MANILA, Philippines – If Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn do fight again, it won’t be until at least 2018. 

According to multiple reports out of Australia, the boxing senator Pacquiao has withdrawn from consideration for a second bout on November 12 in Brisbane, Australia due to conflicts with his schedule. 

In their first fight this past July, Horn won a unanimous decision over Pacquiao to lift the WBO welterweight title at Suncorp Stadium. 

Queensland state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she was informed by Pacquiao’s camp that he “will have other commitments at that time” but that the government remains committed to financing Horn’s title defense against an opponent to be named.

"I am advised Mr Pacquiao, who is also a Senator of the Philippines, will have other commitments at that time. Whoever the challenger is, my Government will help arrange the meeting because it will be good news for Queensland,” says Palaszczuk, who adds that the first fight on July 2 provided a $25 million boost to the local economy. 

Duco Events confirmed the development in a statement but did not speculate on a replacement for November 12. 

"Pacquiao is committed to fighting again in 2018 and a rematch with Jeff Horn for the WBO welterweight title,” read a statement from Horn’s promoter Duco Events. “Until then, Top Rank, Duco Promotions, TEQ (Tourism and Events Queensland) and Brisbane Marketing will be exploring options. 

Emails to Horn’s manager Glenn Rushton and Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz were not immediately responded to. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - The Blackwater Elite were dominant from the opening frame as they rolled in governing fashion to a 118-97 win against the slumping Kia Picanto in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday, September 1 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. 

The Picanto debuted a new reinforcement in Geron Johnson, who formerly suited up for the University of Memphis. 

The 25-year-old Ohio native, who took the spot of Markeith Cummings, was brought in to steer Kia to a much-anticipated victory in the season-ending conference.

The Elite, however, wasted no time in getting on the board as they amassed a huge 71-30 lead at the half that helped notch the bounce back win. 

Henry Walker logged in 25 points to go with 11 boards and 7 assists for the Elite, who sank in 19 triples throughout the match. 

Mike DiGregorio went perfect from the beyond the arc and flirted with a double-double, tallying 16 markers and 9 rebounds, while JP Erram likewise added 16 points and 14 boards in the victory. 

Johnson meanwhile finished with a game-high 28 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Picanto. 

Blackwater has now won 4 of its last 5 games, while Kia dropped to its 8th straight defeat in the conference. – Rappler.com

To anyone who has ever watched UAAP basketball in the last 5 or so years, they would certainly remember the raucous crowds of University of Santo Tomas booming out their iconic chants. “Go Uste!” was a mainstay rallying cry so simple and effective that other schools happily chant along whenever possible.

Sadly, those loud voices may be reduced significantly to half-hearted cries.

After the massive heartbreak of losing a do-or-die finals game with eventual Season 78 champions Far Eastern University led by Mac Belo, Thomasians immediately had to deal with the departure of their entire “Big 3” - 2016 PBA 2^nd overall pick Kevin Ferrer, 6^th pick Ed Daquioag and longtime star big man Karim Abdul. With this core, UST reached the finals 3 times in 5 years, albeit losing every time.

Worst season since 1994 

Entering Season 79 as the host university, UST was left with new captain Louie Vigil and the backcourt combo of Marvin Lee and Jon Sheriff. Hopes were high when they shot out to a 2-1 start to the season, but reality soon hit as the Growling Tigers fell all the way to 3-11, good for dead last in the league and their worst finish in 23 years. 

Vigil played like his life was dependant on it, averaging a team-high 15 points per game, but the massive black hole created by the supernova of their famed Big 3 sucked the life from the rest of the squad. Having been perennial contenders, UST could not afford to lean away from the Big 3 and expose their prospects to extended playing time. Season 79 is where they paid the ultimate price. 

The Purge part two 

Maybe Season 80 will be better, people thought. To quote the University of the Philippines – UST has nowhere to go but up. 

Unfortunately, the Thomasian nightmare does not end there. Aside from losing the graduating Vigil, Sheriff and Kent Lao, key players Henri Subido and Mario Bonleon have opted out of playing in yellow colors. 

In an interview with top UST publication The Varsitarian, Subido admits being burned out and that he is now turning his focus to the PBA D-League. Meanwhile, Bonleon has transferred to Arellano University to play for the Chiefs in the NCAA after citing frustrations with his lack of playing time under head coach Boy Sablan.

Rebuilding on the shoulders of giants

Hope is not entirely lost, however, as the Tigers will see the returns of Lee, Jeepy Faundo and Zach Huang. Holding down the middle is returning prospect William Afoakwah and star transferee from the University of Visayas (UV), Steve Akomo. 

The 21-year-old Akomo, who has been touted by Sablan as “the future” and the “Ben Mbala stopper,” will make his UAAP debut this upcoming season. Sablan has since only had high praise for his next big thing, as Akomo once went toe-to-toe in UV with the monstrous reigning UAAP MVP Ben Mbala of De La Salle University. 

Despite the understandable hype, Akomo grounds himself and says that the UAAP will be “completely different territory,” telling Rappler, “I will not show that, ‘Yes, it’s me who’s really the stopper.’ You just play your game and people will see it. What happened with my friend Ben Mbala in Cebu stays in Cebu.”

“I will not take myself as the super player. You just have to be humble and everything will be fine. It’s more blessing if [the compliments] are coming from the fans,” he added.

--

The basketball empire that is UST may still have a long way to go before they reestablish dominance in the UAAP. However, with player development coming along quite nicely, it may just be a matter of time before the Tigers come pouncing out again.

UST has survived for 406 years. What’s waiting a few more? – Rappler.com

LONDON, England - Everton striker Wayne Rooney has been charged with drink-driving, British police said Friday, September 1.

Rooney, England's all-time record goalscorer and former captain, was stopped by police near his home in Cheshire, northwest England, in the early hours of Friday. 

"The man was arrested shortly after 2.00am (0100GMT) today, Friday 1 September, after officers stopped a black VW Beetle," said a police statement. 

Police said 31-year-old Rooney "has since been charged with driving whilst over the prescribed limit."

Rooney had been released on bail and is due to appear at Stockport Magistrates' Court on September 18.

He was seen posing in a selfie with cricketer Jack McIver in a bar in the upmarket town of Alderley Edge, near his home, on Thursday, August 31. 

McIver shared the photo of the pair in the Bubble Room on Instagram at around 10 pm (2100 GMT) that day with the comment: "International Break #legend". 

Rooney announced his retirement from international football last week, having scored 53 goals in 119 appearances. 

He made his decision despite England manager Gareth Southgate offering to recall him for the World Cup qualifier against Malta on Friday. 

Rooney re-joined boyhood club Everton in the pre-season after a successful 13-year spell at Premier League rivals Manchester United. 

He has seemed rejuvenated by the move to the Liverpool-based club and scored in his first two Premier League games of the 2017/18 campaign, a 1-0 win over Stoke City and a 1-1 draw with Manchester City. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - The GlobalPort Batang Pier held off a late game run by the TNT KaTropa to notch the bounce back victory, 119-112, in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday, September 1 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. 

Down by double digits for most of the final frame, the KaTropa refused to back down without a fight, and they orchestrated an 11-2 run to go within striking distance, 105-111 with less than 5 minutes left on the clock. 

The Batang Pier, however, did just enough to fend off the endgame rally by a determined TNT squad with Stanley Pringle leading the charge. 

Pringle finished with 30 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

Murphy Holloway added a double-double of 24 markers and 17 boards, while Sean Anthony had 21.

Glen Rice Jr dished out a game-high 39 points, 13 boards, and 5 assists for the KaTropa, who struggled with missed charities throughout the match and went 17-of-31 from the stripe. 

RR Pogoy scored 26 markers, including back-to-back field goals that were monumental in the team’s 4th quarter run, while Jayson Castro added 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. 

With the win, GlobalPort breaks TNT’s consecutive win streak, and delivered a bounce back win of its own following a heartbreaker against the San Miguel Beermen last week.

`The Batang Pier now advances to an even 3-3 slate, while the KaTropa drops to 4-3. – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA - Croatian fifth seed Marin Cilic crashed out and Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov became the youngest man since 1989 into the US Open last 16 in a wild Friday, September 1 (Saturday Manila time) on which absent 6-time champion Serena Williams become a mother.

Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion who had been sidelined since a Wimbledon runner-up showing by an adductor strain, was eliminated by Argentine 29th seed Diego Schwartzman 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-4. 

"(The injury) played a quite significant part, and just being injured and not being able to keep that good form," Cilic said. "I was struggling with my shots and my serve was off." 

His exit ensured a first-time Slam finalist will come from his draw half, which now lacks a top-10 player.

"Everyone is improving," Cilic said. "And you have a lot of youngsters coming up that are playing better."

No one proved that better than Shapovalov, the 18-year-old Israeli-born world number 69 who advanced when Britain's Kyle Edmund retired with a neck injury with the Canadian leading 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 1-0.

Not since 17-year-old Michael Chang 28 years ago had a younger player cracked the fourth round in New York. And no qualifier had reached the last 16 since Gilles Muller in 2008. 

"It's never great to win this way. Hopefully it's nothing too serious," said Shapovalov. "It's very unfortunate but at the same time I'm happy to be in the fourth round." 

Shapovalov will play for a quarter-final berth against Spanish 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta, who ousted French qualifier Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.

The Spaniard, who has not dropped a set, will become the first player to face four qualifiers at a Grand Slam in the Open Era (since 1967). 

Schwartzman, who improved to 2-13 against top-10 foes, next meets French 16th seed Lucas Pouille, who defeated Kazakh qualifier Mikhail Kukushkin 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. 

Baby news from Florida turned heads at the year's final Grand Slam event as Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, gave birth to the child she was pregnant with when she won the Australian Open in January.

Sister Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and new aunt, confirmed reports of the birth before walking onto the court for her third-round match against Greece's 95th-ranked Maria Sakkari. 

"Obviously I'm super-excited," US ninth seed Venus said. "Words can't describe it."

Venus, the Open's oldest woman at 37, lost to Serena in this year's Australian Open final and to Spain's Garbine Muguruza in the Wimbledon final.

Third-seeded Muguruza needed only 62 minutes to dispatch Slovakian 31st seed Magdalena Rybarikova 6-1, 6-1 to continue her best US Open run and take command of the fight for women's world number one. 

She eliminated Venus Williams and already ousted second-ranked Simona Halep from the top spot chase. Only current number one Karolina Pliskova and fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina could deny her reaching the top for the first time. 

"I just worry about the next match and the next match and the next match," Muguruza said. 

Awaiting Muguruza next is Czech 13th seed Petra Kvitova, who defeated French 18th seed Caroline Garcia 6-0, 6-4.

Kvitova, the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion, enjoyed playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium after needing major left hand surgery following a knife attack by a home intruder last December. 

"It means a lot," she said. "After everything which I've been through it's happy moments for me." 

Lorenzi in last-16 at last

Italy's Paolo Lorenzi, 35, became the oldest player in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam last 16 for the first time by defeating countryman Thomas Fabbiano 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. 

The night feature on Ashe pits five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova against 139th-ranked US teen wildcard Sofia Kenin.

Sharapova, the 2006 US Open winner, has already beaten Halep and Hungary's Timea Babos in her first Grand Slam since serving a 15-month doping ban after testing positive for the blood booster meldonium, at the 2016 Australian Open. – Rappler.com

MIAMI, USA - Tennis superstar Serena Williams and fiance’ Alexis Ohanian welcomed their first child, US media outlets reported on Friday, September 1 (Saturday Manila time). The baby girl reportedly weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces, according to WPBF-25 in Florida. 

The former world number one Williams, who will turn 36 later this month, was admitted Wednesday to St Mary's Medical Center, which shut down an entire floor to provide security for the megastar, the local CBS affiliate said.

The network also said the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion - who revealed she was pregnant in April - was induced overnight.

"We're sending all our love and best wishes to @serenawilliams, who has reportedly gone into labor," the US Tennis Association wrote on Twitter.

The US Open - where Serena's elder sister Venus is due to play Friday - also sent words of support. 

"#HelloSeptember and soon to be hello to a new baby! Sending our best wishes to @serenawilliams who is reportedly in labor!," the tournament wrote.

Rafael Nadal also sent his well wishes, tweeting "Congrats Serena!!! So much joy for you!!!"

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congrats Serena!!! So much joy for you!!! <a href="https://t.co/u4edTrqIbB">https://t.co/u4edTrqIbB</a></p>&mdash; Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) <a href="https://twitter.com/RafaelNadal/status/903721243236597760">September 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Williams and Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, had said they plan to keep the sex of the baby a surprise until birth.

Williams has vowed to return to competitive tennis in January, to defend her Australian Open title, which she won while newly pregnant.

'Pretty intense'

Williams last month told Vogue in a wide-ranging interview that she had set herself a goal of returning to play in Melbourne at next year's Open.

"It's the most outrageous plan," she said. "I just want to put that out there. That's, like, three months after I give birth. I'm not walking anything back, but I'm just saying it's pretty intense."

Williams is one Grand Slam title short of matching Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slams and admits that she still dreamed of joining the Australian legend.

"Obviously, if I have a chance to go out there and catch up with Margaret, I am not going to pass that up," Williams said. "If anything, this pregnancy has given me a new power."

A separate article in Vanity Fair in June said Williams, who unveiled her pregnant body in a nude cover photo for the magazine, planned to tie the knot with Ohanian later this year after the birth of their child. The couple announced their engagement in December after meeting in 2015 in Rome.

In the same interview, Williams also admitted she was unprepared for the arrival of her child.

"I don't know what to do with a baby," she said. "I have nothing.... I've done absolutely nothing for the baby room," she added. – with reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – Venus Williams gave the public the mother of all silent treatments Friday at the US Open regarding the news of her sister Serena giving birth to a baby girl.

US ninth seed Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and two-time US Open winner, downed 95th-ranked Maria Sakkari 6-3, 6-4 to reach the round of 16 on the New York hardcourts.

The achievement was somewhat overshadowed by the much-awaited birth of her younger sister Serena's baby, one anticipated since she revealed her pregnancy on social media in April.

But Venus, who lost to her pregnant sister in the Australian Open final last January, wasn't partaking in the joy in public, starting from the first question she faced in a post-match news conference about her emotions when she heard the news.

"I'm definitely available to answer questions about tennis," Venus said. "That's all right now."

It was left for the US Open Twitter page to confirm the birth and offer well-wishes to the family.

"Congratulations to @serenawilliams for giving birth to a baby girl! Sending you (heart emoji) from your friends & family at the #USOpen and @WTA!" the US Open tweeted.

A Florida CBS television station revealed Serena had gone into labor and later that she had given birth, touching off multiple reports and social media congratulation messages.

Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza, who beat Venus in July's Wimbledon final, even wished Serena well, saying "I'm very happy for her. It's such a good moment I'm sure."

Told the baby was a girl, Muguruza said, "Well, I hope she doesn't play tennis."

Muguruza and Venus could meet again in the US Open quarter-finals.

But when Venus took the podium, a moderator reinforced her desire not to talk about the baby, saying "Tennis questions, please," and later, "Let's keep it tennis focused."

After a few sporty inquiries, another attempt at baby comments asked whether the infant has a two-handed backhand or enough depth on her forehand yet.

"Oh, my gosh," Venus said. "That's hilarious."

Venus did reveal she spoke with Serena before the match, although giving away none of the conversation details.

"We always talk. She's always encouraging me, from every step of the way, every match, always," Venus said.

"I talked to her before this match, too. She didn't have any specific advice about this match but more motivational."

Venus said sometimes their exchanges are done by text, but noted, "We don't use a lot of emojies at all. We actually use the English language."

Asked about the birth reports just before she walked onto the court before the match, Venus, the oldest woman in the US Open at age 37, said, "Obviously I'm super excited. Words can't describe it."

After the match, an on-court interviewer notedly ignored the subject in questions until ending her remarks by congratulating the Williams family on a wonderful day.

Asked later if it was hard for her to focus on the match, Venus said, "I'm a real professional, because I have been doing this for a long time, so when the first ball starts, it's a ton of excitement." – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA - Maria Sharapova hit back at Caroline Wozniacki over a US Open scheduling row on Friday, September 1 (Saturday Manila time) saying of her bitter Danish rival: "I'm in the 4th round. I don't know where she is."

Wozniacki was furious that her second round match was played on an outside court while 5-time major winner Sharapova was playing all of hers in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The Danish woman said it was "unacceptable and questionable" for Sharapova, who is playing her first Grand Slam since the end of a drugs ban, to be given the showpiece court.

"With regards to scheduling, as you know, I don't make the schedule," said Sharapova after reaching the fourth round with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Sofia Kenin of the United States.

"I'm a pretty big competitor. If you put me out in the parking lot of Queens in New York City, I'm happy to play there. 

"That's not what matters to me. All that matters to me is I'm in the fourth round. Yeah, I'm not sure where she is."

Wozniacki, who has never won a Grand Slam, lost her second-round match to Ekaterina Makarova on Wednesday after being scheduled on Court 5 before getting bumped up to Court 10.

"When you look on Center Court, I understand completely the business side of things, but someone who comes back from a drugs sentence - performance enhancing drugs - and all of a sudden gets to play every single match on Center Court, I think that's a questionable thing to do," fumed the Danish former world number one.

Sharapova, the champion in New York in 2006, returned from a 15-month doping ban in April but was refused a wildcard for the French Open while injury ruled her out of Wimbledon.

Her world ranking of 146 meant she needed a wild card to get into the main draw at the US Open.

But she has responded to the decision by the US Tennis Association by knocking out world number two Simona Halep in the first round and recovering from a set down to beat Timea Babos in the second.

On Sunday, she will face Latvian 16th seed Anatasija Sevastova for a spot in the quarter-finals.

But she will need to cut out the errors that plagued her against 18-year-old Kenin, a fellow America-based player who was born in Russia.

She was broken three times and her 38 winners just offset 33 unforced errors.

"She had really nice words for me in the locker room, which was really nice," said Sharapova, older than her opponent by 12 years and regarded as an idol by Kenin.

"I wasn't surprised with the way she came out and competed. She was down I believe a few match points in the previous match. 

"She's a grinder. She'll get many balls back. Despite not having the experience, she's a tough player." – Rappler.com

This week saw the opening of the inaugural Mae Young Classic, a premier tournament for women hosted by the WWE on their Network in the same vein as last year’s Cruiserweight Classic.

You know what it is: 32 women from around the world were gathered by the biggest pro wrestling company on Earth to see who’s the best of the best… outside of WWE’s own main roster. The Mae Young Classic is a thrilling concept on paper, especially considering the pedigree in the talent pool and the success of last year’s Cruiserweight Classic, but unfortunately the tournament suffers from a few missteps in its execution.

But first, the good things: if anything at all, the amount of talent the WWE recruited internationally definitely does justify this tournament. A lot of these women can be slotted into the women’s revolution/evolution going on right now on RAW, SmackDown Live, and/or NXT and completely fit. They’ll even elevate those divisions, in fact. Like what they did for the cruiserweights, you can expect women like Dakota Kai, Candice LeRae, Renee Michelle, and Santana Garrett to join signees such as Kavita Devi, Kairi Sane, and Lacey Evans to bolster the WWE’s ranks. It really is a good time to be a fan of women’s wrestling.

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There are a couple of glaring issues with the Mae Young Classic. The first is the release schedule, with the WWE Network dropping the entire first round—4 one-hour episodes—in one go. I understand that weekly appointment television is definitely on the decline, but to keep up with this wrestling watercooler event requires you to set aside 4 hours (whether it’s one quick burst or cumulative) on top of the 7 hours of programming. That’s if you watch the entirety of WWE’s schedule, of course, but I’m assuming you’re a hardcore fan who tries to keep up as much as you could. I mean, I know I have to in order to give you this column.

Owning an on-demand streaming service does give them a lot of freedom to play around the rules however they want, but since they’re also providing continuous 24/7 programming, WWE should have also been somewhat sensible about this. They should have followed the example of real sports leagues and dropped each episode every other day—they’ll never do this, but imagine if the NBA dropped entire rounds of playoffs in one go on League Pass? You’d see a sharp drop in viewership, simply because fans couldn’t keep up no matter how much they wanted to.

The second round and what I assume would be the quarterfinals will be dropping on Tuesday, local time, and we’ll be back in the grind all over again. There’s still time to fix it, since the nature of the beast also allows the WWE to be reactive—which they have been before.

The other big issue is that in the company’s attempt to book compelling first-round matches in each episode, a lot of deserving talent have gone out the window. We got a taste of this in the Cruiserweight Classic when former teammates Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa were pitted against each other in what was easily the best match of that round, as well as some other decent matchups.

I understand the need for good action to hook in viewers who might be reluctant to embrace the competitors, but too many of these end up creating a weaker long-term bracket just to shore up the first-round. Women like Santana Garrett, Tessa Blanchard, Sarah Logan, Jazzy Gabert, Kavita Devi, and a few more could’ve helped diversify the second round. I suppose it actually speaks to how much untapped talent there is in women’s wrestling around the world, and I can only hope they justify their decisions here.

Matches you really need to catch: Kairi Sane vs. Tessa Blanchard, Mia Yim vs. Sarah Logan, Piper Niven vs. Santana Garrett, Jazzy Gabert vs. Abbey Laith.

A quick word about Roman Reigns and John Cena

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The biggest talking point of this week’s WWE programming is this particular segment between Roman Reigns and John Cena, in which they traded words about each other leading up to their first encounter at the No Mercy PPV. Their insults comprised of their real-life internet reputations—Reigns accused Cena of hogging the spotlight and holding younger talent down, while Cena took aim at Reigns’s lack of talking skills.

Many are crowning this as a long-awaited victory just because of the self-awareness involved in the segment. They’re finally acknowledging that Reigns is limited on the microphone! Cena has brushed off his own bad rep over the past few years, considering a who’s who of people who were able to get past him—like Daniel Bryan, Shinsuke Nakamura, and AJ Styles—so this is truly more on Reigns, who has so much pressure on him being the next big name of his generation.

The idea of this segment is great, even if it’s a little silly that WWE’s self-awareness could ever be a touchpoint of a feud in a sport that’s still trying to push some level of (fake) competition, and suspension of disbelief toward that. The problem is that in completely scripting what should have been an explosive segment on its own led to mishaps such as Reigns forgetting one of his lines, which does not bode well for him as the next big thing. Sure, it does present an obstacle for him to overcome out there, but you want to make both men look as good as they can here. Hopefully they can learn from it and just give them talking points next time.

The other thing is that while the idea of self-awareness is wonderful, especially in a WWE under a Vince McMahon who mostly refuses to listen to what his crowds want (which is how we got here in the first place), it’s not a win yet until this self-awareness translates to change. You know Reigns can’t talk? Great, maybe that means you’ll stop scripting his every word and stop acting like everyone in the arena absolutely loves him. 

It’s entirely possible that this self-awareness could just be the WWE’s way of co-opting the crowd’s criticism and not really do anything about it, simply because they’ve already acknowledged it. If Taylor Swift can acknowledge every criticism lobbed at her and still refuse to change, all the more WWE won’t need to. It’s the last bastion of trust the fans have, and they’ll need to tread correctly here to stop them from finally moving on.

*****

Do you listen to podcasts? Would you want to listen to a local podcast about pro wrestling? If the answers to those questions – especially that last one – are yes, then you should check out the cleverly-named Smark Gilas-Pilipinas Podcast, featuring PWR General Manager Stan Sy, wrestling writer and Wrestling God Romeo Moran, and all-around multimedia person and former voice of PWR Raf Camus! This week, PWR superstars Trian dela Torre, Evan Carleaux, and Officer “Kap” Tutan join the podcast to talk about the #FindTDTBeforeAPCC storyline! Listen to it here!

MANILA, Philippines – Eumir Marcial has won two gold medals at the Southeast Asian Games and was an AIBA Youth world champion, but his ultimate dream would be to get in the ring with the reigning "monster of the middleweights", Gennady Golovkin.

The 21-year-old Marcial of Zamboanga City stopped by Rappler's office with fellow 2017 SEA Games gold medalist John Marvin and silver medalist Mario Fernandez to talk about their stints in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August, as well as what's coming up ahead for them.

"It's my dream to fight Golovkin. Many fighters want to fight Golovkin," said Marcial, the 2017 SEA Games middleweight gold medalist, of Golovkin, who will defend his WBC, IBF, WBA and Ring magazine middleweight titles against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez on September 16.

"Hopefully someday I will fight Golovkin at middleweight. I will smash him," added Marcial with a laugh.

Marcial grew into his middleweight frame from his days as a skinny teen winning the junior bantamweight gold at the 2011 AIBA Junior World Championships. He also won gold in the 2015 SEA Games as a welterweight.

Of course that remains a pipe dream for now as Golovkin is a pro champion and Marcial is an amateur (or open boxer as AIBA calls them now), and at age 35, Golovkin may be near the end of his career.

Golovkin did fight once in the Philippines, defeating Fil-Am Christopher Camat to win gold at the 2004 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships in Palawan.

When asked for their prediction for Golovkin-Alvarez, Fernandez and Marcial picked the unbeaten Kazakh Golovkin while Marvin says the fight will be decided by "who wants it the most."

The next major boxing tournament for the Philippines is the Asian Games, which take place August 18-September 2, 2018 in Jakarta.

For now Marcial is planning to spend time with his family in Zamboanga and then have his injured left hand examined when he returns to Manila.

"I hope I can relax and forget boxing sometimes – even for a little while – because it's in our minds the whole year. This SEA Games is my 4th tournament [this year]," says Marcial. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - The Alaska Aces, who hadn’t won a game since April, snapped their longest losing streak in franchise history with a 90-79 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup on Saturday, September 2 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center in Pampanga.

The Aces locked in defensively early on as they contained the Beermen’s firepower, holding them to a 9-point production in the opening frame. 

Alaska weathered whatever run San Miguel tried to come up with in the second half, and even managed to stretch the lead to as much as 17. 

LaDontae Henton paced the Aces with a game-high 36 points and 15 boards, while Calvin Abueva added 13 points and 9 rebounds in his homecoming game. 

Emotions also ran high throughout as the match witnessed a series of technical fouls thrown out to Chris Ross, Abueva, and Chris Banchero, who was later ejected after picking up a second technical.

Arwind Santos delivered 29 points and 9 boards off the bench for the Beermen, who connected on just 6 triples in the game.

The grand slam-seeking Beermen brought in a new reinforcement in Terik Bridgeman, who will be taking over the spot of Wendell McKines for the remainder of their season-ending conference campaign.

Bridgeman, a product of William Paterson University, is fresh off a pro stint in the Georgian Superleague. He played for the Cactus Tbilisi, where he averaged 11.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game.

In his PBA debut, however, Bridgeman finished with only two points and 6 rebounds in over 20 minutes of action.

The Aces have now put a halt on a franchise-worst 14-game skid, and also snapped the Beermen’s 8-game streak against them. 

While Alaska is on the board at 1-6, San Miguel meanwhile slipped to an even 3-3 slate. – Rappler.com

In the UAAP, there are teams that crowds pay good money to watch.

Then there are teams that just don’t draw as well. Until recently, the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors have held that unfortunate distinction. Save for a number of die-hard faithful fans, UE games have often been typified by thousands of empty seats which give the fans’ chants a considerable echo boost – not like it’s something to be proud of.

Even the UAAP Season 80 first round scheduling committee apparently knows this, since they scheduled 4 of the first 6 UE games to go on first in the early afternoon. 

A forgotten kingdom 

Ask the casual UAAP fan today to guess which team has the second-highest number of UAAP basketball championships behind 20-time champs Far Eastern University. They’d be in for quite the surprise when they realize that it is actually UE which ties University of Santo Tomas in second place with 18 titles. This includes 10 titles in a 12-year stretch from 1960 to 1972, which includes a Boston Celtics-like 7-year title streak from 1966 to 1972 mostly due to “The Living Legend” Robert Jaworski and legendary coach Baby Dalupan. 

However, after the 1984-1985 season, the championships have stopped coming home to Sampaloc, Manila. An ongoing 31-year title drought has plagued UE since, which is further marred by several bottom-place finishes, such as last season. 

A noble, but lost cause

To this day, UE continues to be a unique team, but not in winning ways that people have expected for decades before. Out of 8 participating teams, UE is the only school which runs an all-Filipino lineup – repeatedly refusing to bring in foreign ringers. 

Their cause has not been met with success, however. Last season, the Red Warriors finished at 3-11, tied with fellow former powerhouse UST. Their only advantage over their Manilenyo brothers was a tiebreaker win, placing them at 7^th place and UST dead last. 

Although initially predicted to be a Final Four dark horse, the all-Filipino UE squad fell flat on their faces, yielding only one player with a double-digit points average: rising star Alvin Pasaol at 11.0 points per game. As a team, UE shot a horrid 33.9% from the field – 2% worse than rock-bottomer UST. 

As teams all around them are busy recruiting foreign-born studs, UE remains true to their bloodline. Only problem is it’s basically giving them a faster slide down the standings than they would care to admit. 

Departures, rookies galore 

A student-athlete is first and foremost, a student. Like all others, students have their grades to maintain and take care of – a fact that star guard Bonbon Batiller failed to imbibe in himself. With veteran coach Derrick Pumaren citing “academic reasons,” Batiller has since been released from the Red Warriors program and has now transferred to the NCAA’s Arellano University. No amount of on-court scrappiness and explosive scoring could save the stocky guard from facing the consequences of his inaction off-court.

Add that to a long list of departures featuring graduating big man Renz Palma and transferring reserve Edgar Charcos (to the NCAA’s Polytechnic University of the Philippines) and you are left with a UE squad full of rookies led by Pasaol, an incoming sophomore, as the captain.

--

UE had stormed the UAAP front lines for much of the 60s and 70s. Unfortunately, there is nothing in store yet for them but a few more years to keep the back row warm. 

Buckle up, UE fans. “Bomba UE” is still bound to be a box-office bomb for the foreseeable future. – Rappler.com

MONZA, Italy – Lewis Hamilton broke Michael Schumacher's record of all-time pole positions by securing his 69th with a devastating lap in the final seconds of Saturday's rain-hit qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.

The 32-year-old Briton steered his Mercedes through treacherous conditions with patience, precision and courage to deliver a best lap in one minute and 35.554 seconds on full wet tyres.

In a dramatic final session, he outpaced nearest rival Max Verstappen of Red Bull in teeming rain to claim his sixth pole at Monza and his fourth in succession.

He had shared Schumacher's record of 68 after taking pole in last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix to set up victory and the record. 

"To do this here at such an historic circuit – I am going to have some pasta tonight to celebrate," said Hamilton, who achieved the mark in his 201st Grand Prix. Schumacher's 68 poles came from 308 races.

"It's very hard to find the words to explain how I feel. I can't believe that so much time has passed. There've been great experiences.

"Sixty-nine poles – I just can't believe it."

Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was third ahead of Canadian rookie Lance Stroll of Williams, French rookie Esteban Ocon of Force India and Valtteri Bottas, who was sixth in the second Mercedes.

With the two Red Bulls hit by major grid penalties for taking new engine components, Stroll will start Sunday's race, forecast to take place in dry conditions, from second on the grid alongside Hamilton.

"It was a great qualifying session," said Stroll. "I just tossed the car around – I had great fun. I felt the car was performing well under me."

In a dramatic finale to a session that ended nearly three hours later than expected after a long delay due to heavy rain, the Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and championship leader Sebastian Vettel ended up in disappointing seventh and eight positions on their team's 70th anniversary.

"I have no idea what the problem was," said Vettel, who will start from sixth. 

"I was surprised by how quick the others went. At this stage we don't know why. It was an important day, but it is what it is and we will see how it goes tomorrow. 

"We have a good car so we don't need to be afraid. The car is quick - we know that and you can overtake here - it should be a fun race."

Felipe Massa was ninth in the second Williams and Stoffel Vandoorne 10th for McLaren.

'Double standards'

The session ended nearly four hours after it had begun with a curtailed Q1 brought to an early red-flagged halt when Frenchman Romain Grosjean aquaplaned and crashed in his Haas.

He was unhurt but accused F1 race organisers of double standards for starting the session in dangerous conditions.

After a delay of more than two and a half hours, qualifying resumed with the cars queuing in the pit lane and aware of forecasts that the gloomy weather was expected to deteriorate.

Verstappen, Vettel, Bottas and then Hamilton took top spot as the times tumbled.

Raikkonen was almost involved in a pit-lane collision when he was released into the path of a Force India, but braked immediately and Ferrari apologised.

Bottas, in 1:35.716, topped Q1 ahead of Hamilton and Vettel and was soon back out for Q2.

Vettel and Hamilton swapped fastest laps, with Bottas in close pursuit, the title contenders creating their own duel in the rain.

Hamilton ended up quickest to head Bottas by seven-tenths with Vettel third.

The rain intensified for the top-ten shootout and after one lap the leaders were in to switch from intermediates to wets, a decision that favoured the men, like Verstappen, who had started with them.

After settling in, Hamilton went fastest again before being called to pit with three minutes remaining for another set of wets, on which he made history.

"Lewis has been breaking a lot of records this year," said Bottas. "So it is no surprise. He is really a great driver." – Rappler.com

NEW YORK CITY, USA – Japanese teen Naomi Osaka opened her shattered emotions for all to see Saturday, September 2, after a third-round loss to 418th-ranked Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi at the US Open.

The 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 loss left the 19-year-old of Haitian and Japanese descent wiping away tears after her fifth third-round exit in seven Grand Slam starts.

"I was more emotionally unstable," Osaka said. "She would be more positive than negative. She didn't have any outbursts or anything, and I had a lot."

Asked about her troubles, Osaka began crying and said, "Oh, this sucks."

Osaka, who eliminated defending champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, could only ponder what might have been.

"I have a lot of regrets. That's the number one reason I'm so upset, but I can't really change it now," Osaka said.

"I don't think I was playing good at all. I just really wanted to go to the fourth round."

Osaka confessed she stretched her hopes and dreams after ousting Kerber.

"I think I stressed myself a little bit after playing Kerber and I just had more expectations with myself," Osaka said.

"I didn't play as good. In my match against Kerber, I played really well, and I just didn't feel the same level my last two matches. Sorry."

"The next Grand Slams, if I happen to beat a really good player, I'm just going to take that one match at a time and just play within myself."

Kanepi won 6-of-11 break points and denied Osaka on 7-of-12 break chances.

"My serve isn't supposed to be broken that easily," Osaka said. "I think my forehands were soft and she was able to attack them. Apparently I played too defensively toward the end. That's what made the difference." – Rappler.com

NEW YORK CITY, USA – Karolina Pliskova is struggling under the pressure of trying to keep the world number one ranking and repeat a trip to her first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

The 25-year-old Czech top seed, last year's runner-up on the New York hardcourts, saved a match point with a forehand winner in the 11th game of the second set Saturday, September 2, in rallying to defeat Chinese 27th seed Zhang Shuai 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the last 16.

"It's kind of tough for me this year to play here. Never was in this position to defend a final of a major. And I'm first seeded, so it's like totally different story," Pliskova said.

"I feel pressure. I know all the opponents are behind me (in ranking) so I should win every match, which is tough."

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, also into the fourth round, leads the ranking chase while Ukraine's fourth-seeded Elina Svitolina needs at least a semi-final run and Pliskova must return to the final to have a chance of keeping the top spot.

"I'm not really fighting just for this position but I just want to play well and I want to win," Pliskova said.

"Knowing you played fine last year, you just want to play that good again. I don't feel like I'm playing that good again, but I'm still in the draw so I'm not going to be that sad."

Muguruza is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won last year's French Open and the Wimbledon crown in July. Neither Pliskova nor Svitolina have won a Grand Slam title.

And the top spot was basically vacated this year by Serena Williams, who won her 23rd Grand Slam title while pregnant in January's Australian Open. 

Her baby girl was born Friday, September 1, and she hopes to return to defend her title next year in Melbourne.

Pliskova, who complained of right arm tightness during the match, was searching for consistency in her form.

"I'm playing in quite big waves so far," she said. "Sometimes I think I play good shots, good rallies, and then there is hundreds of mistakes and not a good shot.

"I just try to fight even if my game is not 100% and it's not 100% actually this week. But I'm winning, so that's the main thing."

Still, she'd prefer not to face match point Monday when she faces American Jen Brady for a quarter-final berth.

"I don't want to get in this position that she's serving for the match, actually," Pliskova said. "Maybe next time I should play a little bit better earlier."

Svitolina beat 62nd-ranked American Shelby Rogers 6-4, 7-5, to sustain her chances at swiping the top spot.

The five-time WTA 2017 champion gave an apologetic shrug on match point, a net cord winner just plopping across.

"I was just trying to earn my moment, to fight for every ball. The last ball I was very lucky," she said. "Hopefully I can go further." – Rappler.com

NEW YORK, USA – Rafael Nadal insisted Saturday, September 2, that tennis chiefs were wrong to wait three days before kicking controversial Italian Fabio Fognini out of the US Open for a vile, sexist tirade at a female umpire.

The 30-year-old Fognini aimed two ugly misogynistic blasts at umpire Louise Engzell as he crashed to defeat in a first-round singles match against fellow Italian Stefano Travaglia on Wednesday, August 30.

However, Fognini, with compatriot Simone Bolelli, won two rounds of men's doubles on Thursday, August 31, and Friday, September 1, before the Grand Slam board defaulted him on Saturday.

Fognini, the world number 26, had already been fined $24,000 for the incident.

Tennis chiefs explained the delay in making a decision on a possible suspension on having to wait for a tranlsation of the player's brief remarks.

"It takes 4 days for that translation? I don't think so. Easy to find," said world number one Nadal after making the fourth round on Saturday.

"Of course it is not a positive thing. Of course if you are not doing the right things on the court, of course you need to be in some way affected, no?" added the Spaniard.

"But at the same time is true that things can be made to happen earlier because I believe that he played two doubles matches. If they want to suspend him, will be much better to do it immediately, not three days later or four days later, because then he was here playing for a few days. 

"Now he is out already winning two matches. I think it is not the ideal situation. Probably something that will go immediately to check it, and if he deserve a suspension, he takes it, and if he don't deserve, don't take it."

A tournament statement said that Fognini had been provisionally suspended. As a result, his and Bolelli's third-round doubles opponents, Nicholas Monroe and John-Patrick Smith, were given a walkover into the quarter-finals.

"Pursuant to the Grand Slam Code of Conduct, Fabio Fognini is hereby provisionally suspended from further participation in the US Open pending a final determination whether a major offense has been committed during his first round singles match," said the statement.

"The provisional suspension is with immediate effect and, therefore, Mr Fognini has been withdrawn from his upcoming doubles match."

Fognini has a controversial history over his on-court behavior and was handed a record fine of $27,500 at Wimbledon in 2014.

"I apologize to the fans, to the referee for what happened," he wrote in Italian on Twitter.

"It was just a very bad day, but it did not forgive my behavior in the match. Although I'm a hot-head (and though I've been right in most circumstances) I was wrong. But in the end it's only a tennis match."

India's Rohan Bopanna, who had lost in the second round of the doubles to the Italian pair alongside partner Pablo Cuevas, accused the organizers of dithering.

"I wanted them to play the whole tournament. If US Open is letting them play two rounds. Let them play whole thing and then make a decision," Bopanna tweeted.

"If a player is under investigation, As a tournament you do not schedule his match till a decision has been taken."

He added: "It's a career of all the individuals who are involved, which US Open clearly do not care about." – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - Manny Pacquiao said on Sunday, September 3 he was still wanted a rematch with Jeff Horn after the Filipino boxing hero pulled out of their scheduled bout in Australia later his year. 

Queensland's premier, whose state government was the financial backer of a November 12 fight, announced on Friday that Pacquiao "cannot return to the ring" due to other commitments.  

"It will not push through there in Australia. But we are bringing the fight here in the Philippines," Pacquiao said on radio station DZBB, adding negotiations were ongoing. 

"This will be good for our country's tourism." 

Pacquiao, 38, had initially called for a rematch after losing his World Boxing Organization welterweight title to the 29-year-old on points Horn in a major upset in Brisbane on July 2.

Pacquiao, who has won world titles in an unprecedented 8 weight divisions, had demanded a review of the bout but the WBO declared Horn the clear winner after an anonymous panel of judges re-scored the fight.  

Now in the twilight of a 22-year professional career, Pacquiao has not stopped an opponent in 8 years and briefly quit boxing last year to pursue his long-held political ambitions and was elected senator. 

But he quickly made a successful comeback against Jessie Vargas in November, saying he still felt like a youngster.

Pacquiao has defied calls to retire for good, including from his family and celebrated American trainer Freddie Roach.   

Pacquiao dismissed funding concerns about hosting the multi-million dollar fight in the Philippines.  

"We have lots of friends who are supporting us including our tourism (department). The president is giving his all-out support," Pacquiao said referring to his political ally Rodrigo Duterte. – Rappler.com

BELGRADE, Serbia - Twelve-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena have become parents of a baby girl, local media reported on Sunday, September 3.

Jelena gave birth on Saturday evening and their second child will be named Tara, Blic newspaper reported on its online edition.

The couple have a two-year-old son Stefan.

The 30-year-old Djokovic announced in July he would miss the rest of the season with an elbow injury.

The Serb retired from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tomas Berdych in July because of the problem, from which is suffering for a year-and-a-half.

Between mid-January 2015 and June 2016, Djokovic won 17 of his 22 finals played in 24 tournaments. It seemed nothing could interrupt his dominance of world tennis.

But for months the Serbian national hero - now fourth in the world rankings - has been a shadow of his former self.

Since winning the French Open last year to complete the career Grand Slam, he has failed to claim another major title.

He crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round and the French Open in the last eight.

Djokovic said in July he would need a couple of months without the racket but that surgery was "not an option".

With Andre Agassi continuing as his coach while he recovers, Djokovic now intends to be ready to start the new season at the beginning of 2018. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines - A 12-year-old boy from Dasmariñas, Cavite won the challengers section of the Malaysian Chess Festival playing at the same unforgiving pace that propelled him to win two other events in Kuala Lumpur.

Michael Concio Jr swept two Under-12 events before he topped the 12th Goldis Malaysia Chess Challenge with a score of 8.5/9. His only draw in the tournament - which ran from August 28 to September 3 - was from Gerald Ferriol.

"He was so happy," said Michael Concio Sr of his son, whom he spoke to after the Challenge ended.  Concio calls his son "bunso" as two older sisters, who used to play for the UST chess team, are older. He learned the game at two years old, said his father, adding that his son used to join his sisters in playing chess.

While the Merdeka Day and Datu CC/Datu Yee Wai Fong are blitz and rapid events, Concio's foes were older, perhaps amateur or strong club players. He was ranked 21st in the Challenger but Concio literally plowed through them.

"We are happy with his result because he is slowly getting noticed," said the elder Concio. "But, we have to continue studying because there are lot of many strong young players.”

Daniel Quizon is among them. Concio and Quizon along with the Mordido brother and sister are some of those being honed in a program begun by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga which is still being continued.

Before Barzaga's program, Concio said he sent his son to the late International Master Rudy Tan Cardoso for lessons before the Philippines' first chess star passed away in 2013.

A few months ago, Concio was only a silver medalist in the Palarong Pambansa and the national under-12 champ. 

"Watch out for him. He will be the next Wesley So," said Joey Antonio, who tied for second and third with Emmanuel Senador in the 8th IGB International Seniors Open Chess Championship, of Concio. 

The parallels are present. So was born in Bacoor, Cavite. At the age of 12 So dominated his age group and played against older foes which he defeated. He was the finalist in the national championship at the age of 14. He did not win that time but it started him on a path that made him at one point the world number two ranked player. 

Now So is eighth in the world, playing for the US as he seeks to qualify for the world championship by rating or through the World Cup which starts tonight in Tbilisi, Georgia.

“[So’s] style is relentless," said the elder Concio, quoting what his son tells him when he goes over Wesley's games. – Rappler.com