MANILA, Dec 31, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) — MGG | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating — The biggest sports spectacle of 2008 is Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao?s affirmation that he is the world?s best pound-for-pound boxer via an eight-round technical knockout over welterweight Oscar de la Hoya of Puerto Rico in their 147-pound, 12-round non-title fight on Dec. 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
The legendary 1992 Olympian gold medalist De la Hoya?s left eye looked like an angry purple plum in the seventh round and he officially gave up the fight afterwards.
The popular and Hollywoodish-looking De la Hoya had the ceiling and reach advantage but he was visibly slowed down by age at 35 in comparison to the Filipino boxer?s 30 years.
Pacquiao? convincing victories in three different crowns within the year, plus two world titles and a masterful win over one of boxing?s all-time greats, is a feat worthy of him winning all awards available and placing his coach Freddie Roach on a pedestal as the world?s best trainer.
Pacquiao beat Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz to pluck the World Boxing Council super-featherweight and lightweight crowns, becoming the first Asian fighter to emerge champion in four different weight categories, including his previous super-flyweight and super-bantamweight titles.
He won all eight of his last fights since 2005 over Mexican idols Eric Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Antonio Barrera.
In June, he knocked out David Diaz for his fourth world title.
The Filipino ring icon?s pummeling De la Hoya in their Dream Match raised his official scorecard to 48 outings, 36 knockouts, three losses and two draws while dropping his opponent’s record to 39 fights, 30 knockouts and six losses.
For months, Pacquiao consistently occupied prime spots of sports pages in print and electronic media worldwide and oftentimes garnered accolades, the latest of which is ESPN sports channel’s ‘Best Sports Personality’ because of his unusual skills, talent and money-making attraction that raised boxing to a new level of respectability and commercial value.
In amateur boxing, 31-year-old veteran campaigner Harry Tanamor rebounded from a dismal Beijing Olympic stint last August to become the first gold medalist in the light-flyweight division by defeating Cuba?s Olympic bronze medalist and Pan American champion Yampier Hernandez, 15-7.
Only boxers who finished in the top eight of the World Championship and Beijing Olympics were invited to the tournament that offered USD 10,000 first prize.
Tanamor used his speed and calculated punches to generate some measure of consolation for himself and a nation yearning for its first Olympic gold medal.
Greatly encouraged by his world-class feat, Tanamor determined he still has enough talent, skill and discipline to stay on perhaps until the 2012 London Olympics.
In wushu, 15-year-old Filipino bet Steven Luis Ngo capped the sport?s fortunate year by winning a gold medal in the World Junior Championship in Bali, Indonesia.
Combining grace, speed and power, Ngo tallied 9.3 points to beat Indonesia?s Erwin Wijayanto for the gold in spear event in the tourney that attracted 60 teams from all over the world.
The year?s second most important sports story is the country?s sending of 15 athletes to the August 2008 Beijing Olympics who failed to make excellent performance, with only 24-year-old Willy Wang of wushu scoring 19 points in the nanqun and nanquan artistic competition for gold.
In such demonstration sport, medals didn’t count because it is a non-Olympic event.
An injured Mary Jane Estimar, who also mourned the death of her father, captured the silver in the women?s 52- kilogram sanshou while Marian Mariano bagged the bronze in the men?s sanshou event.
The Filipinos came home empty?handed in the most successful Olympics which saw 34 countries and thousands of athletes from all over the world participating.
Our bets in boxing, taekwondo, shooting, swimming, etc. tried their best but failed to pose any challenge against the world?s best even as US flying fish Michael Phelps dominated the men?s swimming with his eight gold medals, breaking Mark Spitz?s long-time seven golds.
In November, equestrian boss Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco was reelected Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president by 21 of 40 sports national sports associations (NSAs) as he edged out 66-year-old presidential half-brother Arturo Macapagal in a tightly contested election at Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa City.
Weightlifting supporter Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella became the chairman; amateur boxing?s Manny Lopez retained his post as vice-president; Mario Tancho was voted second vice-president; Julian Camacho of wushu stayed on as treasurer, while Corinna Mojica of body building is the new auditor.
Unfortunately for Lopez, the Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) suspended him as its secretary-general because of his alleged unceasing attacks on the international body?s officiating lapses ? sort of freezing the former Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) president.
Lopez ended his long-time reign as ABAP prexy with his successor being Ricky Vargas from PBA or Philippine Basketball Association’s Talk N Text team of business tycoon and sports afficionado Manny Pangilinan.
Philippine chess produced 14-year-old wonder kid Wesley So who became the world?s youngest Super Grandmaster following his impressive performance last October in the 2008 World Junior Championship under-16 Chess Olympiad where he won the gold medal in Guangzhou, China.
So has a FIDE (Federation du Excheque) rating of 2610 that went as high as 2624 before the twin tournaments in the Philippines.
That same month, a priest named Fr. Victor Uy – whose career outside the church started as University of San Carlos finance vice-president – was appointed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), replacing Commissioner Ricardo Garcia.
Fr. Uy now oversees PSC?s daily operations – a delicate job requiring transparency on every transaction of the agency that finances athletes? training for local and international exposure.
Topsy-turvy as it is in local sports, there were upheavals and protests in some sports associations like those involving leadership in swimming under Mark Joseph, badminton under former First Lady Amelita Ramos and archery?s Leonora Brawner before the POC election.
Former badminton national coach Errol Chan was elected in lieu of Mrs. Ramos who claimed she’s still the association’s legitimate head and that she was not properly notified during the election.
Likewise, Brawner claimed her resignation filed in 2006 was not approved by the archery board so she is still the leader, allowing her to cast her vote in favor of POC president Cojuangco.
In billiards, Dennis Orcullo nailed the 9-ball title to become the world?s No. 1 at the expense of his archrival Yang Ching-shun whom he defeated 9-1 in the semis, then subdued another Taiwanese Wang Hun?shiang 11-9 in the penultimate leg of the 2008 Guinness 9-ball tourney at the Garden Hotel in Guangzhou, China for the top prize of USD15,000 and a slot in the Grand finals in Jakarta, Indonesia.
There could have been a lot of golds for billiards were it not for rebellion of the country?s cream of the crop led by Efrren ‘Bata’ Reyes and Django Bustamante against the current leadership and promotion ideas of Yen Macabenta.
The formation of a billiards managers’ association, to which the top players owe their loyalty and support, split the body into two and caused them to skip international battles.
In basketball, PBA had its most productive conference in a long time last August when this league?s most popular team, Barangay Ginebra, pulled in the biggest, screaming paying crowd with 23,000 fans at the Araneta Coliseum when the Gin Kings repulsed Air 21, 97-84, in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference.
Riddled with injuries and the loss of topnotch guard Jayjay Helterbrand, center Eric Menk?s foot pains and varied aches among its players, Ginebra still managed to beat Air 21 even as its import also won the reinforced conference?s best foreign player.
This victory was the crowd darlings? eighth championship ring as they played with a king-sized heart and adapted the old never-say-die attitude to lord it over the tills and fan support in the PBA?s 36th year despite HBO, Ipods and other electronic media as well as surge of pirated DVDs.
Months earlier, Sta. Lucia ended the elimination round of the All-Filipino Cup with eight straight wins to secure one of two outright semifinals slots along with the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.
In the semifinals that reached the maximum seven games, the Realtors relied on Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes to barge into their first Philippine Cup finals berth by beating the Alaska Aces.
They further shocked PBA aficionados by winning the championship series in seven games against top-seed Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants to win the 2007-08 PBA Philippine Cup, the 2nd championship title of the franchise since entering the league in 1993.
The real challenge for the young Realtor team was the finals when they went 2-0 but lost two straight games.
The series went down to the deciding Game 7 with Sta. Lucia winning the game against Purefoods.
Kelly Williams was named Conference MVP while Dennis Espino was the Finals MVP.
The Year of the Rat had a good start with the pair of US-based Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) campaigners and Philippine Sportwriters Association (PSA) awardees Dorothy Delasin and Jennifer Rosales combining for a final round of seven-under par 65 in the fourth edition of the women?s World Cup of Golf at Sun City, South Africa.
The Filipinas had an explosive finish that included birdies at each of the last four holes for a pulsating victory among the world?s best parbusters.
Meanwhile, Angelo Que placed fourth in an international?flavored competition in Singapore, coming home to take the Philippine Open that qualified him for the British Open, a difficult feat only he could have achieved.
In the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), multi-titled Harbour Centre led all the way during the eliminations to catch another possible crown, its sixth since joining the league.
PBL did a good job by reviving with great success the Women?s Basketball League of the Philippines (WBLP) as it gathered 10 teams for this year.
WBLP is bound to give hope to aspiring women cagers who might join the national team for next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Laos.
From thereon, the new breed of young Filipinas could shoot for a slot in the Asian Games and dream of becoming part of the Olympics.
As expected, Ever Bilena rallied mightily in the final half to beat Smart Buddy-University of the Philippines, 64-60, ending a decade-long wait of achieving a grand slam in WPBL on Dec. 18 at the Guadalupe Viejo Sports Complex in Makati City.
Almost given up for dead after trailing for most of the game, the Gandang Pinay came through with one big explosion in the crucial fourth period to sweep the Pangilinan-backed Lady Maroons 2-0 in their best-of-three title series.
The title is actually a grand slam for Ever Bilena which dominated the first two editions of this meet in 1998 and 1999.
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