Tenorio shines for Alaska to get nod as week's best

There is little question on who Alaska’s on-court leader is. Cyrus Baguio may yet fully rise and fill in Willie Miller’s shoes and Sonny Thoss and Joe Devance remain rock-solid pillars. But when it comes to direction, it is undeniable “Showtime LA” Tenorio is the man for the Aces.

The heady point guard named as Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week for the period May 24 to 30 came up with a personal conference-high 26 points in lifting Alaska to a 99-97 overtime cliffhanger over B-Meg Derby Ace last Friday.

Rain or Shine’s Jireh Ibanes, Coca-Cola’s Gary David and Talk N Text’s Kelly Williams also came up with big games, but that of the decidedly more diminutive Tenorio definitely stood out.

Tenorio capped a game in which he also had five rebounds and six assists with all of his four OT points in the final 2.5 seconds, enabling the Aces to continue exacting some measure of revenge on their Philippine Cup finals tormentor.

Due to a Miller buzzer-beating drive, Alaska also squeaked past the team formerly known as Purefoods, 83-81, the first time they met April 17.

This time, Tenorio delivered in spite of the Llamados’ unrelenting pressure that caused him to commit eight turnovers, only one unforced, in 43 minutes.

It is then quite understandable why coach Tim Cone was enthusiastic in his praises for Tenorio after the victory that bounced them back from a 93-105 loss to Barangay Ginebra the Saturday before and jacked their win-loss record to 7-5.

“LA is a fighter and as typical of him he fought through a lot of adversity to will us to a win,” said Cone of his playmaker, who also had two steals.

“I’m pleased that our team is beginning to take on his personality.”

That should come to the fore anew when Alaska starts its stretch run in the eliminations and an expected upper-tier slot in the playoffs.

Larry Merchants hints at Pacquiao - Mayweather being close to done

On Sunday night one of boxing's legendary media figures Larry Merchant made an innuendo that a bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao may be close to being finalized.

While appearing on The Boxing Truth Radio, Merchant made the following statement regarding the proposed fight:

"Yes, I do believe it is going to happen in November. What exclusively I have heard, I cannot reveal entirely, but I think most of the issues have been resolved. It does not mean they won't find something else."

Merchant's long time status as an HBO Boxing on-air analyst gives him access to information most journalist cannot access regarding the network's inner-workings, and Merchant's statements should give optimism to fight fan's who want this question settled: who is better, Pacquiao or Mayweather.

PBA welcomes applications for 2010 Draft

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has announced the eligibility rules and documentary requirements for cagers who want to join the 2010 PBA Annual Draft.

According to the PBA, the Commissioner’s Office has received numerous calls from interested players, parents, agents and school officials.

The PBA Draft will be held on August 22.

The applicant must be either aged 23 by the day of the Draft, a college graduate or a high school graduate (or would have graduated from high school in the school year 4 years immediately preceding the draft year).

He must also submit a National Statistics Office (NSO) Birth Certificate, 2x2 ID pictures and his college or high school diploma if he is not 23 yet.

A Filipino-foreign applicant has to turn in additional requirements such as the Bureau of Immigration (BI) Certificate of Recognition, Department of Justice (DOJ) Affirmation, authenticated birth certificate issued by the NSO, authenticated birth certificate or naturalization papers of his Filipino parent, marriage certificate of his parents, and duly notarized affidavits of at least 3 people living in the Philippines attesting to his claim of citizenship.

In addition, the applicant must have played in at least 15 games in any of the following leagues: Philippine Basketball League (PBL), University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Basketball Conference (NBC), United Regional Basketball League (URBL), Cebu Basketball Federation (CBF) and Liga Pilipinas.

For more information on the 2010 PBA Annual Draft, visit http://pba.ph/content/wanna-join-draft

Pacquiao prepares to receive US accolades

Aside from the Fighter of the Year (2009) award that he will receive this Friday from the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, Manny Pacquiao is also going to be feted by the elite group as the recipient of the Fighter of the Decade honor.

This will be the third time that Pacquiao is getting the coveted BWAA trophy and the Filipino star, who got elected to the Philippine congress last month, is excited personally grace the formal affair.

“To be named Fighter of the Year is already a big honor,” said Pacquiao, who leaves for the US tonight with wife Jinkee and kids, adviser Mike Koncz and perennial training camp assistant Roger Fernandez.

“So, when I learned that I will also be honored as (the BWAA’s) Fighter of the Decade, I felt I was walking on air,” added the 31-year-old fighter, who had also won the BWAA award in 2006 and 2008.

The New York trip is actually two-fold for Pacquiao.

The day after the BWAA event, Pacquiao will be an interested spectator when Miguel Cotto faces Yuri Foreman in a super-welterweight (154 lbs) clash at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

The winner of the Cotto-Foreman bout will be considered as a prime candidate to challenge Pacquiao in the event a deal with Floyd Mayweather for a Nov. 13 fight is not reached by the parties of the two star fighters.

Pacquiao, Cotto, and Foreman all fight under the promotional banner of Top Rank chief Bob Arum.

Mamiit named Davis Cup team captain

Filipino-American Cecil Mamiit, the heart and soul of the Philippine Davis Cup team, has been named captain of the squad as the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) tries a new tack when the Filipinos go up against Taiwan in the Asia Oceania Zone Group I tie on July 9 to 11 in Kaoshiung.

Mamiit will replace non-playing team captain Chris Cuarto who has held the post since 2007.

“We want to make changes to improve the team”s chances in our next tie,” said Philta vice president and RP Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva.

Villanueva said Mamiit can handle his duties well since the Los Angeles-based player has been with the squad for the past four years.

As team captain, Mamiit will have the task of determining who among his fellow players will play singles and doubles. He will also discuss strategy and be on top of the team’s training regimen.

The Filipinos will be clashing against the Taiwanese for the ninth time in the history of the Davis Cup. A win will put the Philippines in Group I.

The RP squad was ousted from that group when it lost to Japan, 5-0, in Osaka last March.

If the RP squad falters, the Philippines will be relegated to a second round playoff against the loser in the South Korea-Uzbekistan tie set on September 17 to 19.

Besides the 33-year-old Mamiit, also in the squad are Treat Huey, Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Gonzales. Mamiit, Huey and Gonzales are all Fil-Americans while Arcilla is the team’s only homegrown talent.

Gonzales, whose parents are now American citizens, was the surprise member of the squad, having been named to the team only a few days ago.

A former member of the University of Illinois varsity team, the 24-year-old, 6-foot-1 netter has a 16-8 singles record and a 12-7 doubles mark during his junior year with the university. He received Illinois’ Scholar Athlete Award during that year.

“He has been applying to join the Davis Cup team for a long time, but ranking-wise, we were not impressed. This time he’s actively participating in Futures tournaments. He’s a good doubles player, too, which is what we really need,” Villanueva said.

Gonzales is currently ranked No. 775 in doubles at the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and No. 939 in singles.

Stoudemire’s status clouds sunny Phoenix season

PHOENIX —The Phoenix Suns were a reassuring testament that team chemistry means something, even in the me-first world of the NBA. A deep bench and one of the best cast of 3-point shooters in league history didn’t hurt, either.

That they came within two victories of the NBA finals surprised just about everyone. If not for an unstoppable two-minute stretch by Kobe Bryant, the Suns might well have forced a deciding Game 7 in the Western Conference finals.

Instead, they held a team meeting on Sunday, then spoke of the joys of the season and the hopes that it was only the beginning. Whether that future includes Amare Stoudemire is the big uncertainty.

Stoudemire said only that he would begin his evaluation process on Monday. Team owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr wouldn’t address the issue. Suns coach Alvin Gentry said “you would expect" Stoudemire to opt out of his contract and test the free agent market.

“If you’re asking me, ‘Do we want him back?’ Yeah, we want him back," Gentry said.

Stoudemire, who has spent all eight seasons with the Suns after coming to the NBA directly from high school, is due to make $17 million in the final year of his contract. He can opt out, and he wants a maximum deal.

“This year’s been amazing for us," he said. “We’ve done a lot, we’ve grown a lot. We’ve improved so much within one year. It’s definitely been one of the most exciting seasons I’ve ever had. We definitely want to continue that, so if that’s possible that would be great."

Sarver said he wants the emotion of the playoffs to subside before he, Kerr and the rest of the front office begin to address the Stoudemire issue and others facing the team.

“The only thing I know is this was obviously his last game for this season," Sarver said. “I don’t really have any thoughts beyond that right now."

Steve Nash brought his 5-year-old twin daughters with him to the arena on Sunday, lamenting the “pathetic" performance of his favorite World Cup soccer team England against Japan earlier in the day. He spoke of how much he enjoyed coming to work every day this season.

“Everyone was sacrificing for one another and improving all the time, so you can only take a lot of positives from it," Nash said. “Of course we’re disappointed. Somehow we found ourselves in the Western Conference finals tied 2-2 with a lot of belief that we were going to the finals. So we’re always to be disappointed but at the same time we came a long way.

“I’m really proud of my teammates and to be a part of this team."

Nash said he wants the team to stick together and is available if Stoudemire wants to talk to him about it.

“This is something that he really has to think about," Nash said. “He knows from our perspective I think everything he needs to know. It’s more what’s out there for him, what the possibilities and options are for him that he has to weigh."

Someone asked Nash about a reunion with good friend Dirk Nowitzki, who also can opt out of his contract.

“I always assumed that he’s just going to re-sign with Dallas so I haven’t really thought about it," Nash said, “but obviously I had a great time playing with him."

Nash turned 36 in February and, with two years left on his contract, continues to defy Father Time.

“It’s June and I feel great," he said. “The spirit and the enjoyment I had is only going to make it easier to come back next year. Who knows? Maybe this will be my last two years coming up. Maybe I’ll play longer."

The Suns came close to trading Stoudemire at the All-Star break, but not finding a deal they liked, kept him. Phoenix went 23-6 the rest of the season and earned the No. 3 playoff seed in the West. The Suns beat a depleted Portland team in six games in the first round, then swept longtime nemesis San Antonio.

Phoenix was shredded for 252 points in the first two games against Los Angeles, but came home to win the next two. The Suns rallied from 18 down in Game 5 to tie it on Jason Richardson’s 3-point bank shot with 3 seconds to play only to see Ron Artest grab Bryant’s air ball and throw it in at the buzzer for a 103-101 victory. The Suns trailed by 17 after three quarters on Saturday night when second-year pro Goran Dragic led a rally that cut the lead to three before Bryant settled things for good.

“When you get from the conference finals and you’re a couple of points from being up 3-2, you feel like you’re going to make it to the finals. I think sometimes disappointment can cloud perspective," Nash said. “People didn’t really think we had what it took to make the playoffs even. To build a team, especially in professional basketball, that can exceed so many expectations as greatly as ours did last year, there’s a lot of pride."

Nash has played 118 playoff games, more than anyone else in NBA history who did not make the finals. No one, he said, should feel sorry for him.

“I have a pretty great life," he said. “I had one scholarship offer (after high school). To be in the conference finals four a fourth time is a lot more than I bargained for when I started playing this game. I think also a couple of those conference finals were really the championship series. I think a lot of it is just talk, and I’m fine with it."

After Saturday night’s game, Nash made a point of noting that Gentry is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the league and that he deserves better. In his first full season, the coach was able to foster the camaraderie and bring along the young players to make the team better than the sum of its parts.

“We tried to accomplish our goal, which was to get to the NBA finals, and it didn’t work out," Gentry said, “but as I said to our players, we will not look at this as a negative in any way. I think what we accomplished this year as a team and the way they played and the improvements that we made and the way the young guys got better and the leadership that we had, all of those things are real, real positive and we’ll try to take those and try to grow from there."

GM Antonio rules Angping Chess Cup

Grandmaster (GM) Rogelio “Joey” Antonio, Jr., dominated the first Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman Harry Angping Cup rapid chess championships in Pasig City over the weekend.

The twelve-time RP Open champion Antonio, defeated US-based International Master (IM) Julio Catalino Sadorra to capture the Open division title and the top purse of P50,000 in the two-day event held last Friday and Saturday at the PhilSports Arena (formerly ULTRA).

Antonio, the reigning ASEAN blitz champion, toppled Nhatz Loyaga, Samson Lim, Jr., Christian Arroyo, Conrado Diaz, FIDE Master (FM) David Elorta and FM Jan Emmanuel Garcia.

He settled for a truce with top seed GM Wesley So in the 7th round and GM John Paul Gomez in the 8th round before beating Sadorra in the 9th and final round to finish with 8 points in 9 games of play.

So, meantime, defeated Garcia in the final round to finish among the 2nd to 4th placers together with IM Rolando Nolte and NM Alex Milagrosa. They tallied 7.5 points apiece. Garcia was stuck at 7 points and dropped to a tie for 5th to 9th places in the company of IM Emmanuel Senador, Pascua, Elorta and Sadorra.

Woman National Master (WNM) Chardine Cheradee Camacho and Vince Angelo Medina also emerged as winners on Saturday.

Camacho ruled the women’s division with 7.5 points by beating Woman FIDE Master (WFM) Shercila Cua in the final canto. Aices Salvador, who is fresh from winning the RP junior girls crown, bested fellow WNM Jedara Docena to land in solo second place with 7 points.

Meanwhile, Medina took the kiddies title after settling a draw with Felipe Magdalaga.

The Far Eastern University (FEU) Chess Team member scored 8 points, a full point ahead of Melwyn Kenneth Baltazar, Magdalaga and newly-installed youngest RP junior boys champion Paulo Bersamina who toted 7 points each. The young Baltazar, son of national arbiter Ernie Baltazar, defeated Christian Nanola while Bersamina trounced Vincent Fuerte.

The tournament was hosted by Angping and organized by National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) President/Chairman Prospero “Butch” Pichay, Jr. NCFP executive/events director Willie Abalos acted as the Project Director.

A total of 277 players saw action in three-division event, with 150 players in the Open section, 49 players in the women’s section and 78 players in the kiddies section.

Final Standings:

Open section

8 points---GM Rogelio Antonio Jr.
7.5 points---GM Wesley So, IM Rolando Nolte, NM Alex Milagrosa
7 points---FM Jan Emmanuel Garcia, IM Emmanuel Senador, FM Haridas Pascua, FM David Elorta, IM Julio Catalino Sadorra
6.5 points---GM John Paul Gomez, GM Darwin Laylo, NM Alcon John Datu, FM Jony Habla, IM Oliver Dimakiling, Narquingden Reyes, Rhobel Legaspi

Women's section

7.5 points---WNM Chardine Cheradee Camacho
7 points---WNM Aices Salvador
6.5 points---WFM Shercila Cua, WNM Jan Jodilyn Fronda, WNM Christy Lamiel Bernales

Kiddies section

8 points---Vince Angelo Medina
7 points---Melwyn Kenneth Baltazar, Felipe Magdalaga, Paulo Bersamina
6.5 points---Giovanni Mejia, Carlo Caranyagan, Christian Nanola, Dante Leonardo Verano

Lakers have a long memory of Celtics

PHOENIX – The Los Angeles Lakers’ title hopes had disappeared with one last embarrassing loss in the NBA Finals, leaving those on board the team’s bus to sit in stunned silence.

As the bus started to leave the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on that night two years ago, chaos quickly broke out around the Lakers. Boston Celtics fans had filled the streets to celebrate the franchise’s 17th championship, not far from a statue of longtime patriarch Red Auerbach smoking a victory cigar.

With traffic snarled and no police escort to take them to their hotel, the Lakers could do nothing but sit and stew. Before long, someone recognized Phil Jackson sitting in the front seat, and then the rocks began to fly. Revelers pelted the bus and shook it, mocking the Lakers at their lowest moment.

“It was painful,” Lakers forward Pau Gasol said. “It is a feeling that I want to keep in my mind for every single minute that I’m out there playing them.”

Yes, the Lakers and Celtics are now set to renew their legendary rivalry in the NBA Finals. One night after the Celtics eliminated the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals, L.A. took out the Phoenix Suns in the West to set up the latest chapter between the teams.

“Obviously, this is a matchup that’s very easy to talk about,” Kobe Bryant said. “There are a lot of things that people can write about and talk about. It’s a sexy matchup.”

This will be the 12th Finals meeting between the league’s two storied franchises. When they’re done, the Lakers and Celtics will have accounted for 33 of the NBA’s 64 championships. Their first Finals meeting came in 1959 when the Celtics swept the Minneapolis Lakers for the first of eight straight titles. The rivalry, however, was sparked when the Celtics knocked off the Lakers six times in eight years in the 1960s. Those series included Boston’s Bill Russell and Bob Cousy versus Los Angeles’ Elgin Baylor and Jerry West.



The rivalry picked up in the 1980s thanks to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. There were three Finals meetings then between the Celtics who were then viewed as tough, hard-working and predominately white while the Lakers were Hollywood glamour, show-boaters and mostly black. The “Beat L.A.” chant was born as was the “Boston Sucks” taunt. Before Michael Jordan took over the NBA, it was Bird and Magic who saved the league with their impassioned rivalry. With the Lakers losing to the Celtics two years ago, it’s safe to say the rivalry has been reborn.

“It’s a little more hostile in Boston,” Lakers forward Lamar Odom said. “I don’t know how my wife [reality star Khloe Kardashian] is going to be able to sit in the crowd.

“They gave it to my kids last time in Boston. I can’t repeat (what was said). It will be fun. The people were rude to my kids, but it was fun.”

Not everyone in Los Angeles was pining for the Lakers to meet the Celtics again. One fan, in fact, was disappointed to see the Lakers knock out the Suns to advance to the Finals.

Her name is Randy Auerbach, an independent film producer who also happens to be a daughter of the late Celtics coach. She has been living in Los Angeles for years, and it hasn’t kept her from cheering for her father’s old team.

“I would like to take all the Lakers flags off the cars and burn them,” Randy Auerbach said. “It’s really annoying. It doesn’t make sense to me. There is still a strong rivalry.

“How did my father feel about the Lakers? No comment. They’re a great franchise, clearly. I think the Celtics are more of a unique organization that attracted a certain player. We had so many players who started and finished their careers in Boston. We didn’t trade for the sake of exploiting a player in their last year. The times are different. The Celtics are a classy organization. My dad knew everyone’s kids, where they were [after retirement], where they were working. They mean a lot to him. They were a real sense of family.”

To Odom, of course, there is nothing bigger in basketball than wearing a Lakers uniform and following in the footsteps of such names as West, Baylor, Goodrich, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and O’Neal. Getting to live in sunny, celebrity-filled Los Angeles isn’t bad, either.

“We got a lot of good things going for us in L.A.,” Odom said. “Playing for the Lakers is unlike playing for any other team in the world. It’s almost like being a Yankee.”

Were it not for the Celtics, the Lakers likely would be playing for their third consecutive title. The Lakers entered the 2008 Finals as heavy favorites. Led by Paul Pierce(notes), the Celtics took control of the series when they rallied from a 24-point deficit to win Game 4. The Lakers won Game 5, but the Celtics closed out the series by hammering them in Boston.

Like Gasol, Bryant hasn’t forgotten that miserable bus ride from the Garden.

“There are some [expletives] in Boston,” he said. “A lot of fans were celebrating. It got a little out of hand.”

As early as the second game of the West finals, Lakers fans began chanting “We Want Boston” at the Staples Center. Likewise, Celtics fans have been chanting “Beat L.A.” since Game 2 of the East finals. Even as great as a LeBron-Kobe matchup might have been, there is nothing bigger in the NBA than Celtics-Lakers – or Lakers-Celtics, depending on which side of the battle one fights.

The league’s biggest rivalry is officially back on. This time, the Lakers are planning for a smoother ride home.

Mahram-Iran retains FIBA ASIA Champions Cup title in style

DOHA - Hamed Afagh and Aidin Kabir fired in a couple of three-pointers at crucial junctures as Mahram of Iran defended their title in style with a 93-73 win over hosts Al Rayyan of Qatar in the gold medal game on Sunday.

Afagh, who was injured for the encounter between the two in the Group A preliminary round (which Mahram lost 72-78, scored 17 points and Kabir accounted for 10 points.

A 20-2 scoring advantage running through the early part of the second quarter put Mahram in the driver’s seat and Samad Nikkah and Jackson Vroman proved too experienced to blow away the 46-33 lead they had assumed at halftime.

Afagh’s back-to-back three-pointers set Mahram on a 12-0 spree to move ahead from a 24-27 position. And when Omer Salem broke the barren run for Rayyan, Kabir came into the game with his twin long rangers.

Those moments effectively sealed the issue in Mahram’s favor.

Samad Nikkah took over the game adding 20 to his first half’s six for a game-high 26 and Jackson added 11 to the 10 he scored in the first half.

“It’s quite obviously disappointing to lose a championship game, especially if you are the hosts. But then obviously we didn’t play as well as we should have,” Al Rayyan coach Carl Nash said.

“We played exactly to our plan,” said Mahram coach Mostafa Hashemi.

“Afagh’s presence was a boost. But the team also played a lot better than we did the other night,” said Samad.

“It’s always a pleasure playing with this team,” Mahram captain Mahdi Kamrany who effected a game-high 11 points.

“It’s not that we were looking for revenge, but I guess that defeat was always in the back of our mind,” Samad said of the defeat they suffered against Rayyan earlier.

Yasseen Musa was the leading scorer for the hosts with 20 points, but support as well as his own effort were rather sporadic than systematic.

Scores:

Mahram, IRI 93 (Samad Nikkah 26, Jackson Vroman 21, Hamed Afagh 17, Loren Woods 15, Aidin Kabir 10) bt Al Rayyan, QAT 73 (Yasseen Musa 20, Targuy Ngombo 14, Erfan Saeed 14). Quarterwise scores: 22-20, 46-33, 76-49.

Tigers end slide

Asi Taulava, Rob Reyes and Mark IsipCoca-Cola snapped a 7-game losing streak with a 105-100 victory over Barako Coffee in overtime.

Rashard Bell finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks in a solid all-around performance for the Tigers who finally nailed a win this month and improved their mark to 5-8.

Gary David added 25 points, while Asi Taulava put in 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Tigers.

"We'll take this win because we really needed this win to end that tough seven-game skid," said Coke mentor Bo Perasol.

"It's tough to admit that I was really losing confidence coaching this team after losing 7 in a row, but with this win, we now know how to do it again," he added.

The Coffee Masters were in full control of the game before Coke staged the rally and sent the game in overtime.

Reed Juntilla scored the first 4 points of the extra session to give Barako Coffee a 97-93 cushion, but Bell anchored a quick 7-0 run to grab the lead, 100-97, 2:10 left.

Leo Najorda tied the score for the last time at 100-all with a triple at top of the key, but the Tigers blanked their rivals the rest of the way and scored the next 5 points to complete the come-from-behind victory.

"It was really bad. We led most of the way but the players made bad decisions in the end," said Barako Coffee head coach Junel Bacul who drew 27 points, 11 boards, 7 assists and 4 blocks from Sammy Monroe.

"Separation sana ito sa Air21. Now we are tied again," added Baculi as his team is now with the same card with the Express with 2-11 slate.

The last-placed team after the 2-round classification phase will be eliminated. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Coca-Cola 105 - Bell 33, David 25, Taulava 12, Macapagal 10, Cruz 8, Espino 6, Allera 3, Gonzales 3, Mendoza 3, Rizada 2, Calimag 0.

Barako Coffee 100 � Monroe 27, Najorda 24, Juntilla 14, Isip 11, Vergara 9, Wainwright 8, Reyes 4, Dimaunahan 3, Duncil 0, Hubalde 0.

Quarter scores: 24-27, 37-48, 62-71, 93-93 (reg), 105-100 (OT)

Rain or Shine thwarts Ginebra rally in 84-83 thriller

Jireh Ibanes and Willy WilsonRain or Shine Elasto Painters thumped the repeated rallies of Barangay Ginebra and held on for an 84-83 squeaker Sunday night at the KFC-PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Jireh Ibanes showed his best game yet this season with 15 points and 6 rebounds, and had a key steal on Rudy Hatfield in the closing seconds that sealed the win for the Elasto Painters.

With the win, Rain or Shine now moved to 6-5, and halted the 4-game winning streak of the Kings to drop 8-5.

“We were just lucky today. I just told the players, if we want to go far, we have to beat the teams in front of us like B-Meg, Alaska and Ginebra,” said Elasto Painters head coach Caly Garcia who also got 15 markers from Sol Mercado.

Gabe Norwood added 13 points while Jai Lewis chipped in 12 and 18 boards in a foul-plagued 33 minutes of action.

Ginebra came close at 81-82 on Mildon Ambres' triple, but Ibanes stole the ball from Mark Caguioa, and headed for a lay-up to put the Painters ahead by 3, 84-81.

Caguioa followed up the missed jumper of Jayjay Helterbrand, 83-84, and the Kings had the chance to steal the game after Rain or Shine failed to convert in its next play with 12.7 ticks left.

But Ambres' three-point attempt was short. Hatfield almost secured the offensive board, but Ibanes sneaked in from behind and stole the leather, getting fouled with 1.8 seconds.

Ibanes muffed both free throws allowing the Kings to have a final shot, but Willie Miller also missed the target.

Caguioa led Ginebra with 28 points, while Ambres added 20 points and 16 rebounds. - www.abs-cbnnews.com

Scores:

Rain or Shine 84 - Ibanes 15, Mercado 15, Norwood 13, Lewis 12, Arana 9, Tang 6, Chan 6, Reyes 5, Laure 3, Cruz 0, Hrabak 0, Telan 0.

Brgy. Ginebra 83 - Caguioa 28, Ambres 20, Tubid 12, Miller 10, Wilson 3, Hatfield 3, De Ocampo 3, Mamaril 2, Helterbrand 2, Villanueva 0.

Quarters: 25-18, 49-40, 69-63, 84-83

Bartholomew's new book on RP hoops out

“The same way I saw hoops reflected practically everywhere in Manila’s street life, I found the sport embedded in publications stretching back almost eighty years. The basketball Nirvana of my imagination was turning out to be a reality.” - Rafe Bartholomew, “Pacific Rims”

Every time a foreigner comes to the Philippines and asks about sports, basketball has always been the topic of conversation. And unsolicited advice comes in many forms, from a suggestion to be courtside at a Ginebra game, to disbelieving tales of decibel levels at an Ateneo-La Salle finals, to whispers of longing of the old MICAA and national teams before. For the first time, someone has intentionally visited the country with the sole purpose of writing about our unblinking attachment to basketball.

Fulbright scholar Raphael Bartholomew intended to spend a year living in the Philippines to dissect this unusual love between a race of what he calls “40 million men standing five-foot-five” and a sport designed for giants. He ended up immersed in Filipino hoops culture up to his eyebrows for three solid years, and left the country feeling it still wasn’t enough. During that time, the basketball junkie that he already was contracted the same insanity for the sport. The result is a hefty, detailed, and amusing essay called “Pacific Rims”, which will be out next week.

Bartholomew, a former youth baseball player and utility player at a small college in the US, starts the book with an wide-eyed fascination with how Filipinos can play do-or-die style basketball in slippers without ever getting injured, while he had trouble even just walking down the street with them. His odyssey is a basketball fanatics’ fantasy, to spend your life surrounded by the people who continue to build on the sport, and legends who never left it. In the course of his discovery, he also wrote a story about how galvanizing the experience of an Ateneo-La Salle game was, and it became one of the most downloaded stories of the New York Times.



We take for granted that basketball is part of being Filipino, but Rafe has traced it to its very roots, from the time the Americans introduced it as part of their plans for colonization, to the time it supplanted baseball as the youth’s most beloved sport.

“If you want to know where little Pedro is at the sizzling hour of two in the afternoon, amble to the nearest basketball court and there you will find him judiciously throwing a bouncing ball into a hoop.

The ambition of every healthy boy now is to be a basketball player. His hero is no longer the baseballer but the basketballer,” he quotes Sen. Ambrosio Padilla from 1933.”

Bartholomew then dug deep into the golden age of Philippine hoops, when Caloy Loyzaga was king, and the Philippines was dominating the Far Eastern Games so easily, paralleling the early rise of the sport’s parent country.

“Because the United States had introduced basketball to the islands at such an early point in the sport’s history, Filipinos learned to play before the rest of the world,” Bartholomew points out. “The Philippine national team was fine-tuning its game while players in other countries were still studying the rulebook. Filipino teams used their headstart to become one of the most successful countries in early international tournaments.”

Mindful how ethnic diversity, politics, corruption, humor and colonialism color our world in general, Bartholomew paints a candid and (in very Filipino fashion) tongue-in-cheek look at us, and our undying number one sport. His experiences range from tsinelas to isaw to wading through floodwaters, traveling long distances, bearing unbearable heat, to walking the corridors of power and being christened “Paeng Bartolome”. He marvels at how we can put up goals anywhere from fields to streets to mountaintops using makeshift materials, and yet our multi-purpose community centers put even his native New York City public courts to shame. He touches on everything that has made a difference in the exploding lifespan of basketball in this disunited country.

“Basketball was also introduced by a colonial power, but Filipinos seemed to embrace it as their own, and as their national team dominated Asian tournaments and delivered gutsy performances on the world stage, basketball became a source of Philippine pride and a binding agent for the whole archipelago.”

Bartholomew had the good fortune of being led from one perfect source to the next. He marveled at the selfless sharing of those in the basketball commuity, from PBA team owners (he followed the Alaska Aces for one conference) to street vendors, national players from the 1950’s, librarians, and almost everyone he encountered. Everyone, it seemed, cared about him finding out the true story about us and throwing a ball through a rim. He became an adopted Filipino.

The breadth and richness of the subject matter makes it supremely colorful, but that is also what makes it difficult to encompass in one book. Bartholomew’s original fear that the tome would stretch to a thousand pages made it painful to cut down to its heavy 384 pages (more or less). With what we already know (and most of the outside world doesn’t) it is easy to have an opinion about what could have or should have been written about more. You could also complain that there are quite a few American pop culture references, or that he may not exactly understand the nuances of local inferences.

But at the end of the day, that would be nitpicking. Rafe did not just dip his foot into the waters of Philippine basketball: he dove headlong into its mighty contradicting currents, and inhaled deeply.

He has played on the streets with “beermen ballin’ in flip-flops” and traveled with the pros of the PBA. He lived and breathed basketball, flinging himself with abandon wherever this unlikely love affair led him. He manifested the best of intentions, and has given us probably the first true, honest outsider’s understanding of our insane passion for hoops.

It is a meticulous, immersive, touching read that will inspire gratitude from a people who have finally met someone who has sought to understand. And thankfully, gets it.

“Pacific Rims” will be available at National Bookstore, Fully Booked and Powerbooks beginning June 1.

Where there's smoke there's fire; and 'Camp Pacquiao' is smoking

The latest news coming out of Camp Pacquiao is not all warm and fuzzy as it was just a few weeks ago when Manny Pacquiao won his congressional seat.

There is a division brewing over recent comments made by certain members of Pacquiao's management team. Comments that have not only angered promoter Bob Arum but have also angered the pound for pound king.

"I know Manny is just as angry as I am that these guys, who have nothing to do with any of these negotiations, keep shooting their mouths off and inflaming the situation,” Bob Arum, Boxingscene.com

Arum is referring to the following comments recently made by Eric Pineda and Franklin Gacal.

"We just got word that it seems to be that way. But we will never agree to that." Gacal, Philstar.com

"Yes, we were told that Floyd now wants a bigger share. And if that’s the case, we now feel that he really doesn’t want to fight Manny because Floyd knows we will never agree on that." Pineda, Philstar.com

Pineda and Gacal's statements were in response to Floyd Mayweather Jr's demands of wanting a larger percentage of the fight purse.

"They (statements) are more than irritating, because so much of this is ego and when you say that if he (Mayweather) says this Manny Pacquiao is not going to fight, that’s not the way you negotiate," Arum Boxingscene.com

What I don't understand is why Bob Arum is so frustrated over things. He's the one who originally said that he would keep his mouth shut over things and then a few days later he's telling the world that Floyd Mayweather Jr and Shane Mosley last blood tested 18-19 days out from the fight. These comments caused a frenzy which led me to obtaining a copy of the drug testing summary directly from the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

Now, Bob is frustrated over others who are expressing their opinions just like Bob has done so many times before. If Bob wants a gag order on everyone who's a part of team Pacquiao, then he should start with himself first. But, Pineda and Gacal aren't the only ones outside of Arum who have been making comments. Manny Pacquiao has also been pretty vocal over these negotiations too. Which, members of the media like myself, think is a good thing.

There's no possible way that these negotiations are going to remain private. In fact, I think Team Pacquiao should make them as public as possible to show the public that they are willing to compromise and make the fight happen. That would put more pressure on Team Mayweather. Instead, we are getting divisiveness and in-house fighting. I'm surprised to see this coming from them because usually it's a much more well oiled machine.

There's smoke in 'Camp Pacquiao' and they better be careful before things go up in a blaze of divisiveness and blame.

Celtics oust Magic, advance to NBA Finals‎

BOSTON — Paul Pierce had 31 points and 13 rebounds, and little-used backup Nate Robinson gave the Celtics a boost with 13 second-quarter points as Boston beat the Orlando Magic 96-84 on Friday night, earning a chance to play for a second NBA title in three years.

The finals will begin Thursday in either Los Angeles or Phoenix.

Manny may fight Cotto instead of Mayweather

There’s always a Plan B just in case Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. fail to get it done in November.

According to Bob Arum, the 31-year-old Filipino superstar may end up facing Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico a second time.

“If the Mayweather deal gets made with Pacquiao, the winner of this fight (Cotto-Foreman) would be a natural for Antonio Margarito. If the Mayweather deal is not made, Pacquiao might fight Miguel Cotto, if Cotto beats Foreman, for the 154-pound title,” he said.

The chief of Top Rank Promotions, who will try his best to get the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight staged on Nov. 13 either in Texas or Las Vegas, told boxingscene.com that things should fall into place for Pacquiao even if it’s not against Mayweather.

Cotto is all set to challenge Yuri Foreman for the WBA super-welterweight crown on June 5 at the Yankee Stadium, and a victory by the wide-bodied former champion, who lost in 12 rounds to Pacquiao last November, is what some people would be hoping for.

“I don’t think Manny would fight Yuri Foreman because he says Yuri is too tall,” said Arum of Foreman, who stands very close to six feet.

In case Cotto beats Foreman, Pacquiao can give him a chance to avenge his brutal defeat last November. It also gives Pacquiao a crack at his eighth world title in eight different weight classes. As it is, he’s the only one with seven crowns under his belt.

Negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather superfight are silently on, and reports are out that it may or may not happen at all because of disagreements in the drug-testing procedure or anything that may have to do with the purse split.

Both Pacquiao and Mayweather stand to receive around $40 million each if they agree to stage the fight, the biggest in their respective careers, and one that should finally decide who the world’s greatest pound-for-pound champion is.

The odds are out even if the fight is not yet sealed, and Mayweather stands as a -150 favorite, meaning you need $150 to win a hundred bucks, against Pacquiao who’s at +120, meaning your $100 wins $120.

The odds, however, will only stand if the fight takes place in 2010.

But while oddsmakers are putting their money on the undefeated American, a legendary champion, Aaron Pryor, is rooting for Pacquiao.

'Pacquiao's chances vs Floyd depends on first 5 rounds'

Boxing analyst Al Bernstein thinks 7-division champ Manny Pacquiao’s chances against Floyd Mayweather Jr. will depend on how he handles the first half of his fight against the undefeated American.

Bernstein, who was ESPN’s boxing commentator for many years and is now a fight analyst for Showtime Championship boxing, said Pacquiao would have to survive the first 5 rounds with Mayweather to get a chance of beating the former pound-for-pound king.

“If Pacquiao fights him, Mayweather is likely going to hit him with a big right hand in the first five rounds,” the analyst told Examiner.com.

Boxing fans are anticipating a showdown between the two pound-for-pound kings, whose planned super fight last March 13 was shelved because of disagreements over the type of drug testing they will use before the bout.

“If Manny Pacquiao doesn’t go down or get badly hurt, Manny Pacquiao is either going to beat Floyd Mayweather or he is going to make it such an exciting, hellacious fight that we are going to all be happy,” added Bernstein.

Pacquiao’s handler, Top Rank promotions chief Bob Arum, is working to forge a deal with the Mayweather camp for the mega fight planned on November 13.

The Filipino boxer, who just won a congressional seat in Sarangani province, has already agreed to the American fighter’s demand to have himself blood tested 14 days before the fight.

However, Mayweather’s camp has yet to issue a formal statement regarding Pacquiao’s decision.

Some observers believe the silence in Mayweather’s camp might be an indication that the negotiations are moving, and that the major players in the talks are keeping their meetings under wraps.

Berstein said Mayweather’s insistence on Olympic-style drug testing was just a strategy that got out of hand.

“I think it was just a ploy on the part of Floyd and his people that got out of hand. I think once they took that position, they couldn’t back off from it,” he said.

Roach to replace Nonito Sr at Julaton's corner

Ana “The Hurricane" Julaton is hoping that Manny Pacquiao’s success could rub off on her when she teams up with Freddie Roach for her upcoming title fight next month in Ontario, Canada.

Roach will replace Nonito Donaire Sr. at Julaton’s corner when the World Boxing Organization (WBO) female super bantamweight champion returns to the ring on June 30.

Julaton will face Mexico’s Maria Elena Villalobos for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight title at the Casino Rama.

Donaire Sr. helped Julaton, who also holds the International Boxing Association (IBA) female super bantamweight crown, compile a 6-2-1 win-loss-draw record with one of victory coming by way of knockout.

Villalobos holds a 6-3-0 record with three of her wins by KO.

Angelo Reyes, Julaton’s manager, said that with Roach at their corner expect the charming Filipina-American boxer to possess the same intensity similar to the seven world division champion and Congressman-elect Manny Pacquiao.

“Everybody loves to see Manny Pacquiao throw a lot of punches. She’s going to follow that same style with Roach," said Angeles.

Roach is a four-time Trainer of the Year winner — 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009 — by the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Julaton said she wants to restore her fans’ trust on her after suffering a unanimous decision loss to Canadian Lisa “The Bad News" Brown during their 10-round bout for the vacant WBA female super bantamweight title on March 27.

“It (the fight) is a huge deal for a lot of us. I just want to go out there and always represent well," said Julaton.

She said that a different Julaton will come out on June 30. “A lot of excitement and something that boxing fans would want to see."

Fil-Ams spice up Baseball Philippines’ 6th season

Six Filipino-Americans along with a number of collegiate standouts and national team players will add flavor to this year’s Dunkin Donuts-Baseball Philippines Series VI, which opens on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field.

The Batangas Bulls open up their title defense bid when they face the Manila Sharks in the lone opening game at 1:30 p.m.

The Randy Dizer-managed Bulls, which has top pitchers Vladimir Eguia and Romeo Jasmin in their fold, will parade Fil-Am rookie Justin Zialcita against the Sharks.

Aside from Zialcita, Bobby Siatong with brothers Andres and Carlos Borromeo will suit up for the Alabang Tigers while the Ubungen brothers, Lorenzo and Florentino, will play for the Cebu Dolphins.

The Fil-Am collegiate players are seeing action in the league as they are in their summer break in the United States.

The Ubungen brothers played for the San Francisco State University while Siatong is a member of University of Texas.

“I feel that the mixture of talent from the UAAP, the national team and the Fil-Ams will add color to the league," said Baseball Philippines operations manager Leslie Suntay, who is the Tigers’ catcher.

Six teams will be slugging it out for the title with the Cebu Dolphins, the other team who is seeking a third crown.

The Dolphins topped Series II and IV while the Bulls won Series III and Series V.

Other teams are the Tigers, Forward Taguig, and newcomer Pampanga Sand Kings.

Teams will play in a single round robin with the top four to advance into the cross over semifinals with the top two teams to enjoy the twice to beat advantage against the next two opponents.

The finals will be a best of three series.

Smart Gilas-RP falls short vs. Al Riyadi-Lebanon

Fadi El Khatib dished out yet another vintage performance and Al Riyadi Beirut rode on their spearhead’s splendid show to enter the semifinals on Friday.

Riyadi’s 74-63 win over an enthusiastic, but error-prone, Smart Gilas of Philippines led them to their third successive semifinal entry in FIBA Asia Champions Cup.

Riyadi had won the bronze in the last edition, one place ahead of their fourth place finish in 2008.

On Saturday, Al Riyadi will take on defending champions Mahram of Iran in the semifinals.

Riyadi’s fortunes were directly proportional to El Khatib’s form.

They struggled, and allowed Smart Gilas to keep abreast of the scores, when El Khatib strove to find his wonted rhythm.

But once El Khatib came into his own, from the second part of the third quarter, Riyadi moved rallied around his plays.

El Khatib scored 12 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.

El Khatib also collected three rebounds and effected four assists.

Rony Fahed fired in four three-pointers in his 15 points, and American Nate Johnson went 5/11 in field attempts for his 15.

Smart Gilas went neck and neck with Riyadi for most part of the game, but then found no answer when El Khatib unleashed his magic.

“Of course he is a key in our plans,” Al Riyadi coach Fouad Abouchakra said of Fadi’s performance.

Scores

Al Riyadi Beirut, LIB 74 (Fadi El Khatib 24, Rony Fahed 15, Nate Johnson 15) bt Smart Gilas, PHI 63 (Milan Vucicevic 22, Mark Barroca 15).

Quarters: 9-10, 34-34, 56-47, 74-63.

more to follow...

NEXT GAME:
Smart Gilas-Philippines vs. Al Jalaa-Syria
4pm Doha time or 9pm Manila time (May 29)
(Winner will advance to "battle for 5th place")

Photo credit: FIBA ASIA

Quarterfinals update (FIBA Asia Champions Cup)

QF1: ASU-Jordan def. Astana Tigers-Kazakhstan vs, 74-59
QF2: Mahram-Iran def. Al Jalaa-Syria, 88-60
QF3: Al Rayyan-Qatar def. Al Hilal-Saudi, 97-59
QF4: Al Riyadi-Lebanon def. Smart Gilas-Philippines, 74-63 (NEWS)


63 vs. 74
(click here for News, Photos and Game statistics)

Smart Gilas def. Duhok-Iraq, 76-74 (NEWS & VIDEO)
Mahram-Iran def. Smart Gilas, 86-72 (NEWS & PHOTOS)
Astana Tigers-Kazakhstan def. Smart Gilas, 77-71 (OT) (NEWS & PHOTOS)
Al Rayyan-Qatar def. Smart Gilas, 86-58 (NEWS & PHOTOS)

Smart Gilas faces daunting bid vs Lebanon

DOHA, Qatar – Smart Gilas Pilipinas faces tremendous odds in its semifinal bid in the FIBA-Asia Champions Cup as it takes on powerhouse Al Riyadi of Lebanon at the Al Gharafa Sports Club Hall here today.


UPDATE: (Quarterfinals)
Al Riyadi-Lebanon def. Smart Gilas-Philippines, 74-63 (NEWS)

The Nationals will not only play with a roster depleted by a spate of injuries to key players but also face a team which swept its elimination round assignment in Group B.

But the Filipinos hope to come out fresh from a one-day rest and vow to give it their all in what could be their toughest challenge yet in the tournament.

“Against Lebanon, everybody here will see how Smart Gilas really play because until now, we didn’t play good, not the Smart Gilas that played in Dubai, Australia, Serbia and the US,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.

“We had some problems, we had to add some new players but I think it’s time to play really good basketball because these great fans who are watching us here deserve to see one better Smart Gilas,” he said.

The Filipinos scrambled to get into the Last 8 by nipping 7-4 Priest Lauderdale and the Duhok of Iraq team, 76-74, on a game-winning hook shot by Serbian import Milan Vucicevic last Wednesday.

The lone win came after a string of losses to host Al Rayyan of Qatar, 58-86, Astana Tigers of Kazakhstan, 71-77, in overtime and then to defending champion Mahram of Iran, 72-86 as Smart Gilas showed up without injured guards JV Casio and JR Cawaling and a couple of new recruits in Fil-Am Chris Lutz and Vucicevic, who still have to blend with the mainstays of the team.

Against Lebanon, however, Smart Gilas will be facing a team powered by Americans CJ Giles and Nate Johnson and the prolific Fadi El-Khatib.

“We won in Jakarta against them but we lost in the Dubai tournament. This team is the strongest team though because all the players are coming after winning the Arabic Games,” said Toroman.

Tenorio lifts Alaska past B-Meg in OT

The rematch of the Aces in the PBA Fiesta Conference elimination round went down with LA Tenorio laying down the biggest hand in the end.

Tenorio came through with a personal conference best of 26 points, including a huge four-point binge inside the last 2.5 seconds of overtime as the Alaska Milk Aces survived the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados, 99-97, in a gripping battle at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Friday night.

The peppery point guard and forward Joe De Vance took charge with import Diamon Simpson fouling out with 3:02 left to play, saving Alaska from what could have been a sorry loss in the contest.

James Yap, playing off-the-bench for the second straight game due to a bruised knee, knocked in a triple with 18 seconds left in regulation play paving the way for overtime.

The Aces blew a chance to win it in regulation on misses by Tenorio and Simpson in the dying seconds.

But Tenorio himself saved the day for his team, enabling the Aces to repeat over the Llamados and force a standoff between themselves at fourth place with identical 7-5 win-loss records.

The Aces were teetering on the brink when Tenorio banged away a three-pointer giving Alaska a 98-97 edge with 2.5 ticks left.

The Llamados then themselves sealed their fate as KG Canaleta committed a grievous error on the inbounds after a timeout.

Fouled right away, Tenorio coolly sank the front-end of his free throws then deliberately missed the second one as Alaska bounced back from a loss to Barangay Ginebra on a road game in Cebu Saturday.

“What a game! It’s hard to describe. It can’t get more exciting than that,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone after the game.

“It’s a battle between two Aces and we’re fighting tooth and nail. They didn’t back down and we didn’t back down. We just squeezed through,” Cone added.

Yap went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the stripe as he led a charge that got the Llamados to within five, 39-44, at halftime.

The Aces jumped the gun on the Llamados, building a 31-15 lead in the opening quarter.

Cliff Brown stepped up in the third quarter, firing 16 points as the Llamados drew level at 68-all.

Both teams went silent in a long stretch before Reynel Hugnatan scored on a semi-hook off Don Allado breaking the deadlock with almost four minutes gone in the final period.

The Aces and the Llamados engaged in a fierce battle to the finish with Simpson, Tenorio and Devance delivering the goods for Alaska and Brown and Yap starring for Derby Ace.

Simpson put in 29 points and 18 rebounds before heading to the showers ahead of the rest.

Tenorio also made six assists, five rebounds and two steals aside from 26 points while De Vance added 13 points and three rebounds.

Brown was in a zone, sizzling with 34 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Yap, despite his injury, scattered 22 points on top of four rebounds and three assists. (SB)

The scores:

Alaska 99 - Simpson 29, Tenorio 26, De Vance 13, Baguio 13, Dela CRuz 6, Thoss 5, Hugnatan 4, Cablay 3, Eman 0, Fonacier 0.

B-Meg Derby Ace 97 - Brown 34, J. Yap 22, Allado 11, Yap R. 10, Canaleta 7, Pingris 7, Artadi 3, Simon 3, Timberlake 0, Maierhofer 0, Salvador 0, Reavis 0.

Cotto gets Hall of Fame help before Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK — Miguel Cotto has sold more tickets to boxing events in New York City over the past decade than anyone. The Puerto Rican star has won titles in two weight divisions, and long ago stamped himself as one of the most exciting fighters of his generation.

Yet all that success didn't mean much when he hooked up with Manny Steward a couple of months ago. In fact, the Hall of Fame trainer barely knew where to start.

"The first two days it was difficult to work with him because his balance was so bad," Steward said Thursday. "His head was down and he was throwing only single punches."

Cotto knew that wouldn't get the job done when he steps up a division to challenge WBA junior middleweight champ Yuri Foreman on June 5 at the new Yankee Stadium. That's why he hired Steward, who has trained some of the best in boxing history, among them Thomas Hearns, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and current heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

"My balance was awful before this camp, and it's much better," Cotto said. "We can throw punches and stay on balance. That's one of the things we've worked on in this camp."

It hasn't been a complete rebuilding job, far from it.

Cotto still punches with incredible power, and his sharp boxing skills have outdone some of the best welterweights in the world, from Shane Mosley to Zab Judah. But his team has been in a seemingly constant state of flux over the past year, ever since a high-profile falling out with his uncle and longtime trainer Evangelista Cotto.

Joe Santiago eventually took over and helped Cotto to a victory over Joshua Clottey, but he absorbed tremendous punishment in the fight. And when Cotto was stopped by Manny Pacquiao last November, many blamed Santiago's inexperience for not preparing him well and not stopping the fight early enough, when Cotto was getting bludgeoned by the pound-for-pound king.

So into the fold stepped Steward, who said during a conference call from the Fight Factory Gym in Tampa, Fla., that he was honored to join the team.

"Everything has gone way, way, way better than I expected," Steward said. "It's a phenomenal experience for me, at this stage of my life, to work with a great fighter like Miguel, who I've always been a fan of from Day 1. He's fought the who's who that would fight him."

Steward not only helped Cotto find his balance inside the ring, he's helped him to establish some balance outside of it.

The trainer wisely invited Santiago to work as his assistant, rather than alienating one of the key members of a tightly knit team, and helped calm a training camp that has also missed the presence of Cotto's father, Miguel Sr., whose death in January hit the fighter especially hard.

"I would agree with Emanuel, we're working pretty hard in training camp, and everything is going more than good, more than we expected, and we're just waiting until the night of the fight to prove to everybody what we were doing," Cotto said. "I know the fans are going to love it."

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum expects around 30,000 to be on hand for the first fight at Yankee Stadium since Muhammad Ali fought Ken Norton at the old ballpark in 1976. Ticket sales have been strong and the publicity has been enormous.

There are posters in dozens of subway stops in New York, and a billboard promoting the fight in Times Square. Hundreds of stories have been penned about the place that boxing has in the history of Yankee Stadium, and about the unique nature of Cotto's opponent — Foreman is an aspiring rabbi who came to the United States with little more than the clothes on his back.

"It is unquestionable that Miguel Cotto is the most popular fighter in New York, he's demonstrated that year after year," Arum said. "Everybody is talking about his fight."

Meanwhile, Cotto has been able to quietly toil in the shadows while the ballpark and Foreman stand in the spotlight, working with Steward to refine his game.

"I don't know what will happen the night of the fight," Cotto said, "but I know for sure, when the fight is over, I'm going to be the winner."

Henin reaches third round at French Open

PARIS — Justine Henin has reached the third round of the French Open by beating Klara Zakopalova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.

Henin is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2007, when she won the tournament for the fourth time.

Henin returned to the tour in January following a 20-month retirement, and while she's seeded only 22nd, she's considered one of the title favorites.

Henin extended her winning streak at Roland Garros to 23 matches and 39 consecutive sets. She hasn't lost a match at the French Open since 2004.

Her match had been suspended late Thursday at 6-3, 3-2 because of darkness.

Serena, Nadal reach 3rd round at French Open

PARIS – Serena Williams waited a day to play, then won before lunch Friday at the French Open.
Rafael Nadal also went to work early and clocked out quickly.

With almost mistake-free tennis, the top-ranked Williams won nine consecutive games and advanced to the third round by beating Julia Goerges 6-1, 6-1.

Four-time champion Nadal lost serve only once and beat Horacio Zeballos 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

A schedule backlog caused by rain forced Nadal and Williams to wait until the sixth day of the tournament for their second-round matches. They took the court on a sunny, cool morning and engaged in brisk workouts.

Williams won in 55 minutes. Nadal took 1 hour, 45 minutes and has lost only 13 games through two rounds.

Despite playing aggressively, Williams committed only four unforced errors to 20 for Goerges. Williams often moved two steps inside the baseline to smack returns, and she won 15 of 19 points on Goerges' weak second serves.

Williams held every service game and sprinted forward several times to finish off points with swinging volleys.

The 12-time Grand Slam champion has won 41 consecutive second-round matches in major tournaments since losing in that round in her Grand Slam debut in 1998 to her sister Venus. She's bidding for her first French Open title since 2002.

Nadal won with steady play from the baseline, committing only 12 unforced errors, and he also won 16 points at the net.

Seeded second, Nadal improved to 33-1 at Roland Garros, with his lone loss a fourth-round upset against Robin Soderling in 2009. He is 17-0 on clay this year.

Another Spaniard, No. 9 David Ferrer, led 6-2, 6-2, 2-0 when Xavier Malisse retired.

In women's play, Russian qualifier Anastasia Pivovarova, ranked 187th, upset No. 25-seeded Zheng Jie of China 6-4, 6-3. Unseeded American Jill Craybas lost to No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-1.

Andy Murray's second-round match took two days to complete and was interrupted again after resuming Thursday, but he was pleased to beat the darkness and Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2.

"Rain delays — I've not really had many in my career," Murray said. "It was a good experience for me, one I could have dealt with maybe a little bit better."

His match was suspended Wednesday night at 3-all in the second set and, following a 4 1/2-hour delay before play began Thursday, Murray started slowly. He found himself down a break in the third set before rallying.

"I just felt a little bit tense at the start," he said. "Then I actually felt fine as soon as I went behind. That's a bit strange, but that's how it was. I started to play a lot better as soon as I got broken in the third set."

Rain made a mess of the schedule Thursday, but the only significant upset was No. 13 Gael Monfils' 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 9-7 loss to Fabio Fognini. The match had been suspended because of darkness Wednesday at 5-all in the fifth set.

Three seeded women lost: No. 8 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 21 Vera Zvonareva and No. 32 Kateryna Bondarenko.

Ana Ivanovic hit another low in her slide since winning the French Open two years ago, losing in the second round to No. 28 Alisa Kleybanova 6-3, 6-0.

Eighteen singles matches were postponed, and five were suspended because of darkness.

No. 6-seeded Andy Roddick endured two delays and difficult conditions to defeat Blaz Kavcic 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. The damp weather took some zip off Roddick's biggest weapon, and for much of the match he was dueling from the baseline on his worst surface.

"It was brutal for me out there," he said. "I couldn't get my serve to go anywhere, and the ball was just sitting up. It kind of takes away a lot of shots and it makes it just about hitting the ball and running.

"I don't know the last time I lost serve seven times and won. So, I mean, it's bad, but there's got to be something good in there somewhere, too."

Conte Breaks down how boxers can beat USADA's tests

As the former BALCO founder, Victor Conte made a career out of beating international drug testing systems worldwide.

And in a recent conversation, the man who ran the controversial sports nutrition center in Burlingame, Calif., claimed that boxers can still do it against even the most sophisticated procedures that the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency, let alone those that boxing's commissions can come up with.

The scheme is called "Blood-doping," a method by which steroid or performance-enhanced blood is removed from an athlete's body, and then, later, re-infused in order to boost the competitor's oxygen, and, strength capacity, according to Conte.

The practice has been used in Olympic competition as well as others, Conte said.

"For example, Tour De France cyclists. They test the blood, and if it comes back higher than 50 percent on the side of the red blood cells, they don't ban them, but they suspend them for two weeks for what they call 'Health concerns,'" said Conte to BoxingScene.com.

"So you don't want your baseline hermaticrit to be over 50 percent. They like to target it and keep it at 49 percent. Increasing it from 44-to-49 percent, however, will certainly increase your performance."

By using this method, said Conte, the actual drugs, themselves, can't be detected, although the rise in the percentage of the red blood cell increase can.

"They can detect the percentage, exactly. If you're re-infusing the blood, and that percentage starts to drop down, you know, as you're preparing and training for the fight, then you can just re-infuse some of their previously withdrawn red blood cells by intravenous injection," said Conte.

"They can re-infuse that and they can keep it at a steady level of 49 percent all the way up to the fight. So now, that's all undetectable by USADA."

What about in the case of a boxer?

"If somebody were advising them, they could use EPO throughout for two weeks, if someone were advising them on how to do it, just like the cyclists do, and they could have previously extracted some of these red blood cells and put them in the refrigerator," said Conte.

"So then, five weeks out from the fight, coming in, they can't use EPO, because they're being randomly tested and that might be discovered even though the EPO only stays within your system for a day," said Conte. "But you can re-infuse your own red blood cells. And if you are shown how to re-infuse your red blood cells, they can't detect that."

Rodel Mayol Focused For Revenge in Omar Nino Rematch

WBC light flyweight champion Rodel “Kid Rapido/Batang Mandaue” Mayol (26-4-2, 20 KO’s) says he is in better shape for his rematch against Mexico’s former world champion Omar Nino “Giant Killer” Romero (28-3-2, 11 KO’s) when they clash in Queretaro, Mexico on June 19.

It is a rematch of their controversial encounter last February 27 when Omar Nino Romero dropped Mayol with a clear low blow and just as referee Vic Drackulich was moving in to stop the action Nino Romero caught Mayol with a left hook when he was down and knocked him out.

After some confusion the WBC officially announced the result as a no-contest enabling Mayol to retain the title he had won also in somewhat controversial fashion from Edgar Sosa last February 27 in Guadalajara, Mexico.



Mayol scored a second round TKO when he caught Sosa on the ropes and threw a flurry of unanswered punches following an accidental head-butt in round one that made Sosa groggy. It was later discovered that the head-butt fractured Sosa’s cheekbone.

BoxingScene.com quoted Nino Romero as saying "It will be a great fight the second time around against Mayol and now I'm going to knock him out or dominate him on points widely. There will be a new champion."

Well-known Zanfer CEO Fernando Beltran said he expects a good fight, because the public will be watching after what happened in the first fight.

Beltran said "It's a fight we all want to see after what happened in their first fight, and I'm sure there will be a winner this time.".

Mayol said he was unable to attend the pre-fight press conference in Mexico because to begin with “it was at very short notice” and his trainer Jesus Arevalo was “ down with a fever and our schedule was not arranged.”

Mayol said he was asking the Mexican fans to forgive him for not showing up and said he hopes there will be another press conference which he could attend before the fight.

Responding to Omar Nino Romero’s prediction that he would win by a knockout or a wide margin Mayol said “all I can say is let’s see on fight night because my condition now is very different and I am in great shape.”

The Filipino world champion added that he is “very well prepared and I will never allow the same thing that happened in our first fight when he (Omar Nino Romero) hit me with an illegal blow. Let’s see what happens in this fight.”

(video) Artest's miracle shot leads Lakers past Suns

LOS ANGELES — Ron Artest stumbled into Los Angeles Lakers playoff lore with one remarkable bank shot to beat the Phoenix Suns.

Artest rambled into the lane and beat the buzzer with a wild shot after rebounding Kobe Bryant's miss, and the Lakers edged the Suns 103-101 on Thursday night to take a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Bryant had 30 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, but the improbable hero of Game 5 is the only new player on the roster of the defending champions, who are one win away from the NBA finals.

"I missed a lot of layups during the regular season," Artest said. "I'm just staying with it and trying to stay focused and play my part, see what happens."

Something incredible happened: Artest's basket completed a 2-for-9 shooting night, an otherwise awful performance redeemed by one supremely heady offensive rebound.

Jason Richardson banked in a straightaway 3-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to tie it for the Suns. Phoenix clawed back from an 18-point deficit in the second half with a superb game by Steve Nash, who had 29 points and 11 assists.

Bryant then missed a difficult shot from the sideline, but Artest caught the ball and raised to his tiptoes while throwing up a hideous shot that somehow went in.

"It means a lot for him," Bryant said. "I think for him emotionally, it's a big boost. ... Once I released the ball, I saw Ron sneaking in."

Artest, who missed two open jumpers just a few seconds earlier, grabbed Bryant in a joyous bear hug while the Staples Center crowd went nuts.

"I thought Kobe got fouled on the shot, so I figured it was going to be short," Artest said. "And it was a little short."

Game 6 is Saturday night in Phoenix, where the Lakers can clinch the chance to play for their 16th championship.

"Everything is OK," Nash said. "We can't knock a great effort. I think we deserved this game."



Led by Nash's stirring second-half effort, the Suns hacked away at Los Angeles' lead throughout the fourth quarter. Phoenix trimmed its deficit to 95-94 when Nash converted a three-point play and then fed Amare Stoudemire for a layup that barely beat the shot clock with 2:52 left.

Lamar Odom had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who led 101-96 with 90 seconds to play before Nash hit another jumper and Artest missed twice, the home crowd yelling in frustration with each open brick.

"He has an uncanny knack of doing things, and sometimes it just works out," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He just has a knack for being around crucial plays."

Stoudemire scored 19 points for the Suns, who had three looks at a 3-point shot in the final seconds. Nash and Richardson both missed, but Richardson then missed so badly that he banked it in from a long step behind the line.

"We just didn't quite finish the game," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "I have no complaints. They played great. We hung in. We did a great job against Kobe on the last shot, just didn't come up with the rebound. To me, it's a great effort by us, and they know we're not going to go away."

The Lakers already won on a last-second layup earlier in the postseason, when Pau Gasol sent home the Oklahoma City Thunder with an offensive rebound and a score in Game 6 of the first round.

Derek Fisher scored 22 points and Gasol had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who rebounded from consecutive losses in Phoenix with their best defensive performance of the series, forcing 15 turnovers and holding Phoenix to mediocre shooting — yet the Suns still came agonizingly close to handing Los Angeles its first home loss of the postseason.

The Lakers improved to 8-0 at Staples Center, where they'll play Game 7 on Monday night if the Suns hold serve in a series featuring five wins for the home team.

After dominating Game 4 while Phoenix evened the series, the Suns' bench outscored the Lakers just 31-24 in Game 5, while Los Angeles reasserted its size advantage with a 49-40 rebounding edge. The Lakers surged to a 16-point lead in the first half with a 21-4 run led by Bryant, who hit three consecutive 3-pointers in less than a minute.

Gentry vomited into a trash can while sitting on the bench in the first half after apparently eating something that disagreed with him. Gentry, who reportedly received intravenous fluids at halftime, also didn't care for the officiating, earning a technical foul midway through the Lakers' big run.

Los Angeles jumped ahead 74-56 in the third quarter, but Phoenix made a 16-4 rally including a four-point play by Jared Dudley to trim the lead to six points heading into the fourth.

From sidelines, Casio aches to play again

DOHA, QATAR — Smart-Gilas national team mainstay JV Casio said he's looking forward to playing again this month when he fully recovers from a knee injury.

"I've been out for more than a month," said Casio, who is with the rest of the Smart-Gilas delegation in the 21st FIBA-Asia Champions Cup here. "I'm doing strengthening on my quadriceps and calf in order to protect my knee."

"By two weeks time I can run on a regular speed. Hopefully by another two weeks I'll join the team practice," added the former De La Salle University stalwart.

The 5-foot-11 Casio injured his right knee in the Nationals' final friendly game in Serbia. It was later diagnosed a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury that needed a rest.

Smart-Gilas Serbian head coach Rajko Toroman considers Casio a gem of a guard although he’s just a back-up to starting guard Mark Barroca. He also forms a formidable guard tandem with Chris Tiu.

Casio said he's just fortunate to be playing with the team since Toroman formed Smart-Gilas a year ago.

"All of us here are practicing, so even if one goes down with an injury, someone will always step up. I guess my only advantage is that I've been practicing with the team for one year straight," said Casio, who was the best guard in the Dubai Invitational where the Philippines placed third.

NEXT GAME: (Quarterfinals)
Smart Gilas RP vs. Al Riyadi-Lebanon
8:00pm Qatar time (May 28) or 1:00am Manila time (May 29)

Struggling Express face acid test vs streaking Texters

It’s a short lived celebration as far as Air21 is concerned.

Two days after ending a franchise-worst nine-game losing skein, the Express are again courting trouble as they are facing no less than the hot-streaking Talk `N Text Tropang Texters in one of Friday’s PBA Fiesta Cup scheduled doubleheader at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Only last Wednesday, the Express watched in horror as they lost a big 31-point, first-half lead against Barako Coffee and had to rely on a misfired potential game-winning jumper by Aries Dimaunahan in the endgame to eke out a tense 99-98 win.

It was only the second win in 12 games for Air21.

As if that’s not enough, the Express now have to cope up with the mean task of beating a Tropang Texters side, described by coach Yeng Guiao as the “strongest team on paper" that has been on a roll of late.

Talk `N Text is at second spot with a 9-2 card and will be shooting for a franchise-record ninth straight win.

A victory by the Tropang Texters in the 5 p.m. game will have them tying defending champion San Miguel on top of the standings and matching the Beermen’s tournament-best nine-game winning run.

Talk `N Text’s record for the longest winning streak in franchise history came in the 2002 Governor’s Cup when it strung up eight straight wins under American coach Bill Bayno.

Guiao believes the Express have a shot against the Tropang Texters, but first need to learn how to close out games in their bid to pull off an upset.

“Yesterday, that was the topic of our discussion during practice. We’re going to play the strongest team on paper and we need to be able to close out games," he said, recalling how his team blew a 31-point lead and nearly yielded the match to the Energy Coffee Masters, who played the final eight minutes of the game minus import Sam Monroe.

“We needed a 31-point lead and for their import to foul out for us to win by one point," added Guiao. “The most important thing for us is to close out well in every quarter."

Meanwhile, the 7:30 p.m. main game features two teams that took center stage in last conference’s finale – the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados and the Alaska Aces.

This will be the second time these two teams will meet this conference.

The Aces edged the Llamados in their first meeting, 86-84, a game which saw Alaska with Willie Miller still around and Purefoods then reinforced by Lorenzo Wade.

Miller was traded to Barangay Ginebra for Cyrus Baguio and Wade replaced by Cliff Brown.

“So the dynamics has changed for both teams," admitted Alaska’s Tim Cone. “We feel, as a team, we’ve been making strides forward and we’re developing, although we did take a step backwards against Ginebra. We hope to start moving forward again against Derby Ace."

The Llamados have a 7-4 record and are looking to tie Barangay Ginebra once again in third place with a win over the Aces.

Alaska, on the other hand, is fighting for a spot to make the quarterfinals outright and is out to improve its 6-5 card.

The Aces, however, are coming off a 105-93 loss to Barangay Ginebra in Cebu City last Saturday, which saw them bungled a 12-point lead early in the final period before losing.

B6BL lures 48 teams (Below Six-Feet Basketball League)

The second conference of the Below 6Ft. Basketball League dubbed “Liga ng Pinoy” got under way Sunday at the Metro Gym in Mandaluyong City with 48 corporate teams vying for top honors in various divisions.

Chicboy and Mang Inasal-Nougat have been tipped as the teams to beat in the premier Division D, according to B6BL founder and vice chairman Nilo Fernandez and technical and operations director Peque Tan.

Other teams seeing action in the event, for players under 6ft in height and supported by former Rep. Butch Pichay and Rizal Gov. Jun-Jun Ynares III, are Far Eastern Surety & Insurance Company Inc., FTA-Querubin, China Airlines, Every Filipino a Saver, Prima Pasta-MCS and KIA Motors-VV5.

Other fancied teams in the tournament are Siemens SIS and Chombombo in Division K; Kalayaan and Siemens UP Eng. in Division J; UPBL Synergy and Kings in Division H; Magnolia and Franks BBQ in Division G and Fosconm Gerry’s Grill and Doc Tam in Division F.

Mayweather to Manny: My mom's home is not my castle

CHICAGO – Floyd "Money" Mayweather, Jr. owns the home of his mother in Las Vegas, Nevada. But he does not live there on a full time, or even part time, basis. And besides, he has not authorized his mother to receive any court-related documents for him.

The undefeated boxing world champion told Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao that he could not have received the summons that was served on his mother's home in the block of Laguna Vista St. in Las Vegas because he does not live there.

The name of Mayweather's mother was not identified in the court records but a USA Today article identified her as Deborah Sinclair.

Mayweather added that he did not authorize Sinclair to receive the summons on April 2 on his behalf.

Mayweather told Pacman he was willing to overlook the defective service of process on condition that he be given “a reasonable extension" to file an answer to the Amended complaint as he needed time to consult his lawyers. Pacquiao agreed.

Mayweather, thru his lawyer Mark G. Tratos, filed a separate motion to dismiss Pacquiao's $5-million defamation suit.

In his motion to dismiss, Mayweather said Pacquiao failed to allege that he (Mayweather) "has made any actionable defamatory statements about him. Thus, Pacquiao has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted."

According to Pacquiao, Mayweather defamed him four times.

First was during an Oct. 29, 2009 interview on Sirius Satellite Radio where Mayweather was asked how his physical development differed from that of Pacquiao. Mayweather replied: "cause we know the Philippines got the best enhancing drugs."

Second, on Dec. 23, 2009, Mayweather issued a statement that he had "great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night."

Third, "in a deliberate effort to undermine Pacquiao’s reputation and professional credibility, Mayweather and his representatives falsely told the New York Daily News that during contract negotiations, Pacquiao had asked what penalties he would face if he tested dirty and if a dirty test could be kept secret."

And fourth, on or about March 4, 2010, at a press briefing for his upcoming fight, Mayweather said that "Pacquiao got the power pellets, yo, and the steroid juice. Pacquiao got the power pellets, you know."

Not defamatory

Mayweather said, none of the "statements are defamatory." Two of the statements "do not even expressly mention Pacquiao in response. In one, the country of the Philippines is mentioned and in the second, the question of fairness, as to the level of competition was raised.

Three of these four statements at worst are statements of opinion, which is never defamatory.

Meanwhile, Mayweather Promotions represented by chief executive offiver Leonard Ellerbe also filed a motion to dismiss Pacquiao’s defamation suit, saying there was no "defamation as a matter of law."

Pacquaio quoted Ellerbe as telling the New York Times on Dec. 23, 2009 that, "this is a simple question. If you have nothing to hide, then why not comply [with even more blood tests]?’"

Ellerbe said, this "[with even more blood test]" is not part of his actual quote.

Wade says will discuss free agency with LeBron

CHICAGO – Two of the NBA's best players, Cleveland's LeBron James and Miami's Dwyane Wade, will discuss their pending free agency before making a decision on where to play next season, the high-scoring Wade said.

James and Wade head a list of several high-profile players, including the Atlanta Hawks' Joe Johnson, who could opt for free agency on July 1.

"We've discussed it prematurely, at different times," Wade said in an article posted on the Chicago Tribune's website (www.chicagotribune.com).

"(But) you don't know what guys are thinking and where they're going. I think we'll all sit down, and before one of us makes a decision, all of us will have spoken to each other and (listened to the) thinking."

Among the other free agents are the Toronto Raptors' Chris Bosh and Phoenix Suns' Amare Stoudemire.

Wade, who was named MVP of the NBA finals when he won a championship with the Heat in 2006, also said his decision will be influenced by what some of the other plays decide to do.

"So it's not just a 'me' situation here. We all have to look and see what each other is thinking."

James, whose top-seeded Cavaliers took an early exit out of the playoffs this year, is expected to be the most sought after of all thefree agents.

There is speculation that Wade, a Chicago-area native, might leave Miami for the Bulls or try to lure Cleveland's James to the Heat.

James has long been on the wish list of New York Knicks fans and also has been linked to the Bulls.

Has Floyd Mayweather Jr become 'flat footed' and lost a step?

It seems that Floyd Mayweather Jr's performance against Shane Mosley didn't impress everyone.
In addition to the usual cast of characters who are against the boisterous "Pretty Boy", Freddie Roach has really been vocal in his assessment of Floyd Jr. Roach fired off some harsh words about the self-proclaimed "face of boxing":

In an interview with Golzka, Roach said the following:

"He slowed down a little. He used to be a faster fighter. He doesn't move like he used to. He fights more flat-footed. He changed his style [against Mosley] because he can't use his legs anymore....his legs are not there."

I was stunned when I saw Mayweather Jr willing to go toe-to toe with Shane Mosley. Freddie thinks this strategy was due to Floyd's legs being gone. Basically, Roach thinks Floyd has lost a step and can no longer dance or 'stick and move' like he used to. Personally, I'm not sure if I agree with this assessment. I don't challenge Roach's expertise here but let's just say Freddie has a huge stake in this.

When Floyd got into a rhythm, after the second round, he looked sharp to me. Floyd Jr looked quick and able to do whatever he wanted against Shane. Now, speaking of Shane; if anyone looked flat footed or to have 'lost his legs' it is Mosley.

"Mosley hurt him in the second round but he couldn't finish [him]. I expected more [from Mosley]." Roach, Golzka

We all expected more from Shane Mosley. I credit some of Shane's inability to Floyd's skills. But I also credit some of Shane's problems to his age and the fact that he had a 15 month layoff. Yes he was in the ring with a superior athlete but that doesn't excuse the fact that Shane had Floyd Jr hurt and appeared to be unsure of how to finish him. It's almost like Shane was as shocked as the rest of us that Floyd Jr was in trouble.

And if Roach's assessment of Floyd Mayweather Jr's fight against Shane Mosley wasn't enough, Freddie Roach shared his predictions of how or what Manny Pacquiao would do against "Money May" in a fight!