The Philippine Powerlifting team amassed a big medal haul in the 2012 Asian Powerlifting Championships held recently in Udaipur, India.

The Filipinos won a Best Lifter 1^st runner-up trophy, 8 gold, 17 silver, and 1 bronze medal and in a powerful display every team member won a medal and in the process established 4 world records, 11 Asian records, and 23 Philippine records.

Led by  Anita Koykka, the best active powerlifter in the Philippines who competed against lifters who were some  20 to 30 years younger, Koykka proved that age didn’t matter as she won 1 gold and  3 silver medals in the very tough Open category.

In the process, she achieved 5 Masters World records and consequently 7 Asian records.  Koykka’s gold medal came from her 90kg bench press. In addition, Koykka earned Open Best Lifter (MVP) 1^st runner-up honors, a very difficult achievement.

Powerlifting official Nina Oca sent us a detailed report in which she said  “there were tough moments for Koykka as she failed her 85kg 1^st attempt in the bench press. She came back strongly in making her 2^nd attempt, still at 85kg, before achieving the world record on her 3^rdattempt.”

Oca said that inn the deadlift, her 165kg world-record breaking try on her 2^nd attempt was red-flagged due to a mere technicality she corrected well with an easy 165kg on her 3^rd attempt. In the squat, there were no problems at all on her 155kg 2^ndattempt which was her first try at a world record in this competition. In the end, her 410kg total broke her own world record Total.

Betina Bordeos was a crowd favourite due to her strong lifts and charming beauty. Competing in the Juniors class, the 21 year-old’s rank was moving back & forth between first place to last place due the very close lifts among all the other lifters. While Bordeos’ bronze in the squat was expected, she was disappointed with “only” a silver medal in the bench press where she was edged out by a Kazakhstan lifter on having a lower bodyweight but with identical lifts of 85kg. However, Bordeos came roaring back to get the gold deadlift event with a lift of 167.5kg, a new Asian Junior record, to catch up to the other lifters and win the gold in the Total with 385kg combined squat, bench press & deadlift.

19 year-old Regie Ramirez lived up to expectations when he ruled all the events in the 53kg Juniors class with gold medals in the squat, bench press, deadlift for a total of 482.5kg to win 4 gold medals. Another Filipino lifter, Raph Hidalgo, won 4 silver medals to make it a 1-2 finish for the Philippines in the same weight class by overwhelming the 3^rd running Uzbekistan lifter.  Actually, Hidalgo had some opportunities to edge out teammate Ramirez for the gold in the bench press & deadlift. Ramirez had to successfully lift 105kg in the bench press and struggled with 197.5kg deadlift, barely making it, to beat Hidalgo. Ramirez’ 180kg squat, however, was never threatened. Ramirez’ bench press, deadlift & total were all new Asian Junior records.

John Castelar, lifting in the 74kg Sub-Juniors class, lifted 205kg in what seemed to be a successful lift for the bronze medal in the squat, even better than his earlier 190kg successful attempt. However, 2 of 3 judges thought otherwise and red-flagged it. Frustrated with the squat results, the 18 year old Castelar focused on the bench press where he opened with 130kg. He again got red-flagged on a technicality. Making sure on his 2^nd attempt, he easily heaved 130kg to get a comfortable lead against an Indian lifter for a guaranteed bronze. Castelar then successfully lifted 137.5kg on his 3^rd attempt to overtake the Kazakh lifter for the silver.

Clark Cruz comfortably won the deadlift gold medal in the 93kg Sub-Juniors class with 225kg, well below his limit but taking the safe route to win it over a big Afghan lifter to successfully defend the gold he won in last year’s Asian Championships. However, with Cruz having a minor injury, he settled for the silver medal in the bench press (130kg), squat (230kg) & total behind the same Afghan lifter whose bodyweight was 20 pounds heavier.

Head of Delegation Ramon Debuque also contributed a medal, winning the silver in the bench press event of the 93kg Masters II category with a 160kg bench press. There were tense moments as Debuque got red-flagged on his first 2 attempts on technicalities. But with proper motivation on his 3^rd attempt, he finally lifted it successfully.

Raymond Debuque, son of the head of delegation, scored 4 silver medals. Due to a knee injury, Raymond had to take a much lower weight attempt in the squat, allowing the Iraqi lifter to win the gold over him and eventually the total. In the bench press and deadlift, Raymond beat the Iraqi lifter with lifts of 180kg & 230kg respectively but an Afghani out-lifted him for the golds.

Coaches for the team were Eddie Torres & Ramon Debuque.

243 lifters from 16 countries were nominated in the competition including Afghanistan, Iraq, Japan, India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Taiwan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, & United Arab Emirates.

The team was supported by Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Dewfoam, and Gold’s Gym.

Olympic hopeful Marc Anthony Barriga of the PLDT-ABAP National Boxing Team refused to be enticed into a slugfest with Russia’s David Ayrapetyan who had also qualified for the 2012 London Olympics and fought a smart fight to win the gold medal at the prestigious annual Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament at the Uzbekistan Sports Complex in Tashkent.

In the semi finals Barriga dominated hometown favorite Shahobidin Zoirov 13-10 to repeat his victory in the finals last year.

It was the second year that the 18 year old Barriga won the gold in a fight that was close all the way.

Barriga and Ayrapetyan were tied at 33-3 at thye end of the first round and 6-6 at the end of the second but the diminutive youngster  from Panabo, Davao del Norte did enough in the third and final round to eke out a 10-9 win.

Barriga scored mainly on rapid-fire counter-punches against the 29 year old Ayrapetyan who was European champion two years running and won the silver medal at the 2011 World Championships.

The Russian tried to entice Barriga into a slugfest as he bore in with power punches but the

Filipino used his ring savvy to side-step the onrushing Ayrapetyan and caught him with precise counter-punches to the delight of the fans who rooted for the smaller Barriga.

Another young orspect, 16 year old Ian Clark Bautista of Negros Occidental won the bronze medal in the 52 Kg flyweight division.

Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines  executive director and delegation head Ed Picson was ecstatic over Barriga’s victory.

He said “It was a great fight between two determined and smart fighters. It would be nice to see how the two would fare in London and if they can have another showdown in the finals. It will surely be entertaining and exciting.”

Picson said their participation here is part of PLDT-ABAP’s continuing program to expose the national boxers to tough international competition.

He noted that the Philippines was “the only non-Central Asian country in Uzbekistan. We dared to enter the lion’s den, so to speak, and we took a big risk, but it paid off. As ABAP president Ricky Vargas promised, we will let our boys have the best training, the widest experience and the proper tools available to us in order to get the optimum  performance from our boxers.”

The team is coached by former Olympians Ronald Chavez and Roel Velasco. Also part of the delegation was international referee-judge Victorio Policarpio who was named Best Referee from among 32 ring officials

Ten young Filipino athletes will get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to personally watch the 2012 Olympic Games in London thanks to the British Council Philippines and the British  Embassy in Manila in cooperation with the Philippine Sports Commission and the MVP Sports Foundation of businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan.

The ten young athletes are all regional and national gold medalists and were selected from the best of the best among the  medal winners in the 2011 Batang Pinoy national championships in Naga City last year.

The British Embassy said the ten young athletes will undergo a two week summer school scholarship in Britain.

The launching of the Batang Pinoy scholars to the UK Summer School program will take place at The Conservatory of the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City on April 27 at 11:00 a.m.

British Council Country Director Amanda Burrell will deliver the welcome remarks and talk about the role of education in sports development for children while British Ambassadir Stephen Lillie will deliver a message about the 2012 London Olympics.

The  Assistant Principal Justine Gillie will represent the hosts St. Bede’s International Summer School  and talk about the St. Bede experience while  commissioner Jolly Gomez who will represent  the  PSC and  MVP Sports Foundation president Al Panlilio will also deliver brief remarks after an audio-visual presentation of the profiles of the ten chosen students. This will be followed by a question and answer session.

Last week Ambassador  Lillie hosted an enjoyable 100 meter run among invited guests at the Manila Polo Club to celebrate the 100 day milestone. The winner was Deputy Ambassador Trevor Lewis with Second Secretary for Bilateral and Strategic Communications Colin Glen finishing second and British Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Alison Ding-Henderson winding up in third place.

Ambassador Lillie said London will “showcase great sport, great culture, great business and deliver a great legacy for Britain.”

The Philippine “Volcanoes” beat top seeds Sri Lanka 28-18 in a thrilling final of the HSBC 5Nations tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium before a wildly cheering crowd and earned the right to compete against the top five teams in Asia led by the awesome Japanese squad.

The Sri Lankan’s terrible place kicking gave the Volcanoes the advantage in the first half as the regularly failed to find touch and instead kicked the ball straight into the hands of the Volcanoes who capitalized to take a comfortable 23 points to 3 lead at halftime.

The Lankans also missed a penalty attempt and two conversions which cost them 7 vital points.

Cheered on by a small band of flag-waving Sri Lankans who were overwhelmed by the support of Filipino fans for the Volcanoes, the Sri Lankan Lions came charging back in the second half to give the Volcanoes some truly anxious moments.

With the score at 23-18 and 13 minutes remaining in the match, momentum was on the side of the Sri Lankans but strong Volcanoes center Justin Coveney dashed all hopes of a stunning comeback victory when he picked up a chip from fly half Oliver Saunders to ram through the Sri Lanka defense almost unchallenged to score a try and give the Philippines a 28-18 advantage which they hung on to, until the end.

The Volcanoes 28 points came from two goals (converted tries), one try that was not converted and three penalties. Sri Lanka’s 18 points came from one goal, one try and two penalties.

The Philippines first try came in the 29^th minute when skipper Michael Letts rammed through the Sri Lanka defense to score a spectacular try which was converted by Saunders. The second try came courtesy of winger Joe Matthews who made a scintillating run to touch down following a penetrating three quarter move.

Sri Lanka Sunday Observer’s Dinesh Weerawansa reported that Sri Lanka’s forwards powered by Namal Rajapaksa “probably the first serving parliamentarian to represent the national team, gave new life to the game in the second half.”

The Lankan Lions scored 15 points in the second 40 minutes beginning with an unconverted try in the 8^th minute by Gayan Ratnayake after an excellent Sri Lanka maul although Mubarak failed to convert.

The second Sri Lanka try came in the 23^rd minute of the second half when Sumeda Malawana touched down but again the Sri Lankans failed to convert before Mubarak converted a much-needed penalty to make it 23-18 in the 27^th minute of the second half before Coveney sealed the well-deserved win for the Philippines against a gallant Sri Lankan squad.

An overjoyed and relieved Volcanoes coach Expo Mejia said, “Today was a win for the Filipino people. The people came out in numbers and the guys went out and won for their country. It was a beautiful thing.This team definitely has the talent to stay in the Top 5 next season. We need to work on our structures a bit more and make sure we have all of our players available but we have started something here in the Philippines and we plan to build on that.”

Sri Lanka’s new coach Phil Greening, the former England hooker who has been with the team for just five weeks was clearly the architect of the second half comeback with the adjustments he made.

Greening noted “We are a young team and I think we showed a lot of character. The one thing we will take from this is that if we don’t execute things right in test rugby you get punished. It is about the small details and the small margins and we weren’t ready for that in the first half and that cost us but they’ll learn. With a 19-year old flyhalf in his first tests we still managed to put the Philippines under a lot of pressure.”

Greening added, “We have only had them for four weeks but we have had a taste of being so close now and we will go back to Sri Lanka and take the next step forward rather than a step back.”

The win marked an amazing run by the Volcanoes who began  in the Asian 5Nations in Division IV in 2008 and have advanced all the way to Division I making them second to Japan as the most successful Asian team after losing only once in four years to South Korea in last year’s Division I semi-final.

In an invitation sent out to potential participants in the 100 meter dash, the Ambassador noted that “This has been a marathon journey by the UK and London since winning the 2012 bid in Singapore in 2005.”

The venue is the Manila Polo Club in Makati City and the event is set for 7:00 a.m. Wednesday.

Those invited who are unable to participate in the celebratory 100 meter sprint  have been invited for breakfast  which will be served at the Cogon Village where the Ambassador said  guests will “have the opportunity to share in our pride in what the UK has achieved so far.”

BBC Sports editor David Bond has said that  “when London Olympic planners look for inspiration on legacy, they tend to look at one city above all others – Barcelona.”

Bond said “The 1992 Games were, perhaps, the first Olympics to leave a lasting, meaningful impact on their hosts.

From roads and redevelopment to tourism and the city’s global popularity.

When I visited the city at the end of last month, the pride in Barcelona’s Olympic achievements was still evident 20 years on.”

Indications are the London Olympics will even surpass Barcelona and stand out as the finest games in the history of the Olympics.

The younger Trillo told the Manila Standard “it’s a strong firm vote of confidence. Since Mr. Uytengsu has given me this confidence now, I think it’s a firm affirmation that he is here to stay with the PBA.”

Trillo said “I understand its going to be demanding, the Alaska organization has a winning tradition. It’s very challenging from a team standpoint but I’m excited to get to practice. We have high character guys like LA Tenorio, Tony dela Cruz, Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio who are our leaders and we understand its not going to come easy but I’m very excited to get started. I know I have a lot to learn but I know I am in good hands with the players I have.”

Discussing the level of physicality especially in the on-going semi finals Trillo said he likes a physical game but doesn’t like rough and dirty tactics. He said “our responsibility obviously is to teach the game the right way but also to adjust to calls. It happens every year, every  other conference where certain things change because of what they allow. I’ve always told my guys play hard. You love the physical play but its another thing if you are threatening another player’s career.”

Banal said “The goal of the Alaska franchise is to be in the semis of every conference and we did not meet that goal in the past two conferences, so I wanted to give management the chance to look at options.”

Uytengsu said Banal’s “selflessness to offer us options is extremely magnanimous on his part. It speaks volumes for how professional he is putting the team’s interest ahead of his own.”

Uytengsu met with Trillo and another assistant coach and former player Jojo Lastimosa and indicated “Given that we are two-thirds through the season, we felt it made more sense to appoint an interim Head Coach and then decide on a longer term solution after the end of this season.”

Uytengsu and team manager Trillo met with the two main candidates for the position. The team owner noted “Both Jolas and Luigi are long time members of the franchise and they understand our philosophy, values and systems so it made sense we would appoint from within our organization. It was a tough choice because both candidates have a lot to offer and in the end I decided to go with Luigi because he has had head coaching experience in the PBL and the D League. Joaqui inhibited himself in the final decision because he was conflicted being Luigi’s father. I believe Jojo will continue to be a team player and because he has a lot to offer from his playing experience and also wants to see the Aces resume its winning tradition.”

Uytengsu remarked. “This will be the first time a father-son tandem will manage and coach a team in the PBA” which is in itself a historical moment even as the 36 Luigi becomes the youngest coach in PBA history.

Sri Lankan nets double honour while Bresnan & Cook named by Wisden

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Kumar Sangakkara: Double mention from Wisden

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Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has become the first man to be named simultaneously as Wisden’s leading cricketer in the world and one of its five cricketers of the year.

Sangakkara is joined as the five Wisden players of the year by Lancashire’s Glen Chapple, Worcestershire’s Alan Richardson and England duo Alastair Cook and Tim Bresnan.

Sangakkara compiled 2,267 international runs in the three formats last year – no other player broke 2,000 – with five centuries and 13 fifties, and uniquely reached four figures in both Tests and one-day internationals for the third time.

A century in probably his last Test on English soil at Hampshire helped ensure he was named as one of the cricketers of the year, the award conferred by the publication’s editor – a mantle taken on this year by Lawrence Booth – on the individuals who have most shaped the English cricketing summer, and which a player can win only once.

“I had always wanted a Test hundred at Lord’s but, if that was not to be, then anywhere in England,” Sangakkara tells David Hopps in the Almanack. “The Rose Bowl felt as if it might be my last opportunity.”

Praise

Sangakkara also won praise for his delivery of the MCC’s Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, reproduced in part in Wisden, in which he confronted the level of government interference in his country’s cricket.

“Writing that speech became a deeply personal experience,” he added. “I knew there were ways it could be misinterpreted, but it was a story I felt I needed to tell.”

Joining the 34-year-old as cricketers of the year are fellow veterans Glen Chapple, Lancashire’s title-winning captain and talisman, and Worcestershire seamer Alan Richardson, the leading wicket-taker in Division One of last season’s LV= County Championship with 73.

England pair Alastair Cook, with 927 Test runs at an average of 84 in addition to his return to the one-day international side as captain, and Tim Bresnan – who took 21 Test wickets at 19, scored 189 runs at 63 and finished the summer with a 100% winning record from 10 Tests – complete the quintet.

Richardson said: “To be recognised along world-class cricketers such as Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan, Glen Chapple and Kumar Sangakkara is a real honour.”

Issues

Elsewhere in the Almanack, Booth uses his first editor’s notes to address a wide spread of topics, most notably the global shifting of focus towards Twenty20 cricket and the role of the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the governance of the world game.

Describing T20 as “a Pandora’s Box masquerading as a panacea”, Booth adds: “Outside England, the Test match increasingly resembles the quiet zone of world cricket’s gravy train: respected in theory, ignored in practice.

“The real damage is being done by the prevalence of the two-match series. For any series not involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, three Tests must be the minimum.”

On the BCCI’s power, Booth – the youngest Wisden editor in 72 years – writes: “India have ended up with a special gift: the clout to shape an entire sport. But too often their game appears driven by the self-interest of the few.

“Other countries run the game along self-serving lines too … but none wields the BCCI’s power, nor shares their responsibility.”

It was the stars of the English Premier League and the European clubs who faltered when it mattered the most against a Zambian team that played with grim resolve and full of emotion.

Skipper Didier Drogba of Chelsea missed a penalty in regulation when Arsenal’s Gervinho was brought down while both the Arsenal star and Kolo Toure also failed to find the back of the net in the penalty shootout.

The Ivory Coast was given a break when Zambia’s Rainford Kalaba sent his spot kick soaring over the crossbar but in the end Stoppila Sunzu sent his shot ripping into the top corner of the Ivory Coast goal to complete an amazing 8-7 victory which again brought misery to Drogba.

It was the second time the star-studded Ivory Coast squad lost in the finals having succumbed to Egypt also in a penalty shootout in 2006.

The closest Zambia had come to winning the African Cup  of Nations was in  1994 when they reached the finals just one year after 18 team members died in a tragic plane crash as they took off from the Gabonese capital.

BBC Sport said that “En route to the final the current team had spoken of the strength they had gained in remembering that tragedy. And in winning the shoot-out they showed a steely determination to beat their supposedly more illustrious opponents with a performance that was built on an indefatigable spirit.”

In ABAP showdown

DUMAGUETE CITY –  Newcomer Rolan Servania and Ronald Bryan Remedio took different routes but produced similar results as defending champion Mandaue City upped to six the number of its boxers seeing action in the semifinals of the 2012 PLDT-ABAP Visayas Area Championships at Robinson’s Mall.

In his only second tournament, the 16-year old, 5-foot-5 Servania displayed his power to score a convincing first round RSC victory over local boy Vince Joan General in the Youth Boys light flyweight category disputed Friday afternoon.

Servania unleashed two solid left cross that caught General in the head resulting to the bout being halted with 2:38 left in the opening round.

“Gusto ko pong maging isang national boxer o kaya ay pro boxer kaya talagang pinagbubuti ko ang aking pagsasanay,” said Servania, whose elder brother Genesis is slowly carving a name in the professional boxing in the super bantamweight division with a clean 16-0 slate.

Remedio showed accuracy in the third and final round as he connected on two left straights against Negros Occidental’s Feliciano Santiago Jr. that helped him overcome a 0-1 deficit after the first round to win the junior boys light flyweight bout, 3-2.

Youth pinweight fighter Melmark Dignos failed to join his teammates and became the only casualty among their seven boxers as he got tagged with two standing-eight counts against Bago City boxer Raymart Flores in an RSC loss.

“Anim sa pitong boxers naming ang nasa semis pero mahirap magsalita dahil lahat palaban. Basta sisikapin naming maipanalo ang lahat ng laban,” said coach Rey Munez who also had Youth bantamweight Jeffrey Bagacay and Youth lightweight Eleno Traya advancing due to the luck of the draw.

The finals is set Sunday with Bago City poised to give Mandaue a tough fight for the overall crown in this four-day tournament organized by the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) with PLDT as its sponsor and the City and Provincial government throwing additional support.

Five boxers from the said delegation made it past the first round with four pugs advancing due to lack of participants in their divisions.

The Province of Negros Occidental also had two boxers winning Friday with Aljhun Oro owning the day’s fastest win as his match against local boy Dexter Flores ended in 1:38 of the first round.

The youth pinweight bout was stopped after Oro fired wicked one-two combinations that staggered the bet from the host City.

Cebu City’s Rodex Piala pounded Leomar Ermeo of Bago City with an RSC win in the first round in the Youth flyweight class bringing to three the boxers from the Queen City of the South in the Final Four.

The delegation’s campaign to regain the title they held two years ago hit a snag as two of their boxers were not allowed to compete for failing to meet the cut-off date of birth.

”Wala na kaming ibang dapat gawin kungdi ang maipanalo itong mga boxers naming na lumalaban pa para makahabol ng entries sa National Finals,” said coach Jordan Dopalco.

ABAP executive director Ed Picson, ASBC Women’s Commission member Ma. Karina Picson, and national coaches Elias Recaido and Romeo Brin are overseeing the tournament and will identify potential boxers who will be invited to compete against boxers from the NCR-Luzon and Mindanao Area Tournaments in the National Finals slated March 4 to 7 in Tagbilaran, Bohol.