Manny Pacquiao never ceases to amaze his trainer Freddie Roach.

“I like where he is right now,” said Roach yesterday (Sunday night in the US) when asked to assess the progress of Pacquiao’s training for his bout against World Boxing Council lightweight king David Diaz on June 28 at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao has only been training under Roach for less than two weeks and despite the fighter’s seemingly-late arrival for training camp, Roach is satisfied with what he had seen in regular gym days and even during days when there are sparring sessions. Read the rest of this entry »

Barring last-minute changes, the PBA board of governors is expected to award the television coverage of next year’s PBA season to Solar Sports.

“It’s 99.9 percent sure,” said a PBA board insider who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge details of the deal.

“There are some issues being threshed out. But if you look at it, the offer made by Solar Sports is acceptable to majority of the board. Read the rest of this entry »

TANAUAN CITY — Jason Castro celebrated his third straight Most Valuable Player title by pouring 28 points to power Harbour Centre to 90-78 win over Hapee Toothpaste and into the threshold of winning the 2008 PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup yesterday at the Pres. Jose P. Laurel gym here. Read the rest of this entry »

University of Santo Tomas dethroned Adamson University, 25-19, 25-20, 25-22, over the weekend to capture the 2008 Inter-Collegiate volleyball champion women’s title at the Rizal Technological University (RTU) gym in Mandaluyong City.

The España-based volleybelles leaned on veteran spiker Mary Jane Balse, who sizzled with 18 kills highlighted by four blocks and two service aces in this event organized by the Philippine Volleyball Federation. Read the rest of this entry »

Manny Pacquiao is slowly metamorphosing into the madman that he usually is when training at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.

“I just don’t feel like stopping when I get into training mode,” Pacquiao said Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) while being given a massage at his two-bedroom apartment at The Palazzo in Los Angeles. Read the rest of this entry »

Can Harbour Centre’s Jason Castro match the record three straight MVP awards of prodigious Fil-Am Erick Menk in the 90s? Or will Hapee Toothpaste Fil-Am Gabe Norwood complete his remarkable rookie year in the 2008 PBL season?

Those intriguing questions will be answered today when PBL officials, led by Chino Trinidad, hands out the highest individual award to the league’s most outstanding player during Game 3 of the 2008 PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup at the Jose P. Laurel gym in Tanauan City. Read the rest of this entry »

Ramiro Cano, also known as Rambo, is coming to get Manny Pacquiao.

Fighting out of Texas, Cano, who fights in the super-lightweight and welter classes, will be brought to the Wild Card Boxing Club next week to help in toughing Pacquiao for his crack at David Diaz’s World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight crown on June 28 in Las Vegas. Read the rest of this entry »

With a little more than two months left before the opening of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (PATAFA) is still optimistic of getting additional entries to the quadrennial sportsfest.

Aside from the two automatic slots, PATAFA President Go Teng Kok is hoping that long jumpers Henry Dagmil and Maristella Torres and hurdler Sheena Atilano will make it on their own. Read the rest of this entry »

Two La Salle varsity teams are in must-win situations as the Nike Summer League basketball tournament resumes today at the Far Eastern University Gym in Morayta.

The Green Archers have a playoff for a quarterfinal seat in mind when they battle the Mapua Cardinals in seniors play at 11:30 a.m. while the women’s team takes on Adamson at 10 a.m. in another game with quarterfinal implications. Read the rest of this entry »

TAGAYTAY — Mars Pucay returned to his familiar position on top of the leaderboard on the Mercedes-Benz Tour after the first round of the Mercedes-Benz Masters Philippines, shooting a seven-under-par 65 yesterday at Tagaytay Midlands Golf Club to lead Thailand’s Wisut Artjanawat by a stroke.

Last year, Pucay won twice on the circuit to finish on top of the Order of Merit. He finished joint ninth in last week’s season-opening event in Indonesia, where he could not quite find his range, but he fired on all four cylinders in the opening round.

“Everything was great. I hit all the fairways and hit 17 greens,” said 38-year-old Pucay. Read the rest of this entry »

With a half-a-game lead over Talk ‘N Text, Red Bull tries to solidify its hold of the lead when it battles Coca-Cola in the Smart-PBA Fiesta Cup today at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.

The Bulls and Tigers clash at 4:50 p.m., while Welcoat Paints meets Philippine Cup champion Sta. Lucia Realty at 7:20 p.m.

The 3-7 Dragons, led by imports Marquis Gainous and Corey Santee, are expected to come out fast and strong after badly losing their last two games. Read the rest of this entry »

CHICAGO, Illinois — Since most of the fighters that Manny Pacquiao had faced recently were righthanders, the Filipino boxing sensation will have to make some adjustments when he faces his fellow left-hander David Diaz.

Pacquiao’s trainer coach Freddie Roach, however, said during a joint press conference held at the Lalo’s Restaurant — the restaurant formerly owned by Michael Jordan — that there is nothing to worry about it. Read the rest of this entry »

The bid of Fil-Americans Diane Pascua and Heidi Ilustre to clinch an Olympic berth in Beijing hit another snag when they lost to their fancied Chinese foes in the main draw of the 2008 Osaka Open World Tour leg yesterday in Japan.

The country’s top bets, aching to get as many ranking points as they can, fought hard but their Chinese rivals were simply too much for them as they went on to score a 21-18, 21-15 victory. Read the rest of this entry »

The picture remains hazy – at least for now.

Saying they need more time to study their options, members of the PBA Board yesterday decided to defer its decision on who will be the league’s TV partner next season.

“May mga information pa na gusto pag-aralan ng board before coming up with a decision. May mga additional information which I presented to the board na kailangan pag-aralan,” PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios said. Read the rest of this entry »

Letran College tripped University of the Philippines, 70-61, yesterday to bolster its bid for a quarterfinals berth in the 2nd Filoil Flying V PreSeason Invitational Cup at The Arena in San Juan.

Rey Guevarra pumped in 21 points, including 10 in the third quarter, as the Knights stayed in the fight against the tough Maroons, who trailed by a point, 42-43, at the close of the third.

It was the second win in three outing for the Knights, who still have three games left. Read the rest of this entry »