Tag Archives: Sports

Azkals placed 3rd in the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup

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After the controversies surrounding the sexual harassment issue between former POC Chairman Cristy Ramos-Jalasco and some members of the Philippine Football team, and the subsequent racist issue with broadcaster Arnold Clavio, the Philippine Azkals still managed to hold off and write another firsts in Philippine Football history.

Despite the last week’s hear-breaking loss to Turkmenistan (which could have made us into the finals), the Azkals bounced back and brought pride to LAHING KAYUMANGGI as they battled out and won the 3rd place in this year’s AFC Challenge Cup.

The Philippine Azkals defeated Palestinian Football Team in a score of 4-3 during today’s match in Nepal. Phil Younghusband led the win with his 2 goals (which earned for him the Golden Boot Award for being the highest scorer in this tournament having 6 goals). The other 2 goals meanwhile were contributed by the Guirado siblings Angel and Juani.

Azkals coach Michael Wiess is very happy with this achievement for the Philippine football and he hopes to continue the development.

Indeed it was a sweet victory which we all can be proud of. Finally, we have reached another milestone in the field of football. And I hope this will continue to raise awareness of the sport and possibly make our country be known more into the world of football.

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“Every victory should be celebrated especially if the name of the country is at stake”

A New Asian on the Rise : Jeremy Lin

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It seemed that NBA fans is now up to a new sensation. This past weeks the basketball world is rocked by the raves for the LINSANITY phenomenon, as the Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin started to show strong force towards NBA stardom.

Leading his team New York Knicks to 6-straight wins, all scoring more than 20pts, (including his 38 points career high against L.A Lakers and outscoring Kobe Bryant’s 34 points on that game), Lin gave basketball fans a new hero on the rise.

ProfiLIN

Born as Jeremy Shu-How Lin in Los Angeles, California, he share the same birthday with Kobe Bryant on August 23 just 10 years later in 1988. His parents Gie-Ming & Shirley Lin were Taiwanese emmigrants in the US thus making Jeremy the first American NBA player of Taiwanese blood. He studied high school in Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, California where he led his basketball team to a 32-1 record to get the California Interscholastic Federation Division II state title. He was also named Player of the Year of the fist-team all state  and Norther California Division II.

During college, because there were no scholarship offers from his dream schools Stanford and UCLA, he then went on to Harvard and took up Degree in Economics. With his height of 6’3, Harvard coach Bill Holden see him fit for what he seeks in a player. And with what Lin showed in his games he became top priority for the coach. And true enough, Lin’s college basketball career was also a great one. Being picked as among the 12 most versatile players of college basketball, he also contributed in numerous record wins for Harvard’s basketball team.

LINsational NBA Stardom

Before LINsanity, LINcredible, LINsation and other words associated with LIN became viral, Jeremy Lin first came from a meager beginning after being un-drafted in the 2010 NBA draft. In July 2010 he became member of his hometown and childhood favorite NBA team Golden State Warriors. It was a 2 year contract, partially guaranteed for the 2010-2011 season. But on December 2011 after NBA lockout was over, he was waived by Warriors who were freeing up salary cap. Golden States’ waiver of Lin was claimed by Houston Rockets but it didn’t took long also. But the birth of his star came when he was claimed by New York Knicks as a restricted free agent.

With consecutive losses and eventual injuries of key players of the Knicks, coach D’Antoni taught of giving Lin a chance to play more. And during their winning game against the New Jersey Nets where Lin scored 25 points, 7 assists and 5 rebound, D’Antoni was impressed because of his point guard mentality. Thereafter in their next game, Lin for the first time experienced playing as first five and it signaled the start of his stardom.

Leading Knicks to a 6 game winning streak and scoring his all time highs, LINSANITY phenomenon was born. Media attention and fan followings became viral because of his noteworthy stature. Associated press even called him the most surprising NBA story being told. His #17 Jersey and shirts skyrocketed in sales prompting the Knicks to gave him the guaranteed purse. But with all the adulation and admiration from NBA fans, there are still some people who insecurely attacked Lin and his rose to stardom. American boxer Flloyd Mayweather said in a statement that raves for Lin has just something to do with him being an Asian. But that’s not surprising because up until now he cannot accept the superiority of another Asian sports superstar Manny Pacquiao. Some articles also from ESPN somehow showed racial slur towards Lin and hid origin.

But in all this Linsanity craze what’s notable about Jeremy Lin is his attitude towards it. He seemed very humble and meek despite his new found stardom. He’s very grounded during his many interviews which maybe comes from his being spiritual.

Linsanity has really made a mark in NBA’s history. And it’s his patience and determination that led him to it. He didn’t loose hope from the time he was un-drafted, but he stayed focus and faithful and continued to work on his skills to become better. And now that he found his way to NBA’s centerstage, basketball will be treated to a new kind of sporting idol noteworthy of recognition not only because of his ethnic origin but because of his skills and contribution to his team.

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“I think everyone wants to credit me for this last seven games, then I definitely deserve this one on my shoulders and so that’s fine with me.” – Jeremy Lin

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Majority? Decision

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After 12 rounds of boxing the judges decided 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113 in favor of the reigning champion Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquio. Of course it was another proud moment for the Filipinos, which on the early rounds of the bout seemed a disappointment. With the greatness of Marquez I myself expected an upset for Pacman. But when Michael Buffer annouced it was Pacquiao can’t help myself but clap in elation and jubilation.

But celebration felt incomplete as there are questions on the result. I know I should be proud of the honor Pacman has given again to our country but it didn’t felt so much right, because seeing the fight early on until the end, I already conceded to Marquez and admitted that Pacman may not always win.

This sentiments was shared by many others on social networking sites. Some of my twitter friends also expected a win for Marquez. While others are affirmative of the judges decision. Over at Las Vegas the audience went booing the Pinoy Champ after the announcement of the decision. And some of the boxing analyst also commented it should have been Marquez. Although at the later time after the bout coach Freddie Roach showed the CompuBox result that indeed Manny thrown and landed more punches, it didn’t erased the questions and controversies.

Evidently, what we saw was not the quality of the fight Pacquiao showed in the past. It seemed it was a different Pacman inside the ring. The speed and the foot works are not so Pacman, while Marquez showed a valiant fighter really worth of, if not a win but at least a draw.

But in all fairness to Pacquiao, it was all the judges call. Although he too may not expect a win evident on his gesture after the bout, the judges already decide and retained his title. As for me, not being totally proud of his win doesn’t follow I am not proud of the fighter and not proud as a Filipino. Of course I’m still proud of all the accomplishments in sport being offered by Pacman to our nation, but all I can say is I cannot ultimately be proud of the result of this particular match, and I don’t think it will make me less of a Filipino to honor Marquez stance on this fight.

May it be boxing mafia that have something to do with it, or the boxing business which is worth multi-million dollars that dictated it (since a loss for Manny will loose the chance for Pacquiao-Mayweather fight), what’s more important is that Manny should learn from this experience and carefully study his options. As what one analyst said, his extra curricular activities have taken its toll on him. From this time on he should really choose which career path he really want; Boxing, Showbiz or Politics. As what the saying goes, “You can never serve 2 masters at the same time”.

Indeed it was another controversial fight for Manny but Pinoy Pride still lives on. He is still the most successful fighter the Philippines ever produced and we will all be grateful and proud of all the honor and pride he has given our country. Congratulations to Pacquiao and congratulations also to Juan Manuel Marquez, he earned from me more respect with the quality of fight he has shown.

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“It may not be a convincing win, so what we should do is to convince ourselves that indeed it was a win”

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Sipa Pilipinas (Chieffy Caligdong)

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At the recently concluded Long Teng Cup 2011 held in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Chieffy’s hard work paved the way for the Azkals’ 2nd place finish in the tournament. Gaining 5 points from a win against Macau and 2 draws against Hong Kong and Taiwan, the Philippine football team raised its rank compared to the 3rd place finish on the last year’s inaugural edition of this tournament.

Photo by Fritz Gerald Dalida

If you think that Azkals is all about its “good looking” members in the likes of the Younghusband siblings, Phil and James (which I do not agree), look closely and you will find a more brilliant gem in the small but terrible Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong. This Azkal striker may not have the face of the Younghusbands or the abs of Etheridge, but his skills and talent are incomparable. A native of Barotac Nuevo in Iloilo, the small guy proved that being an Azkal is not all about star material packaging but a “kungfu hussle” football skill.

At the Long Teng Cup 2011, after collecting 4 tournament goals (2 against Hong Kong and 2 against Macau), Chiefy was awarded the Golden Boot Award, given to the top scorer of the tournament. This is another accomplishment to his football career and another boost of inspiration to those aspiring future Azkal members.

This should give a signal to all young Filipino football player that you don’t need to be raised abroad where football is a major game, to be one of the bests. All you need is determination and passion for the sport. The dedication and pride to be the best not only for yourself but for the country as well. And Chieffy is a good example of that, 100% Pinoy, full of skills and talent.

And that is the real pinoy hero; you are Bidang Pinoy, Bida ka ng Pilipinas, Emilio “Chieffy” Caligdong. Push for more pride and glory, and continue to strike the Philippines’ Goal for a brighter football future.

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“Show class, have pride, and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.” - Paul Bryant

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And That Was History

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Photo by Ginalyn Gonzalvo

After not winning the game in Mohammad Al-Hammad Stadium in Kuwait last July 24 against the mighty Kuwaiti Al-Azraq Football team for the Leg 1 of the Round 2 2014 World Cup Qualifiers, the AZKALS are back home to play the Leg 2.

Last night in the hope of upsetting the Kuwaiti team and clinching the Round 2 to advance for the group stages, the Philippine Football Team ‘The Azkals’ fight it all out in front of a wet and wild home crowd. Staged again in the 13,000 seater Rizal Memorial Stadium in Manila, the Azkals played hard ball in the hope of beating the powerhouse Kuwait. Shouldering the pressure of winning, the team pressed on and put more solid defenses on the numerous attacks by the arabs. Several attempts from the Kuwaitis have been cleared by the Azkal defenders and the golie Neil Etheridge.


Photo by ABS-CBNnews.com

With the speed and nice ball handling and coordination by the Kuwaitis, the Azkals also had a hard time attacking the goal. Several offenses have been fired by the Pinoys but the Kuwaiti team also showed great defense clearing all those attacks. But it was the long range kick to the goal by Staphan Schrock that ROCKED the stadium and give the Azkals a burning hope for the win. With Philippines leading 1-0 at the half, they continued pressing the defense and looking for opening to launch another attack to score. But it seems Kuwaitis are really skillful, after the 61st minute of the game the pinoy crowd suddenly went silent with the goal from Yousef Nasser of Al-Azraq equalizing the game to 1-1 (and 1-4 on aggregate).

With just minutes more to play, it is then highly impossible for the Azkals to snatch a win, more over when another goal was scored by the Kuwaitis on the 83rd minute resulted from an own goal by Rob Gier who failed to kick the ball away from the goal. And on that moment the history has ended. Our quest for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is now over.


Photo by Danny Pata (gmanews.tv)

We may be victorious to advanced for the world cup dream but what’s more important is that we were able to reach round 2 this time. No Philippine team ever, has reached this far and it’s far far great achievement already. Another fact is that we were able to give a great match against the more skilled and much higher ranked team in the world of football. Imagine Kuwait is ranked 92nd and we’re at 162nd and yet the Kuwaitis still had a hard time playing with us, and with that I am still proud of our team Azkals. They have brought another inspiration to our country and to our people.

Because of them we now have another sport to cheer, to watch and to unite for, and that’s more than enough to ask for. Because of football a nation who is clouded with political divisions and even religious animosity has been united even just for couple of hours. Because of PINOY FUTBOL Filipinos are now in full support of fellow Filipinos. And because of the Azkals we are more proud now that we are Filipinos, because we know in unity we can achieve something that seemed to be impossible then. So keep the fire burning, keep the hopes alive, continue the battle, prepare for the fight. Pinoys we are proud of each other, WE BELIEVE


Photo by ABS-CBNnews.com
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“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee

“Victory isn’t defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you can truthfully say, ‘I did the best I could, I gave everything I had,’ then you’re a winner.” - Wolfgang Schadler

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