine Chess

I wish Wesley So win more tournaments and breach the top 10 in the world. I wish there will be more young players in the mold of Wesley So that will emerge in the scene.

Tennis

I wish Andy Murray will become no. 1 this year. If not, I wish he will win Wimbledon.

FOR MYSELF

I wish there will be no sports-related injuries for me and that I’d trim down and be back to my badminton championship days. It’s been a while since I won trophies and medals.

Cebu Running Craze

ceblogger — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:45:33 +0000

Should I join the running craze here in Cebu? It seems like there is either a fun run or a marathon every month. And my former badminton buddies were already ditching their badminton shoes for new and shiny running shoes.

Last weekend, dogs were even included. We registered our mini pincher, whose body isn’t even the size of a Coke litro. Too bad the handler and the manager weren’t able to wake up early. When they arrived at the venue, it was already awarding time. Our little Mac (that’s the name of our doggie) would have won the smallest participant award.

The other week, I bought a new pair of running shoes. I know I got to trim down. At 5’8″ and 210 lbs, I need to shed at least 40. Wifey said I am better looking without the fat. So what’s being handsome got to do with running?

Honestly, I am not keen on joining a running race. I know I’ll be the slowest of the pack. Overweight, wobbling knees, what else? I wasn’t also the quickest when I was thinner and younger. I always had a difficult time catching my breath. They said that I have to improve my breathing and running pace. I tried once, but I think my best pace is to sprint the first 100m and then just stroll beyond that. Poor me!

A badminton buddy posted in Facebook that he can now run 5km under 40 minutes. And he’s planning to improve his time to under 30. Wow! He is set to join the marathon scheduled this January 2012.

A colleague is a 21k marathon veteran and he said that he feels good running as he is competing against himself. He runs at least 10km every other day. For him, finishing the race is more important than actually winning it. I can’t really imagine competing against myself. I think the goal of every competition is to win, not just to finish.

Oh well, I think I am not born a runner and I don’t have the passion for it. If my goal is to get fit, I should watch my diet and exercise. Also, I like badminton better.

Maybe tomorrow or next week my new SOTX badminton shoes will arrive. That will be another post to blog about.

Philippine Azkals vs LA Galaxy

ceblogger — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 02:53:45 +0000

The Philippine Azkals will play against LA Galaxy this coming December 3, 2011 at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Though this is just an exhibition game expected to boost football in the country and promote further LA Galaxy in Asia, fans are eagerly hoping for a positive result for the Pinoy booters.

LA Galaxy is the reigning MLS Champion. They have superstar players like Davd Beckham, Robbie Keanne, Juninho and Landon Donovan. Of course their coach, Bruce Arena, is popular too and is even considered by many as the most successful coach in North American soccer.

Ticket prices for this game are P15k, P10k and P2k. Quite expensive, eh! But I am sure that a lot will be willing to empty their bank accounts just to watch this once in a lifetime event. According to reports, the United Football League (UFL) is also giving UFL fans a 35% discount on all tickets. The discount is not available though when buying online.

Diehard fans with extra bucks can also watch the LA Galaxy’s practice session on Friday afternoon at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. Ticket prices range from P1500 to P3000.

David Beckham and his LA Galaxy are currently in Jakarta for a 3-day tour. Last night they blanked a selection of Indonesian footballers 1-0 through a Robbie Keane goal at the 14th minute.

For this Saturday’s game, the visiting team maybe tired but the Azkals will also be without key players Neil Etheridge and Roland Mueller, who are unavailable due to commitment with their clubs in Europe.

A 1-0 win for LA Galaxy will be comforting already. But honestly, I want David Beckham score 5 goals including one from the other half of the field, just like what he did when he was young and skinny in his early ManU days.

Fight Ground Championship: Cebu MMA and Kickboxing

ceblogger — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:31:24 +0000

I do like to watch martial arts movies but I haven’t seen much real life fighting tournaments. Yeah, I’ve seen judo exhibitions and a few rounds of teens boxing, but they are, well, exhibitions.

I’ve also seen mixed martials arts (MMA) fights on cable and in some DVDs. I could not forget that replay on the Royce Gracie fights when he waylaid bigger foes like Kimo and Akebono. My current favorites include GSP, Anderson Silva, Machida and Jon Jones. My wife can’t dare watch those fights on TV. She’d turn them off when I am not looking.

Joerick Rivera and David Po of SOMA Fighting Club

So last Saturday night, in order to watch a real MMA and stand up kick boxing bouts in the “Fight Ground Championships” organized by SOMA Fighting Club and Back Fist Promotions at the San Roque Gym, I and my bro-in-law raced towards the fight venue. We’re going to watch our little bro showcase his kickboxing skills.

I thought we were late, as the news that morning stated that the fight would start at 6:30 pm. It was already past seven when we entered the church grounds to park our vehicle. From the outside, we heard them sing the national anthem.

We entered the gym nervous. Could these be real? They were plenty of guys proudly wearing their fight club uniforms. Until yesterday, I did not know that there are now plenty of mixed martial arts enthusiasts here in Cebu. Thanks to Jet Lee, Steven Seagal, and of course, Dana White of the UFC. And mixed martials arts is not just the traditional kung-fu, taekwondo or karate.

The first bout was like kids play. Maybe they were 10 or 11, I could not tell. One is obviously taller and bigger than the other. But they got their kicks and punches going. People in the side of my bleacher were cheering for the smaller kid. But he had difficulty hitting back. Many times he was thrown off after receiving the power kicks. At the end, the taller kid, who was from SOMA, won.

As we had no idea about the fighters, the bout we were actually anticipating was that of David “the Hurricane” Po vs Ryan “The Assassin” Salomon . We know David’s Tekken and Warcraft skills are above average. But for his kickboxing, we have to see it to believe.

I readied my borrowed camera when the names were announced. I hope I still have enough batteries for a video. We were at a comfortable elevated distance, which I think has a better view than that of the ring side.

Ryan is 3 or 4 inches shorter than David, but his body-builder like form is intimidating. To keep him at a distance would be the best option. That means kick and kick. David did connect some kicks to the head and to the body. But some strong punches from Ryan hit David’s jaw.

We wondered why David became known as “the Hurricane”. It must be those whirling back fist. He used them effectively in his last bout, putting his opponent to sleep in the first round. But for this fight, the back fists hit nothing, as the shorter Ryan kept on ducking.

It was obvious that both fighter lost steam in the third round. A lucky punch or kick could knock either one of them. Punches and kicks flew but without power. They’re just both waiting for the fight to end.

And unluckily for my video, my tired arms weren’t as steady as it should as I failed to catch them on frame when they were exchanging punches early in the second round. Memory was already full before David’s hand was raised as winner via unanimous decision. No one argued. We were relieved. But when the tournament was over we prodded David to practice and improve his endurance and stamina the next time around. This wasn’t the advice we heard from the parents though.

MMA and Kickboxing Results

Honestly, I failed to get the names of the fighters but the CDN article that Saturday listed all their names. All I had to do was confirm with David the winners.

Mark “Buhawi” Revalde defeated John Edu “The Prodigal Dragon” Torbiso. Leo Gaerlan of Yawyan Musang won via submission in the first round against Junrey Soquite. It was such a quick fight that also won the fight of the night honors. Romelo “Arcom” Espra upset the bigger Mark “The Terminator” Araneta. I initially thought that Araneta would swallow the smaller Espra, as he came strong in the first round, even coming up with a flying knee. But as they say in the UFC, anything can happen in the Octagon. And in this case, inside the ring, Araneta was forced to tap out after being pinned.

In first of the double main event, SOMA fighter James “Spider” Serenio used his striking skills in pounding Ali “The Grappler” Malawi. From the bleacher, we could hear the sound of Serenio’s fist hitting the face of Malawi. Though I expected some Gracie-like grappling from Malawi, he couldn’t show his wares as he was already down and hit very badly.

In the other main event between Jonjier “The Dangerous” Torbiso of the Durex Dragons of Lapu-Lapu City and Joerick “The Viper” Rivera of SOMA Fight Club, I thought it would last the distance as they were equally matched up. Joerick has a 3-0 immaculate record before the fight. Torbiso, on the hand, is said to be Manila-trained and a Fearless Fighting Championship veteran.

The exchanges of fists and kicks in the first round had the crowd on their feet. Later, a back fist hit the face of Torbiso and it was swiftly followed by a barrage of punches. It was so fast that I forgot how the fight ended. In the report from Sunstar, it was a guillotine choke. Joerick Rivera of SOMA emerged the victor and improved his record to 4-0.

“It’s the first time I got hit in the fight” Joerick said in Cebuano. “No other opponent has hit me in my previous encounters”. But looking at him after the fight, he seems calm and relaxed, as if he had not been fighting inside the ring a few minutes ago.

Early in the night for the kickboxing fights, YawYan Ardigma’s Renan “Limbas” Noblefranca defeated Jimwill Nainge; Maxel Yong defeated Nelson Navarette; John Dave Epile of SOMA won against Axel “The Specialist” Torbiso, Jr Boyonas won over Ryan Albiso and SOMA’s Oniel Epile defeated Jaspar Berdin.

The tall and pretty promo girls from Marlboro and Fortune were not able to sway away the attention of the audience. It seems like everyone’s eyes were glued on the ring. MMA is such an exciting sport but it is surely not for the faint-hearted.

The organizers are planning to make the event a quarterly activity. There will probably be another event this January so just watch out for the announcement.

Pacquiao Wins, Marquez Cries “Robbery”, Fans Argue

ceblogger — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 02:56:13 +0000

I tried to focus on the Pastor’s sermon as I sat at the back pew. “Encourage one another” he says. My mind rushes to and fro the Pacquiao – Marquez 3 fight but I knew that the main card will happen past 12 noon here in Philippines, an hour after the Sunday service. So I shutoff my twitter-connected celphone and listened intently to the preaching.

Right after service, I opened my laptop. Since the free livestream site that I used to frequent is down, I had no choice but to watch the match through Twitter’s eyes.

Pacquiao Wins

To my surprise, lots of people have become boxing experts, tweeting here and there that Marquez won this and that round. They even lambasted HBO’s Lederman for scoring it Pacquiao’s way. “Is he watching a different fight?” they asked.

My dad even proudly predicted a Marquez victory soliciting nods from his uninformed audience. I dared not oppose him at that point. Twitter users seem to agree with him though, so I just waited till the twelfth round is over.

Prior to the last round, a lot said that Pacquiao needs to knock out Marquez in order to win and the best he could do is salvage a draw. I refused to believe that because for a challenger to win, his victory must be emphatic – either a complete domination or a KO. Pacquiao is the title holder and experts are saying that the fight is close and could go either way.

Personally, I wanted Pacquiao to finish off Marquez within six rounds. But Marquez had solved the Pacman conundrum. He even appeared to be leading in the audiences’ eyes. So I have to see the fight replays, and good thing someone was swift enough to upload some videos in Youtube. However, before the views reached 100, these were taken down by the uploader, just right after I finished watching most rounds.

Obviously, Pacquaio was the aggressor and Marquez was counterpunching. Both landed solid punches. It could not be denied that Marquez won a few rounds, but the bout is a twelve rounder. Paquiao’s fault was that he wasn’t able to knock out Marquez, as promised. The Mexican was also quick in his retaliatory punches – connecting even.

When the result was announced, it sent shocks worldwide. The judges scored it 114-114, 115-113, 116-112 in favor of the Champion and pound for pound king, Manny Paquiao.

Robbery for the third time?

Marquez claimed he was robbed again. The first encounter was a draw, the second was a loss, and now this third? Days before, he proudly declared that he will not let the fight go to the judges’ table. But he failed to impress and the scores were left to the judges for the third time.

“They robbed me again,” Marquez said. “It’s hard when you’re fighting your rival and three judges, too… I’m frustrated. I’m really, really frustrated.”

Fans Divided

Some thirty Facebook friends of mine posted something about Manny Pacquiao. One says that Marquez deserves a win. It drew 9 likes. Perhaps he’s right. He deserves to win a medal of courage for standing toe to toe with the boxing phenom called the Pacman.

In twitter, some Filipinos wanted Pacquiao to admit that he lost. Nonsense! Paquiao admitted that it was his toughest fight so far. But to disagree with the judges, no way! The judges, who had the best seat, saw it clearly. In some boxing websites, experts who were also keeping tabs were divided. Some gave it to Pacquiao, some to Marquez.

My officemates today even argued of the results. Maybe even the Pacquiao camp, though thankful for the victory, may have second thoughts on the decision.

But we all have to agree that Marquez deserves another rematch.

BWF World Junior Championship 2011 Philippine Badminton Team Results

ceblogger — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:44:10 +0000

I haven’t had the chance to follow the badminton tournaments lately. Even the local tourneys I used to join, I skip them for one reason or another. But a lunchtime conversation with a friend, in which he was very animated describing the badminton game he watched on TV, sparked my curiosity.

I know the days of the Kennievic and Kennie are gone already. It’s the teenagers that ruled the badminton scene these days. And our country’s best young shuttlers entered the 2011 BWF World Junior Championship held in Taipei, Taiwan.

I scanned the news for the results. There was a write-up that they joined but no news on the outcome. So I searched further. Though the tournament is still ongoing, here is the Philippine badminton team results:

Women’s Single

Janelle Glorianne De Vera vs Emily Westwood (England) – 6-21, 14-21
Malvinne Anne Venice Alcala vs Sonia Su Ya Cheah (Malaysia) 19-21, 22-20, 9-21

Men’s Single

Michael Kevin Cudiamat vs Anatoliy Yartsev (Russia) 15-21, 6-21
Philip Joper Escueta vs Tolga Oszoy (Turkey) 23-21, 21-8
Philip Joper Escueta vs K. Shrikanth (India) 9-21, 9-21

Mixed Doubles

Michael Kevin Cudiamat/Janelle Glorianne De Vera vs Asraf B Ishal Muhd/Wei Han Tan (Singapore) 8-21, 16-21

Men’s Doubles

Carlos Antonie Cayanan/Theodore Christopher Matt Co vs Cholprasertsuk Kritti/Tovannakasem Samatcha (Thailand) 8-21, 19-21

Philippine Badminton Players to Watch

16 year old Malvinne Anne Alcala, fresh from capturing the U-19 and ladies Open title in the recent VP Binay Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships-PBaRS fourth leg, gave the 5th seeded Malaysian, Su Ya Cheah, a scare before bowing out in the third set of their opening match.

Philip Joper Escueta, U-19 winner in the recent VP Binay Grand Prix Badminton open, beat a Turkish foe before succumbing to India’s K. Shrikanth in the third round.

Despite going home without capturing a medal, our young Philippine players will surely cherish the experience and make them better players in the future tournaments. Alcala and Escueta are two young and exciting badminton players to watch out.

UFC 140 Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida Preview and Results Prediction

ceblogger — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:21:25 +0000

UFC 140: Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida this December 10, 2011 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada will be an exciting fight to watch. The 24-year old current UFC light heavyweight champion will defend his title against the former titleholder and karate expert, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida.

There were talks that Jones’ next opponent would be Rashad Evans, ex-teammate and also a former champion. But Evans has not recovered yet with his hand injury. Evans had been looking forward for his opportunity to face Jones on the Octagon, since that time the younger man became champion this year by defeating Shogun Rua.

Lyoto Machida

Machida, is a known dangerous fighter who can stop everyone on his way. He is a black-belter in karate and jiujitsu. He also learned Sumo wrestling when he was young. With an MMA record of 17-2 since 2003, his first loss came in the hands of Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in their rematch showdown in Montreal last May 2010. It was such a bloody and brutal loss for Machida, who in 2009, was nominated for ESPYS’s “Best Fighter” of the year.

Machida’s second loss was a controversial split decision versus Quinton Rampage Jackson at UFC 123. It was a close fight thought of by many to have gone Machida’s way.

At UFC 129, Machida bounced back by knocking out Randy Couture with a jumping front kick that closely resembled the famous crane kick in the original karate kid movie.

Jon Jones

Jon Jones wasn’t expected to become champion this year. But thanks to Rashad Evan’s injury that he was called up to become the replacement challenger to Mauricio Rua’s 1st title defense. At 23, Jones wasn’t expected to dominate as Rua came out fresh from victory against erstwhile undefeated and champion Machida.

But Jones beat all odds showing why he was called “the bones” throwing flying kicks and elbows and back first rarely seen in other fighters. He became the youngest UFC champion and the fastest at that.

Jones has no black belt of sorts but his wrestling power and unorthodox striking skills bought him victories one after another. His killer elbows do much damage as shown on the fight against Brandon Vera.

Thinking that Jones was an over-hyped fighter, Rampage Jackson swallowed his words and was proven wrong when he met the young fighter at the Octagon. Jones defeated Jackson via submission in the fourth round.

Jones vs Machida Preview and Results Prediction

Jon Jones crushed the two fighters who defeated Lyoto Machida. He’d done these all this year 2011. Now he wants to add another former champion to his trophy. But can he do the same against the guy they called the Dragon?

Jon Jones is unpredictable. His opponents mostly failed to watch his killer elbows. He can wrestle and take down any opponent. He’s young, big, strong and fearless.

I am a fan of Machida despite critics saying his style is boring. Watching him crush Evans with lethal blows and waylaid Couture with a flying frontal kick took me off from my seat. I hate though that part when he squared off with Rua. I think he lost both fights.

Machida will be elusive as usual and if Jones is careless, he’ll be knocked out with a either a flying kick or a barrage of punches. Machida will also have to be wary of Jones turns and lightning quick reflexes. If Machida is careless, an elbow on his jaw will put him to sleep. But if the fight will have to go the distance and to the judges table, my results prediction for UFC 140 Jon Jones vs Lyoto Machida is a split decision win for Jones.

Donaire vs Narvaez Boxing Fight Results: Nonito by UD

ceblogger — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 05:17:07 +0000

Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire defeated Argentina’s Omar “El Hurican” Narvaez in an unanimous decision to retain his WBO and WBC bantamweight title belts at the Theater in the Madison Square Garden.

Donaire wasn’t able to show his flash and excellent power and skills as the 5’3″ Narvaez was unwilling to engage throughout the fight. Remember the Pacquiao vs Clottey match? Seems like the Argentinian champ came up only for the money.

All the judges scored the bout for Donaire, 120-108. Now it’s time for Donaire to move up and find a worthier opponent.