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.

In a poll conducted among readers of the Philippine Star newspaper, an overwhelming majority of 92 percent said a revamp os needed in the respective leaderships of the Philippine Sports Commission, the Philippine Olympic Committee and the National Sports Association after the Philippines dismal showing in the 36^th Southeast  Asian Games  held recently in Indonesia.

Only a miserable 3 percent voted for the status quo while 5 percent said they don’t care.

The vote was another clear indictment of our sports leaders whose petty bickering, lack of sound development programs and lack of concern for the athletes have been the cause of the country’s sixth place finish in the last SEA Games.

Even the tiny island state of Singapore with a population of a mere 3.8 million compared to the Philippines population of over 90 million finished ahead of the Philippines .

What compounds the SEA Games debacle is the fact that several NSA’s have un-liquidated cash advances amounting to over P130 million.

Swimming under its controversial  president is the biggest on the list with an un-liquidated amount of P10.4 million.

Aquatics failed to win even a single gold medal in the SEA Games.

The charming Josie is the wife of Philippine national basketball star Orlando Bauzon.

Ms. Bauzon’s remains lie in nstate at St. Peter’s Memorial Chapel on Quezon Avenue, Quezon City.

Also on Tuesday, the son of Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia, Juan Javier Garcia who was 38 years old died of a heart attack in Bacolod City.

Reports said Garcia collapsed while riding his motorcycle .

The young Garcia is survived by his parents . PSC chairman Richie Garcia and Ms. Ma Regina Garcia, his wife Jenny, the former Miss Llamas, children Pablo, Gus and Santana, sister Ma. Cristina Consuelo and brothers Julian Edgardo and Jose Ricardo Jr.

Juan Javier Garcia’s remains are scheduled to be flown to Manila and will lie in state at the Sanctuario de San Antonio Church in Forbes Park.

Our sincere condolences go out to both the Bauzon and Garcia families.

2011 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup

Dechaine: “The proudest moment of my life”

WITH THE 2011 PartyPoker.net Mosconi Cup fast approaching, one of two debutants in the event, Rhode Island’s Mike Dechaine, looks ahead to the tournament and what it means to be representing the USA in pool’s toughest proposition.

Dechaine has enjoyed a stellar year that saw him win the Ultimate 10 Ball event and enjoy a host of high finishes that eventually saw him finish third in the US Mosconi Rankings.

“Words really can’t describe how I feel – all I can do is go out there and try to give a 100%,” said Dechaine.

“I am sure I will be a little overwhelmed as well, but that should wear off after day four! It should be fun and I feel proud, honored, excited, and maybe even a little scared. This is the big leagues and these are the best players in the world.”

Dechaine revealed that his father, who has been the central influence in his career, will be making the trip to Vegas to support his son.

“My dad has been behind me all these years and he’s happy for me. He is a very good player in his own right so he knows first-hand what it’s like to play under pressure. It will be the proudest moment of my life and my dad will be there to share it with me. I can’t wait to see his face when we take this thing down. It just doesn’t get any better than that,” he said.

“I was so close last year to making the team and lost my spot at the US Open, so I told myself that it wasn’t going to happen ever again. I also played really well this past year, I think due to the fact that I have tremendous support from just about everyone here at my pool hall, Snookers, in R.I. and throughout New England.”

Dechaine is pretty sure he will be able to handle the unique pressure that the Mosconi Cup can exert on even the most experienced hands.

“Playing at the World Cup of Pool in Manila, I feel like I got a pretty good grasp on what it will feel like and to be honest, it really wasn’t that bad. It’s tough to get excited about any event now because they’re so repetitive, so this offers everything I’m looking for.

“I feed off this as well and this is a competition and I love to win.  I am going to cheer and rub it in their face as much as I can.  I’m no stranger to controversy, as everyone probably knows, so when it’s getting too tough for everybody else it’s getting just right for me. I think I can hang in there with the best of them,” said an exuberant ‘Fireball’.

The 24 year-old Providence native will be the youngest man in the tournament by some years and is confident that his team have what it takes to win back the famous trophy.

“I am truly happy with my team this year. I get an email from Charlie almost every day with him having something positive to say.  I thought some politics would rear its ugly head but nothing of that sort has happened and I don’t think it will.

“I give it to us this year. I know our team has spent a lot of time on Diamond tables and this will definitely play a huge factor in determining the outcome.  It’s like a coin toss and the coin has to come up heads every once in a while. When you play pool at this level a few bad rolls can sometimes make all the difference.

“Plus the fans are for us and all the energy in the room is going to be for us.  It’s huge. Sometimes you can feel the electricity in the room and I am sure that’s going to be the case,” added Dechaine.

The young Americans final word was on the five players he will be facing over the four days of competition.

“I know Darren and Ralph are just two of the best players on earth!  Chris has had a tremendous year and I’ve been watching Accu-Stats of Niels since I was a teenager. As for Nick, I’ve never heard of the guy, but I don’t spend much time reading about pool.

“I am sure they will all play well, but they are going to have to…..”

God’s Wife IT WILL KNOCK YOUR SOCKS OFF I especially liked number 5! Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once Talked about a contest he was asked to judge.  The purpose of the Contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was: 1.  A four-year-old child, whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman, who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old Gentleman’s’ yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy just said, ‘Nothing, I just Helped him cry.’ ********************************************* 2.  Teacher Debbie Moon’s first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, ‘I know all about Adoption, I was adopted..’ ‘What does it mean to be adopted?’, asked another child. ‘It means’, said the girl, ‘that you grew in your mommy’s heart instead of her tummy!’ ************************ ********************* 3.   On my way home one day, I stopped to watch a Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first- base line, I asked one of the boys what the score was ‘We’re behind 14 to nothing,’ he answered With a smile. ‘Really,’ I said. ‘I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.’ ‘Discouraged?’, the boy asked with a Puzzled look on his face… ‘Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t Been up to bat yet.’ *********************** ********************** 4. Whenever I’m disappointed with my spot in life, I stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother told me that he’d set his heart on being in it, though she feared he would not be chosen.. On the day the parts were awarded, I went with her to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement..  ‘Guess what, Mom,’ he shouted, and then said those words that will remain a lesson to me….’I've been chosen to clap and cheer.’ ********************************************* 5.   An eye witness account from  New York City , on a cold day in December, some years ago: A little boy, about 10-years-old, was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering With cold. A lady approached the young boy and said, ‘My, but you’re in such deep thought staring in that window!’ ‘I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes,’was the boy’s reply. The lady took him by the hand, went into the store, and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her. She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. By this time, the clerk had returned with the socks.. Placing a pair upon the boy’s feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes.. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him.. She patted him on the head and said, ‘No doubt, you will be more comfortable now..’ As she turned to go, the astonished kid caught her by the hand, and looking up into her face, with tears in his eyes, asked her. ‘Are you God’s wife?’ ********************************************* SEND TO ALL WHO LOVE AND CARE FOR CHILDREN. Hope this put a smile on your face it Sure did mine!

Pacific X-treme Combat happens in Manila for the third time