CEBU, Philippines – Looking back at the past year, the entire Filipino nation has lots of reason to cheer and cherish for. Manny Pacquiao’s continued dominance in the ring, the Azkals’ meteoric rise to stardom that undoubtedly rekindled the popularity of football in the country, the monumental feats of PHL Dragon Boat Team and the Volcanoes and the worldwide conquest of the Pinoy billiards army led by the ageless Efren “Bata” Reyes, Dennis Orcollo, Ronnie Alcano and Rubelin Amit to name a few. True enough, their stirring exploits have brought tremendous pride and overflowing happiness in our hearts.
But the year somehow ends on a pensive note for Philippine sports, mainly because of PHL’s dismal sixth place finish in the 26th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Indonesia. In its worst ever finish in the biennial athletic meet, the Philippines plucked only 36 gold medals, a far cry from the 70-gold target by the country’s top sports officials.
So disgruntled by the result that some Senators swiftly called for an investigation on the poor performance of Team PHL. In an 11-nation sports conclave where it is highly regarded as among the strong contenders, hooking up at sixth place in the overall ladder is a serious fallout, if not a huge embarrassment, for a nation of 90-million population.
So many reasons have been enumerated regarding the country’s flickering show in SEA Games and other regional meets – chief among them is politics.
To those who think it that way, they hit the nail right on its head. The seemingly unending conflict among the country’s sports leaders is a major stumbling block to the Pinoys’ campaign in international competitions. The warring groups in some associations have sowed divisiness to the athletes, thereby leaving their respective programs in disarray.
Unless a drastic, concrete change in leadership will be effected, there’s no immediate salvation for PHL sports. For the Philippines to regain its lost glamour and lofty stature in regional meets particularly the SEA Games, there’s still a lot of work to be done. And it must begin with finding an unselfish and dedicated leader whose interest is laid upon the promotion of sports excellence rather than satisfying his personal end. Once that rare breed of leader is already in place, for sure the flawed program would readily be corrected and everything will just fall into place in the end. That is something we look forward to with great sense of optimism this new year.
On the local front, there is no argument that the biggest and brightest story is the highly-successful Pinoy Pride series that provided the Cebuanos with world-class fistic entertainment almost every other month.
Thanks to ALA Promotions and ABS-CBN Sports for a wonderful partnership that has put Cebu in the spotlight of international boxing.
It was the year of ALA Promotions and its drive to establish itself as the Top Rank of Asia. What was once a simple boxing gym managing its own set of boxers is now a big time boxing promotions outfit hosting world-class boxing fight cards and getting involved in promoting even non-ALA boxers.
The Pinoy Pride series, which has reached a tenth edition, was truly a hit with Cebu as a base and Bacolod as a second venue. Today, ALA not only manages boxers. They?re very much into the business of the sport, raking in record revenues. ALA?s partnership with the giant TV network ABS-CBN has also created a boxing market on TV and has awakened the competitors to do the same.
From the promotions angle, former world champion Gerry Pe?alosa has put his hat into the ring as a promoter carrying the GerryPens banner. He now manages his nephews Dodie Boy Jr. and Dave Pe?alosa, sons of Dodie Boy. Wakee Salud has made a comeback of sorts in boxing with Thai partner Naris Singwacha. They?ve put up fight cards, but bringing these to towns outside Metro Cebu.
Overall, boxing in 2011 will be known for the country?s four multiple division world champions, the steady rise of potential world-beaters from Cebu Boxing, the re-engineering of ALA Promotions and the emergence of the Hoops Dome.
Pacquiao will remain to be the country?s top gun even if his two fights in 2011 drew contrasting reviews and didn?t exactly create the usual fireworks which Pacman fans expect. The Pacman scored a lopsided unanimous decision win over former world champ (past his prime) Sugar Shane Mosley last May, then escaped with a controversial majority decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in their third match-up that many thought Marquez had won. It was thus a less than extraordinary year for the Pacman who was also busy with his duties in Congress and showbiz career.
The rest of 2011 was a time to step up for Pacman?s heirs to the throne. If Pacman?s 2011 fights were so-so, Nonito Donaire?s was a revelation. He scored a sensational second round knock-out win over erstwhile world champ Fernando Montiel to win the WBO world bantamweight title in February, Donaire?s third world championship in as many divisions. He then came back to score a one-sided unanimous decision win over fellow world champ Omar Narvaez in a fight where Narvaez opted to just fight on the run rather than engage Donaire in a fistfight.
Brian Viloria wasn?t to be outdone in 2011 as he won a second world title: the WBO world flyweight belt over Julio Cesar Miranda of Mexico in July. He then scored a bigger win in his first title defense when he scored an eye-opening TKO win over the highly-favored Giovani Segura, himself another former world light flyweight champion who was ranked ninth in Ring Magazine?s pound-for-pound list. What made the win sweeter was that many saw Viloria as a clear underdog going into the fight.
Donnie Nietes of the ALA Gym, the least known of the country?s world champions, also won a second world title belt when he won the WBO light flyweight championship from Ramon Garcia of Mexico via unanimous decision in Bacolod in October. Nietes, a former WBO world minimumweight champ, decided to invade the 108-pound division and warmed up for the world title fight with a one-round demolition of Armando Vasquez in April also in Bacolod.
In Cebu, a host of potential world beaters kept themselves active with wins, hoping for a crack at a world title. Milan Melindo (ALA Gym) won the WBO Intercontinental flyweight title via a tenth round TKO over Mexican Francisco Rosas in September after defeating Rosendo Vega also of Mexico in March.
AJ ?Bazooka? Banal was busier seeing action thrice. He stopped Francis Miyeyusho in two rounds to win the WBO Asia Pacific bantam-weight title then scored an eight round technical decision win over Canada?s Tyson Cave in a title defense. He capped the year with a unanimous decision win over Mario Briones of Mexico.
Rey ?Boom Boom? Bautista spent the year beating Mexicans in two grudge matches and another in a title defense. Boom Boom scored a third round knock-out win over Alejandro Barrera in his first rematch in January, then won the IBF International featherweight title when he defeated Heriberto Ruiz in June via a seventh round technical decision in another rematch. He capped the year with a title defense, a sixth round KO win over Miguel Angel Mendoza in December. OPBF flyweight champion Rocky Fuentes seemed to go under the radar all year long. This included defeating Japanese Hirofumi Mukai in a title defense in Japan last May, and easy wins over Jemmy Gobel of Indonesia and Lukdiaw Tor Buamas of Thailand.
Mandaue?s Mercito Gesta, now based in the United States, stood out for winning four matches in 2011. He is currently the NABO Youth lightweight champ and is now part of the Top Rank Promotions stable of boxers along with the Pacman and Donaire.
Roli Gasca pulled a surprise when he won the OPBF super bantam-weight title in a majority decision win over Hiromasa Ohashi last August in Japan, but he lost this in his first defense last November also in Japan. Larry ?Bon Jovi? Canillas was another surprise package when he went to Thailand and won the PABA super bantamweight championship via a ninth round TKO over the favored Sukkasem Kietyongyuth of Thailand. Canillas later vacated the title.
Another thing that Cebu should be proud of is Lapu-Lapu City’s successful hosting of the Davis Cup tie, not just once but twice. Although Team PHL lost in both occasions against Japan and Chinese-Taipei, the Queen City of the South emerged as the biggest winner as it has shown to the world its capability to stage an event of such magnitude.
In addition to that, Lapu-Lapu also unveiled its newest marvel, the Hoops Dome. Its existence revealed that we no longer have a problem with finding a world-class venue for big events. The multi-million facility is fully air-conditioned, features individual seats and can bring in a crowd of up to 12,000.
On the other hand, football flourished in this side of the region mainly because of the sudden fame generated by the Azkals, who capped their glorious year with an exhibition match with the David Beckham-led Los Angeles Galaxy. Several tournaments have been held here, a positive sign for a more bubbly football cycle in the coming year.
Not to be outdone, basketball is still a favorite pastime among Cebuanos and it has been livened up by various leagues such as Liga ng Pilipinas and the Cebu Basketball Association (CBA). As usual in the amateur ranks, the Cebu Schools Athletics Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) was the centerpiece of attraction. The University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters retained their throne in the collegiate division, while the underdog University of the Visayas (UV) Baby Lancers pulled one major surprise when they clinched the juniors crown.
Aside from the continued running boom and the revival of batted sports in this portion of the archipelago, there are still a lot of things to mention about what transpired in the sporting world the past year, but space constraints refrained us from doing so.
And as we bid farewell to Year 2011, we fervently wish for a brighter and better Philippine sports. May our warring leaders unite for the common good and greater glory of the country. As for Cebu, we look forward to another colorful episode, hopefully even more festive and lively than the past year. Straight from our hearts, a Happy and Prosperous New Year! (FREEMAN)
