Sports PH Blu Girls, Boys continue dominant SEAG show THE CEBUANA Lhuillier-backed RP Blu Girls’ mad dash for gold continued as they downed their Thai opponents, 11-0, earning them a spot in the semifinals Wednesday at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga. The defending champions have kept their winning streak alive since Monday similarly with their Blu Boys counterparts. “The Blu Girls are at the top of their game and eager to prove themselves worthy of being called champions. Let’s continue to inspire and support them throughout the competition. It’s getting tougher by the day but with the Filipino people cheering on, that’s almost winning over half the battle,” said Cebuana Lhuillier and ASAPHIL president Jean Henri Lhuillier. Despite the threat of Typhoon Tisoy, the crowd favorite demolished their Indonesian foes, 11-1, yesterday and finished off their Singaporean opponents, 6-0, last Monday. “I’m so happy that we are doing what everyone expects and that is to win convincingly,” said Blu Girls head coach Randy Dizer. “The last two games that our team played, I think we’re ready, we’re there already. Winning as one is what we have in mind and that’s how we will finish it. We’re here for the country and we’re representing the country as best as we can para sa aming mga kababayan.” Meanwhile, the Blu Boys are riding high on a three-game winning streak after crushing their Singaporean opponents, 8-0, also Wednesday morning at The Villages in Clark, Pampanga. The Blu Boys defeated their Thai and Indonesian counterparts earlier this week. The team is gunning for a gold medal again after their victorious Southeast Asian Games stint in 2015. “Napaka-happy ng coaching staff at nasunod ‘yung mga plano namin sa team especially ‘yung hitting and pitching rotation and ang teamwork namin, napakaganda. Hindi naman tayo malakas, hindi naman tayo mahina pero ang focus talagang hindi nawawala,” said Coach Blu Boys’ head coach Apol Rosales.
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
Tiger’s aura has dimmed, says Presidents Cup rival S
YDNEY, Australia—Ernie Els on Wednesday said Tiger Woods has lost some of his aura but the skipper of the International team will not be under-estimating his superstar counterpart at the Presidents Cup next week.
Woods is captaining and playing for the United States at the biennial matchplay showdown at Royal Melbourne, and one of Els’ key decisions will be who plays the 15-time major-winner in the singles on Sunday. The big South African has seven rookies in his 12-man team, but he also has a core of experienced players such as Adam Scott, Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman. Els said he would decide who faces Woods after seeing how they perform in the three days of fourballs and foursomes, but suggested it would not be a newcomer. “I don’t want to have a guy feel overwhelmed,” he said in Sydney ahead of the Australian Open, where Els will play from Thursday alongside a handful of his Presidents Cup team. “I will not put a guy in there that’s going to feel that way. I’ll see who is
going to feel like he’s really got the best chance against Tiger. “I don’t think today he has the same kind of aura he had in the past. It’s different,” added Els, himself a matchplay specialist but will only be captain in Melbourne. “It’s more of a celebrity kind of aura. But he’s still very competitive. He’s won the Masters and he won in Japan (both this year). “When Tiger is healthy, he can play at a very high level. But he’s not what he used to be consistently. That’s just what age does. But we’ll see when we get to Melbourne.” The United States go into the tournament as heavy favourites, boasting some of the world’s top-ranked players such as Woods, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. They have won all but one edition in the
event’s 25-year history, with Melbourne in 1998 the exception. Els said he had a good idea of what his pairings would be for the opening day of fourballs next Thursday, without giving anything away. “There are a couple of pairings that are kind of natural pairings, if you can call it that, but I’m looking at it in a different way, not just a personality way.” he said. “I’m looking at how the guys can really perform together. “I’ve spoken to the players, some of the players already. So my thing is kind of set already, my plan is kind of set in motion already.” In addition to Scott, Oosthuizen and Leishman, Li Haotong of China, Taiwan’s CT Pan, Mexico’s Abraham Ancer, Australian newcomer Cameron Smith and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama all qualified automatically. Adam Hadwin and Jason Day were Els’ captain’s picks alongside rookies Im Sung-jae and Joaquin Niemann, although Day has since pulled out injured and been replaced by South Korean An Byeong-hun. AFP
CEREMONIAL TEE OFF. Baguio City Mayor Benjie Magalong makes the ceremonial tee off to kick off the 70th annual Fil-Am Golf tournament, listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the longest-running golf tournament in the world. Dave Leprozo
Disneyland trip awaits PH arnis athletes By Arman D. Armero IF and when the Philippines is officially declared overall champion in the 30th Southeast Asian Games, there’s no denying that our arnis martial artists deserve a huge credit for the feat. Arnis, which is making a comeback to the SEA Games since it was last played in 2005, also in Manila, completed an impressive return when it grabbed 14 out of the 20 gold medals at stake. The 14-gold haul had definitely made Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, president of the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation, extremely proud, so much so that he promised to treat the players and the coaches to a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, a well-deserved reward for a job well done. Arnis did miss out in quite a few opportunities when it also settled for six silvers and two bronze medals, but overall, it did better than expected, since arnis officials initially predicted a 12-gold haul. Still, it was undoubtedly arnis’ performance which keyed the Philippines’ early surge three days into the competition. As of this posting, the Filipinos are well ahead of the pack with 51 gold medals, which had already surpassed its measly 24-gold haul overall in Kuala Lumpur. It was Dexter Bolambao, who started it all when he topped the men’s bantamweight division. His rousing victory immediately opened the floodgates for more wins, as teammates Mike Bañares, Niño Mark Talledo, Villardo Cunamay, and Jezebel Morcillo all delivered golden performances in Day 1 of the competition. Day 2 proved to be the most productive for the arnis, as Abegail Abad, Jedah Mae Soriano, Sheena del Monte, Carloyd Tejada, Elmer Manlapas and Jesfer Huquire joined the gold rush. On Day 3, Crisamuel Delfin and Mary Allin Aldeguer capped arnis’ onslaught by topping the anyo open weapon non-traditional event in both the men and women’s side. Worth mentioning too are the efforts of silver medalists. Jude Oliver Marie Rodriguez, Mark David Puzon, Ryssa Jezel Sanchez, Billy Joel Valenzuela and bronze medalists Erlin Mae Busacay and Eza Rai Yalong.
71 PBA rookie Alcantara: 1-2 in men’s aspirants display tennis doubles possible wares at Draft Combine today ALL 71 Philippine Basketball Association rookie aspirants are expected to show up for the traditional Gatorade Draft Combine set on Thursday and Friday at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong. Rookie hopefuls, from Isaac Go to Fil-Am Roosevelt Adams, will be going through a series of workouts to specifically measure their skills and test their athleticism. Registration starts at 8 a.m. The players initially undergo biometrics, where they will be measured individually according to height, weight and wingspan. Later in the afternoon, applicants will be spread out to eight teams and play five-on-five games. The second day of activities is more tedious as players will be divided into four teams to be bunched into two groups (Group A-1,A-2, A-3, A-4 and B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4) and play a series of games starting at 9 a.m. Teams will play a single round within each group or a minimum of three games per team. Each game is played eight minutes per quarter, with ties to be broken via PBA quotient. The top team in each group will later play in a one-game final. Following the five-on-five games, there will be a three-point shootout with the participants to be selected by the sponsor. Awarding ceremonies conclude the entire Draft Combine. The 2019 Draft is set on Dec. 8 at the Robinsons Place in Ermita.
VETERAN international player Nino Alcantara remained confident that the tennis team will still deliver medals as it remains in contention in the men’s singles, women’s doubles, and men’s doubles, where he plays with Jeson Patronbom, with whom he won the Kuala Lumpur Tennis Open last month as part of a doubles’ team. “There is a strong chance that we might end up meeting the top seed team of Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales in the finals. I feel good about our chances in this event, gold or silver, that is what we are after,” said Alcantara, who together with Huey and Gonzales are
Cebuana Lhuillier’s tennis Sports Ambassadors. “I remain confident that our tennis team will deliver in the end. For a long time, Cebuana Lhuillier has been supporting the international campaigns of these three players and they have brought honor to our country in the past,” said long time tennis patron and Unified Tennis Philippines President Jean Henri Lhuillier, . Alcantara added that Philippine tennis still lacks the support that it needs and “we are thankful that Mr. Lhuillier has been behind us these past years. His continued support has enabled us to really develop ourselves and our game.”
2NG LEG WINNER. Winning Patong Patong jockey Jonathan King Flores raises his trophy during the
awards rites of the 2019 Philippine Racing Commission 3YO Imported/Local Challenge Series’ 2nd leg at the Metro Manila Turf Club in Malvar, Batangas. He is joined by representatives of Patong Patong, Philracom Commissioner Reli de Leon, Metro Turf Manager racing manager Rudy Prado and his deputy Arthur Escala. The Philippine Racing Commission shelled out P1.5 million for the race, with the first-place purse of P900,000 going to Patong Patong owner Narciso Morales.
Spurs shoot down Rockets
Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) tries to drive past San Antonio Spurs counterpart Ronnie Walker IV. AFP
LOS ANGELES, United States —James Harden erupted for 50 points and Russell Westbrook bagged a triple-double, but it was not enough to stop the Houston Rockets falling to a double-overtime defeat to the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday (Wednesday Philippine time). Three days after a 60-point display against Atlanta, Harden followed that masterclass with a half-century at the AT&T Center in San Antonio. Yet it was the Spurs who edged a thrilling duel 135-133 after two periods of overtime. Lonnie Walker IV was the star for the Spurs, rising from the bench to lead the scoring with 28 points and four rebounds. Walker’s intervention had
helped San Antonio claw their way back into the game in the closing minutes of regulation. Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers extended their lead at the top of the Western Conference with a 105-96 defeat of the Denver Nuggets in Colorado. The Lakers were once again led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who each finished with 25 points from 36 minutes on court. Jamal Murray led the Denver scoring with 22 points, but the Lakers were always in control after building up a 60-49 lead at halftime. The Lakers now lead the Western Conference by 3.5 games from second-placed Denver with 18 wins against three defeats.
In other games, Luka Doncic delivered another masterclass as the Dallas Mavericks overpowered the New Orleans Pelicans 118-97. Slovenian prodigy Doncic finished with 33 points, a careerhigh 18 rebounds and five assists in just three quarters of action as the Mavs improved to 14-6 in the Western Conference standings. Doncic, aged only 20, has been in sensational form so far this season and was once again the offensive linchpin for the Mavs in a commanding performance. Seth Curry added 19 points off the bench, while Tim Hardaway Jr and Maxi Kleber chipped in with 12 points apiece to back up Doncic. AFP