MANILA, Philippines – Gratitude.

It doesn’t explain exactly how Nonito Donaire Jr stayed on his feet for the second half of his most recent fight against Cesar Juarez, though bleeding from his right eye and winded from throwing knockout bombs at an iron-chinned opponent with nothing to lose.

But it’s the beginning of understanding.

There were moments where it seemed that the 33-year-old Donaire had run out of steam in that fight – and in his career. If any lingering doubts from his recent setbacks remained in Donaire, he might not have fought his way out and won the WBO junior featherweight title.

“I was physically challenged in every way. Mentally, physically and spiritually,” Donaire (36-3, 23 knockouts) tells Rappler.com. “I had to dig deep in order for me to make it through. That was definitely a fight that had my soul in it.

“The guy, it was just incredible, he had like a separate armor.”

What has “The Filipino Flash” fighting like he’s hungry to remain at the top of the sport is his newfound appreciation for success, in and out of the ring, and for what he must do to attain it.

Thank you

“Gratitude, something that I didn’t have as I was becoming more successful,” says Donaire, who arrived in the Philippines on Thursday, December 17, and will spend the holidays here with family.

“But now each day I say thank you, each night I say thank you. I’m thankful for each day that I’m alive, that I get to see my kids, that I get to hug my wife. I get to spend time with my sons and see them grow.”

“Before, every time that I would wake up in the morning to go to the gym, it was a struggle, it was work. I had to drag my feet to get out of bed to the gym. I’m always complaining, ‘Oh God, this is gonna suck.’ Now I’m like, ‘I’m thankful to be in this gym, I’m gonna make the most of it.’”

Donaire, a pro for nearly 15 years, has grown as a fighter and a man in the public. He exploded on the boxing scene as the shy prodigy who upset Vic Darchinyan in 2007 to win the flyweight title. He grew into a flashy rising star, tearing through the bantamweight divisions amid a messy split with his father/trainer Nonito Sr. 

He then became the pound-for-pound candidate who won the BWAA Fighter of the Year award in 2012, even as his skills subtly eroded and he relied more on his punching power.

Donaire admits he had a hard time enjoying his success due to self-esteem issues he had endured as a child growing up in the Bay Area town of San Leandro, California. Despite his growing fame, he had trouble putting his past behind him.

“Growing up I was always told I wasn’t good enough. Growing up I was always told that I’m nothing. In school I was always treated like nothing,” said Donaire a 4-division world champion.

“So deep within my self conscious, I felt like I was nothing. The more that I was becoming successful, the more that my self-sabotaging persona came out. The bigger the success, the more weight that was on my shoulders.”

“I realized that in all the success that I had, the belts, the championships, all the awards, in my head I felt like I didn’t deserve them. That’s why I was never thankful for them, because I felt like they belonged to somebody else.”

Now a grown man with two young sons and a wife, Donaire has put losses to Guillermo Rigondeaux and Nicholas Walters behind him, reconciled with his family and brought back his father as trainer.

Donaire’s re-emergence as a titleholder adds color to the 122-pound division, where Rigondeaux remains the lineal champion despite being stripped by the WBO and WBA due to inactivity, and IBF champ Carl Frampton and WBA titleholder Scott Quigg are set to clash on February 27 in a major European showdown.

To-do list

A chance at avenging the unanimous decision loss to Rigondeaux remains high on his to-do list. Donaire says he fought a one-dimensional fight in New York City, and wants the chance to do it over.

“In order for him to convince me that he’s better than me, he has to do it twice,” said Donaire.

“In the fight I’ve seen so many mistakes that I should’ve capitalized on but the reason that I couldn’t is that the muscle memory that I created in training was just the left hook and that’s the only thing that I knew how to throw.”

The winner of the Frampton-Quigg unification bout would make for a high-profile matchup for Donaire, while promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has also floated the idea of pitting Donaire against unbeaten contender Jessie Magdaleno (22-0, 16 KOs) or former IBF featherweight titleholder (and Donaire’s one-time gym mate) Evgeny Gradovich (20-1-1, 9 KOs).

That’s for him to worry about another day. For now, Donaire’s priority is his first holiday season spent in the Philippines as a family man.

“That’s up to the guys to make it happen. Whatever decision they make, my main focus is to sit down and relax and have time with my family to enjoy the holidays.” – Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan.songalia@rappler.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RyanSongalia.

MANILA, Philippines — Yeng Guiao was out of character on a rainy Saturday night, December 19. 

The usually very expressive head coach was dead calm looking on from the sidelines as his Rain or Shine Elasto Painters were slowly losing grip of a valuable opportunity, down 104-106 with 1:18 remaining against the NLEX Road Warriors.

He also had a straight face when Jewel Ponferada turned the ball over with 41.1 seconds on the clock, the Painters missing a chance to break the 106-all deadlock. 

Guiao likewise betrayed little of any frustration, disappointment, or displeasure he may have felt as Mac Cardona cleanly and swiftly stole the ball away from Jeff Chan at the top of the key, leading to a game-sealing 3-point play by Sean Anthony with 10.3 ticks left. 

But Guiao’s composed state is not indicative of caring less. Instead, the multi-titled coach simply chooses to see the silver lining in the 111-106 defeat where Rain or Shine blew a golden opportunity to skip the quarterfinals and go straight to the semis as the top seed in the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup.

(BRACKET: 2016 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs)

“It's a big disappointment but we just have to accept it and move forward. We made some mistakes, we paid for our mistakes and overall, if you look at the positive side, we're still number 3 and we have a twice-to-beat advantage,” he admitted after emerging from the locker room more than hour after the game. 

“It's also good for us to just go for the long route. There are just some things that don't turn out the way you plan them but overall we had 8 wins and 3 losses, we beat San Miguel and Alaska. If not for the opportunity lost it would have still been a good elimination round for us.” 

A win would have catapulted Rain or Shine to the top of the heap. But the loss sent them down to third seed, where they will have to hurdle playoffs first-timer Blackwater on Saturday, December 26. (READ: Blackwater escapes Mahindra to book first-ever playoffs spot)

It will be a longer path for the Painters as they will have to go through two quarterfinals phases, with the second one being a sudden death match, before reaching the final four.

Top seed Alaska and second seed defending champion San Miguel Beer are already waiting for an opponent in their respective best-of-7 semis series in January.

(SCHEDULE: 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Quarterfinals)

Guiao said an extended break might be disadvantageous for his team, and so he and the Painters view the quarterfinals as more ways to prepare and improve.

“We have to look at the bright side. Maybe it's also good for us not to get too much rest. Maybe two weeks of not playing might be bad for us,” said Guiao, who also said Rain or Shine never took NLEX for granted and noted Anthony’s career game of 37 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists played a huge role. 

“We don't know what God's plan is but we will take this positively. We will move forward. We will just prepare for our quarterfinals games.” 

Injured Paul Lee (knee) will not see action yet in the quarters, according to Guiao, even if their backs get pushed against the wall. The star guard is set to return in January and will play then should the Painters make the semis. 

Until then, it will be a rough grind that, if Rain or Shine is lucky, might just be a blessing to make a potential victory even more worth it.

“This is the consequence of losing this game, you go the hard way,” said Guiao. “But at the same time it's going to sharpen you up, it's going to get you ready for the bigger games.” — Rappler.com

ZURICH, Switzerland (UPDATED) – An ethics tribunal of scandal-plagued FIFA on Monday, December 21 banned Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for 8 years saying they had abused their positions over a 2 million Swiss francs payment made to Platini.

The sentence against the two most powerful men in football stunningly highlighted the troubles faced by the world's most popular sport where billions of dollars have been invested in recent years.

Blatter, 79, and Platini, 60, were "immediately" banned from all football activity. Blatter's career is now almost certainly over while Platini's hopes of taking over FIFA are all but finished.

Blatter, FIFA's president since 1998, was fined 50,000 Swiss francs ($50,000/46,300 euros). Platini, the head of UEFA, Europe's governing body and a FIFA vice president, was fined 80,000 Swiss francs.

A statement by the court said both showed "abusive execution" of their powers.

FIFA had looked into a two million Swiss francs payment authorized by Blatter to Platini in 2011. They said it was for work as a consultant carried out between 1999 and 2002.

While the FIFA court dropped corruption charges against both men, it said both were guilty of a conflict of interest.

It said there was "no legal basis" for the payment in an oral agreement between the two officials in August 1999.

"Neither in his written statement nor in his personal hearing was Mr Blatter able to demonstrate another legal basis for this payment. His assertion of an oral agreement was determined as not convincing and was rejected by the chamber."

The court said "Mr Blatter's actions did not show commitment to an ethical attitude, failing to respect all applicable laws and regulations as well as FIFA's regulatory framework to the extent applicable to him and demonstrating an abusive execution of his position as President of FIFA."

Platini was also found to be in "a conflict of interest."

The judgement was even more damning of the French football legend than for Blatter.

"Mr Platini failed to act with complete credibility and integrity, showing unawareness of the importance of his duties and concomitant obligations and responsibilities.

"His actions did not show commitment to an ethical attitude, failing to respect all applicable laws and regulations as well as FIFA's regulatory framework."

'Abusive execution'

The court said Platini was also guilty of "demonstrating an abusive execution of his position as vice-president of FIFA."

Blatter and Platini were provisionally suspended in October after Swiss prosecutors started a criminal investigation into the 2011 cash transfer.

Blatter is under criminal investigation and Platini is being treated as between a suspect and a witness.

Both strongly deny any wrongdoing. Blatter spent 8 hours before a FIFA court last Thursday while Platini boycotted his hearing saying he had been "condemned" in advance.

At the time of the 2011 payment, Blatter was campaigning for a fourth term as FIFA president. Platini later supported his former mentor but has since turned against him.

Blatter and Platini can challenge any ban at a FIFA appeal tribunal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and even in a Swiss civil court.

Blatter would be fighting for his reputation. For Platini, the ban rules him out of the FIFA election to be held on February 26.

The deadline for candidates to be registered and pass an integrity check is January 26.

With FIFA's reputation in tatters after the arrest of several top officials, Blatter announced 4 days after winning re-election to a fifth term in May that he would stand down and call a new election.

Seven FIFA officials were arrested in a luxury Zurich hotel two days before the election congress.

Now US authorities have charged 39 football officials and sports business executives over more than $200 million in bribes for football television and marketing deals.

Swiss prosecutors are in parallel investigating FIFA's management and the award of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

Facing pressure from governments and the International Olympic Committee for major reforms, there are currently 5 candidates to take over FIFA: Asian football head Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, South African politician and tycoon Tokyo Sexwale, former FIFA vice president Prince Ali bin al Hussein of Jordan, UEFA general-secretary Gianni Infantino and Jerome Champagne, a former FIFA assistant general secretary from France. – Eric Bernaudeau, AFP/Rappler.com

ZURICH, Switzerland – Facing criminal investigation and banned from VIP tribunes, Sepp Blatter cuts an increasingly lonely figure far from the football president who mixed with political heavyweights and tycoons.

When the 79-year-old Swiss powerbroker told a stunned FIFA congress this year that officials found guilty of misconduct would be booted out of world football, he would not have been thinking of himself.

But an 8-year ban from all football activity over a suspect two million Swiss francs ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment to his former ally Michel Platini has left Blatter desperately battling to preserve his remaining claim to legitimacy as the man who brought untold riches to football.

(READ: FIFA bans Blatter, Platini for 8 years)

Unashamedly divisive – some called him a "Jesus" and others a rogue – and supremely confident of his own ability, Blatter was for nearly two decades a global force as controller of the world's most watched sporting event, the World Cup.

He repeatedly saw off all-comers after taking over as FIFA president from the scandal-tainted Joao Havelange in 1998.

A useful amateur footballer who turned his hand to marketing, Blatter wheeled, dealed and shrugged off allegations of chicanery until Swiss police marched into a Zurich hotel in May and arrested 7 FIFA officials.

It was two days before a congress at which he was aiming to secure a triumphant fifth term.

"Let me be clear: such misconduct has no place in football and we will ensure that those who engage in it are put out of the game," Blatter said the day after the stunning arrests carried out under US arrest warrants.

'Disloyal' payment

Blatter got his fifth term but with pressure mounting, announced 4 days later that he would stand down, with a new election later set for February 26.

Some still did not believe that he would give up. But a Swiss investigation into FIFA accounts and the "disloyal payment" of two million Swiss francs to FIFA vice president Platini finally ended the Blatter reign. Both were temporarily suspended in October before they were finally banished on Monday, December 21.

Blatter has said many times he believes there is an international plot to oust him and that jealous rivals do not use the notion of fair play in their backroom battles with him.

"In my 40 years at FIFA I have learned to live with hostility and resentment," he said in one commentary this year. "However, as the German language proverb puts it: sympathy is free, but envy must be earned."

And rivals had a lot to be jealous of. Being head of FIFA for 17 years elevated Blatter to 70th place in the Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.

The former amateur footballer – an old fashioned striker – joined FIFA in 1975 from a post marketing Swiss watches.

Blatter, who also worked as a public relations official for a Swiss tourism department and as general secretary of the Swiss ice hockey federation, claims credit for building up much of FIFA's financial muscle.

When he joined FIFA it was in a small Zurich building with about 10 staff. One story says that it was Blatter who went to the bank to get a loan when they could not be paid.

But FIFA made about $5.7 billion in the 4 years between the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Football's world body now has 1,400 staff and is sitting on a cash mountain of about $1.5 billion. 

The workaholic Blatter says his main achievement has been to make football "universal" – the first World Cups in Asia (South Korea and Japan in 2002, although the decision was taken before he became president) and Africa (South Africa in 2010) came in his tenure.

Hundreds of millions of dollars are given to national federations and in development grants.

Football prophet

But since the day he became president in 1998, accusations of skulduggery have never been far from FIFA. The latest are over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

In 2006 he tried to stop a book on FIFA's scandals being published in Switzerland.

And so the football world was divided until the Zurich arrests this year.

Just before the FIFA election, Dominican Republic FA president Osiris Guzman compared Blatter to Jesus, Winston Churchill, Moses, Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King.

The Asian, African and North-Central American confederations all backed him.

But Europe turned against Blatter. UEFA leader Platini said Blatter lied when he said in 2011 that he would stand down when his fourth term ended in 2015.

Platini, now an arch-rival, said Blatter could not bear a life of "emptiness" without FIFA's power and money.

Blatter, married 3 times, has relied a lot on his daughter Corinne in recent months.

"He has a way of making people dependent or indebted to him, but not in a way that people regret it," one Blatter confidant told AFP. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Broad-shouldered, Lim Eng Beng terrorized guards with his clutch shooting and hounded forwards with good timing in his long basketball career from the Filipino-Chinese league until the PBA.

"He let his game do the talking," said Ramon Fernandez, one of the legends of Philippine basketball, in  a private message on Facebook after getting news of Lim's death on Sunday at the age of 64.

Lim Eng Beng scored from anywhere in the court and drove to the basket with that crossover dribble that threw guards off balance. Nemie Villegas, assistant coach with the Manila Beer Brewmasters, Lim's last PBA team, said Lim's long-range jumpers were as accurate as a dunk.

"He was not that fast but he knew how to react. He was tough to guard because he knew how to protect the ball with body, making it difficult to guards to even stab at the ball," said Villegas in a phone interview with Rappler.com. Villegas added that even if Lim was a dead-shot, "he was a team man."

In his prime, the muscular 180 pound, 5-11 Lim was tireless and he proved it being on the court with import Glenn McDonald for the entire Game 5 overtime victory of U-Tex against Toyota in the 1980 Open Conference.

{source} <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRZbfzkP9ls" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> {/source}

In that unforgettable game, Toyota led by 4 with 16 seconds left in regulation. But U-Tex forced the battle into overtime. With Lim and new recruit William Adornado leading the attack, the Wranglers pulled off a victory that is still being discussed by basketball fans.

"I had to be helped off the court with McDonald. I couldn't take a step further," said Lim in an interview with this writer in 2011 for another publication. That was the second U-Tex championship won in the PBA under coach Tommy Manotoc.

Fame did not go to Lim's head. He remained approachable and never showed any airs of a superstar. "He was a very simple and easy to get along with. He mingled with everybody in La Salle," said basketball historian Henry Liao in a phone interview with Rappler.com. "He was one year ahead of me but we had one subject together."

Lim was recruited by coach Tito Eduque for La Salle after ending a glorious season for Chiang Kai Shek in the 1970 Filipino-Chinese Secondary Basketball Championship, the forerunner of the Tiong Lien tourneys. Liao said Lim's Chiang Kai Shek crew defeated Philippine Cultural High School, led by Atoy Co in the final but it was Co who got the MVP.

(READ: Glory Days: Ateneo vs La Salle)

Lim was instrumental in La Salle's 1971 NCAA triumph and a memorable victory for the 1974 NCAA championship over Jose Rizal College and Ateneo. That year, Lim scored 55 points vs Letran, surpassing the old NCAA record of 52 by Ricky Pineda, then playing for Letran. Then he also fired 54 vs Trinity, said Liao, an effort spiked by 16/16 free throw shooting.

With such a record, Lim would have been called at least to tryout for the national team, but he was still a Chinese citizen. For most of his playing years, that was Lim's regret. "I was never able to play for the Philippines," he said in an interview with this writer.

Lim said Taiwan was making inquiries as late as 1978 if he could play for them but he refused as he was playing in the PBA. He joined a group of top Filipino-Chinese basketball players who were not able to suit up for the Philippines because of nationality issues.

It's a sad year for cage fans with the demise of Ernesto Estrada, the scoring machine of San Miguel, Yco gunslinger Egay Gomez and Lim Eng Beng, both of whom were some of the best players who failed to suit up for the country in major international tournaments. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Future NBA Hall-of-Famers Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant will go down as one of the most formidable duos to ever grace the game of basketball, but with that also comes their storied rivalry and disdain for each other that ultimately divided the two and broke apart one of the greatest dynasties ever in pro sports.

But what some forget is that there were times when O’Neal and Bryant actually had mutual respect and admiration for one another - something that was very apparent after the two led the Los Angeles Lakers to their first of 3 straight NBA titles in 2000.

One person who witnessed that first hand was current Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier, who 15 years ago was working with Fox Sports and covering the finals where Los Angeles outlasted the Indiana Pacers in 6 games, with O’Neal taking home Finals MVP honors.

Frazier, who also eventually worked with ESPN, says that the NBA actually told FOX they weren’t allowed to get an interview with any Laker player following the finals win. Why?

“Kobe’s first NBA Finals, I worked for FOX Sports, and because we had a small army of, like, 8 people - ESPN had 50 people - we would sneak and get interviews whenever we could,” said Frazier, whose father was an assistant coach of then Lakers head coach Phil Jackson when Jackson was a player for the New York Knicks.

“I had a great relationship with Kobe and Shaq,” re-called Frazier, “so we’d grab them at times when we weren’t allowed to, so when they finally won the championship, the NBA was so angry at us for getting these interviews all the time that they came up and they said, ‘You are not allowed to interview Kobe and Shaq, or anybody from the Lakers. You won’t get anybody.’”

But despite the NBA’s denial, Frazier and FOX still managed to interview Bryant and O’Neal - that year’s regular season MVP as well.

“All of a sudden, the room of our door, so we’re sitting in there by ourselves, and the room to the door swings open,” said Frazier, remembering what happened after the Lakers’ title-clinching Game 6 win.

“It’s Kobe, and then Shaq, and they both come in with the trophy, they’re pouring champagne, they talk to us. They had a great conversation about how much they loved each other. It’s the first time we actually got to really meet Kobe’s future wife, Vanessa.

“She was with him in the room with us and it was just a magic moment. Kinda cemented how I always felt about him (Kobe), because at that moment, when we should have had no one, in marches Kobe Bryant.”

Frazier, who was telling the story during the global media launch of the new Nike Kobe shoes, Kobe 11, then said the most interesting part of the tale: the touching moment shared between Bryant and O’Neal.

(WATCH: Kobe Bryant on his new shoes)

“He (Shaq) put his arm around him (Kobe) and said, ‘You know, people don’t understand this is my brother, and I love him, and we have our differences, but I love him,’” said Frazier.

“At that moment, you realize how much they respected and cared about each other, and that, look, they always didn’t get along, but they respected each other and they wanted to win basketball games.”

The successful partnership eventually blew apart, punctuated following their loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals which was succeeded by O’Neal’s trade to the Miami Heat. 

Both players repeatedly took shots at each other in the media while they played for Los Angeles.

Bryant was unhappy with O’Neal’s weight and injury issues. O’Neal found Bryant arrogant. The two also nearly came to blows at the Lakers’ practice facility, and multiple times in other instances. 

Their rivalry is well-documented in two of Jackson’s books: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success and The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul.

In fact, there was one time where Shaq even wanted to “murder” Kobe, according to Lakers vice president of public relations John Black in this Bleacher Report article:

“Mostly it was Shaq and Kobe didn’t like each other, but it didn’t affect them on the court. They would say something about the other, on or off the record, but it didn’t become confrontational more than two or 3 times over the 8 years (they were teammates). 

"When Kobe gave the statement to Jim Gray where he went off calling Shaq fat and lazy, that was one of the times. There was one really bad one, early on. Brian Shaw had to pull them apart. Shaq threatened to murder Kobe,” Black said.

Bryant and O’Neal have eventually cleared the air and even taken turns complimenting the other through the media. During the 2009 All-Star Game in Phoenix, the two were named co-game MVPs and were seen laughing together throughout the contest.

(READ: Kobe, Shaq bury hatchet over legendary feud)

Kobe even guested on Shaq’s podcast, “The Big Podcast with Shaq” in August this year.

"I just want people to know I don't hate you [and] I know you don't hate me," Shaq said, introducing Kobe.

Bryant later said: "We have our arguments and our disagreements. But I think having our debates within the press was something I wished would been avoided." – Rappler.com

BARCELONA, Spain - Barcelona star Lionel Messi was spat at by a River Plate fan during an ugly airport altercation following his side's 3-0 victory in the Club World Cup final in Japan, Spanish media reported on Monday.

Messi, who scored the opening goal in Sunday's final, reportedly retaliated with a punch after being subjected to a series of insults from fans of the Argentine club as he was preparing to board a flight home from Tokyo's Narita airport. 

"An ugly incident occurred at Narita international airport. When Barcelona players were getting ready to go through passport control and security, several River fans insulted Messi and the issue escalated to the point that one of them spat at Messi," Spanish sports daily AS reported.

According to several reports, an irate Messi responded by "punching" the fan who spat at him, before Barca coach Luis Enrique and team-mates Javier Mascherano and Luis Suarez stepped in to defuse the situation.

However, Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo explained that shortly after the incident Messi was seen to be "smiling" and relaxed, "playing down the significance of the event".

Madrid-based daily Marca added that the group of supporters were also heckling ex-River player Mascherano, criticizing him for "forgetting" his roots, with Mascherano having come through the youth ranks at the Buenos Aires club before making his professional debut with them in 2003. – Rappler.com

LOS ANGELES, USA - NBA legend Kobe Bryant called the 8-year bans issued Monday to FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michel Platini an "important first step" in cleaning up global football.

The 37-year-old Los Angeles Lakers guard, a 5-time NBA champion and twice an Olympic gold medal winner, is in his 20th and final NBA campaign, announcing his retirement last month.

The American spent several years as a youth in Italy playing football and supporting AC Milan. He follows the sport and was clear in his condemnation of Blatter and Platini, barred for abusing their positions over a suspect $2 million payment.

"It's always a touchy thing. You are dealing with a big business," Bryant said.

"I think this is an important first step to cleaning up the sport.

"With life being as brutal as it is, we come to sport as an escape. When something like this happens, it damages the emotional Shangri-La you get from sport."

Bryant had confidence that those making efforts to revamp FIFA in the wake of the corruption will succeed.

"I'm sure they are on top of it and I'm sure they will get the sport back where we all want it to be," Bryant said. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – Over the course of his 20-year NBA career, future basketball Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant has seen his share of battles against some of the best opposing players and teams that stood in the way of him and his Los Angeles Lakers.

But if Bryant, a 5-time NBA champion and former league MVP, was asked to rank the top teams and players he’s gone up against, who would be on his list? 

That question was thrown at Bryant himself during a conference call with international media early on Tuesday, December 21.

“Top 5 teams that I’ve faced,” Bryant started his answer, without specifying whether the rank would be in order or not, “I’d probably say the San Antonio Spurs were always tough.”

Kobe first faced the Spurs in the 1999 Western Conference semifinals, with Tim Duncan and company sweeping LA, 4-0, before eventually winning the NBA title against the New York Knicks. 

The two teams would meet again in the 2001 Western semis (Lakers won, 4-0), 2002 Western semis (Lakers won, 4-1), 2003 Western semis (Spurs won, 4-2), 2004 Western semis (Lakers won, 4-2), 2008 Western finals (Lakers won, 4-1), and 2013 Western first round (Spurs won, 4-0).

“The Sacramento Kings in the playoffs were tough,” Bryant said next, referring to one of his team’s fiercest rivals, whom they faced and defeated in consecutive playoff series from 2000-2002.

“Boston Celtics [in] 2008 were tough. Detroit Pistons [in] 2004 were tough,” continued Bryant, talking about two teams who defeated his Lakers in finals series during the aforementioned years.

“I’d say the Chicago Bulls,” he rounded up the list after taking some time to decide the fifth and final opponent, “obviously, when I first came into the league, they (with Michael Jordan) were tough.”

Bryant then answered the question on the top players he’s faced:

“Top players, let’s see. Hakeem Olajuwon, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant, LeBron James,” he said, before again taking time to think of the fifth and final choice: “Clyde Drexler.”

(READ: LeBron James saddened by Kobe Bryant's retirement decision)

Olajuwon is a two-time NBA champion, Jordan is considered by many as the greatest NBA player ever, Durant was an NBA MVP in 2014, James is a 4-time NBA MVP and considered by many as the greatest NBA player today, and Drexler is a member of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players list.

However, the 37-year-old did say it was tough to come up with just 5 players due to the multitude of talent he faced throughout his career.

“Players is a little tougher for me,” explained Bryant. “I came into the league when there were still many great players playing, like John Stockton was still playing. Clyde Drexler was still playing. Gary Payton, Anfernee Hardaway. There was a lot of great [players]. Top 5 players is a little tough for me."

Bryant has recently announced that this NBA season will be his last. – Rappler.com

ZURICH, Switzerland – Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini vowed to keep fighting FIFA in courts after being suspended for 8 years over ethics violations on Monday, December 21.

Blatter, FIFA's president since 1998, said he had been "betrayed" by the world body's ethics committee which he helped set up and accused judges of ignoring key evidence he believes should have cleared his name. 

The 79-year-old Swiss national said he would "immediately" appeal to a FIFA committee against the ban, before taking his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne if need be. 

Platini, head of European confederation UEFA and a FIFA vice president, had even harsher words for the ethics judges who threw him out of the game he had been poised to lead. 

He said the FIFA decision was a "masquerade" intended to "sully" his name.

The FIFA court ruled that both men abused their positions over a 2 million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 euros) payment Blatter authorized to Platini in 2011. They said it was for work done a decade earlier. 

'Let me do it'

Shortly after the verdict was announced, Blatter addressed the world media at the Sonnenberg conference centre in Zurich, which symbolically is the former site of FIFA's headquarters. 

Unshaven and with a plaster bandage on his cheek, Blatter was flanked by his daughter Corinne, who has long been one of her father's most outspoken defenders. 

"You ask me if I feel betrayed... the answer is yes," Blatter said in response to a question, adding that he was "astonished" judges had rejected evidence in his defense. 

He said he had become a "punching ball" and that he was "sorry for FIFA," shaken by an unprecedented scandal which has seen 39 people indicted by the US justice department over corruption and bribery going back decades. 

Days after the scandal kicked off in May, Blatter promised to stand down when his successor was chosen by FIFA's 209-member associations at a congress later set for February. 

But his goal was to remain in office for that vote and to preside over a last major FIFA meeting before retirement.  

"Let me work at this Congress. Let me do it," Blatter said in an interview with Sky News, restating his desire to leave FIFA on his own terms.

(READ: Isolated Sepp Blatter devastated by FIFA scandals)

There has been speculation that Blatter authorized the payout to Platini in 2011 to secure the Frenchman's backing for his presidential re-election bid that year. 

"It was not a bribe and there was no help from Europe in any election in 2011," Blatter told Sky. "Never in my life would I offer money to get something."

'Pathetic coverup'

Platini's criticism of FIFA's ethics watchdog has escalated throughout the inquiry and his condemnation continued on Monday. 

"I am convinced that my fate was sealed before the hearing of December 18 and that this verdict is just a pathetic coverup for a desire to eliminate me from the world of football," the ex-Juventus star said in a statement sent to AFP. 

Unlike Blatter, he boycotted his hearing before judges in Zurich last week. 

Aside from a CAS appeal, Platini said he was "determined to apply at the right time, to civil courts to obtain damages for all the prejudice I have suffered over very long weeks".

Platini had been the favorite to succeed Blatter as FIFA's president, but his campaign has been stalled by the ethics inquiry and his chances of winning have almost certainly been crushed, even if he overturns the ban on appeal.

UEFA said in a statement it was "disappointed" in FIFA's decision, expressing support for Platini's right to an appeal. 

"Naturally, UEFA is extremely disappointed with this decision, which nevertheless is subject to appeal," the governing body said of the ruling against the UEFA president. 

"UEFA supports Michel Platini's right to a due process and the opportunity to clear his name," the statement added. 

The downfall of both men began in September, when Swiss prosecutors revealed a criminal investigation against Blatter, partly over the 2 million Swiss francs payment. 

Platini has been questioned in the Swiss case as a person between a witness and an accused. – Eric Bernaudeau, Benjamin Simon in Geneva, AFP/Rappler.com

ZURICH, Switzerland – FIFA investigators used special software for financial watchdogs to catch the $2 million transfer that led to the ban on Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, a source close to football's world governing body said.

Unleashing the Swiss-developed program which can analyze thousands of accounts in double quick time highlights the lengths now being taken to track doubtful money transfers in world football.

"It particularly looks for accounts which have multiple holders," said the source close to FIFA.

The software flags the names of people whose name is on an account but he or she is not the primary holder.

A similar version is also used by Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BAFin).

"It can analyze thousands of accounts very quickly and flag up any suspect transactions," said the source who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the Blatter-Platini case.

FIFA president Blatter and vice president Platini were both banned for 8 years on Monday, December 21 by FIFA's ethics court because of irregularities in the two million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 million) payment made in 2011.

The two officials say the money was transferred to pay for consultancy work carried out between 1999 and 2002.

Blatter and Platini said an oral contract for a yearly fee of one million Swiss francs was agreed but the full salary was never paid.

(READ: Isolated Sepp Blatter devastated by FIFA scandals)

The ethics tribunal said in its judgement that there was "no legal basis" for the payment and that the two officials were guilty of "abusive execution" of the positions within FIFA.

The source said the FIFA action was "quite exceptional" because of the standing of the targets.

Former US prosecutor Michael Garcia had carried out an investigation of the award of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar.

But the $2 million payment was not included in the Garcia report's evidence and only found later by the software, the source said.

The payment is being investigated by Swiss prosecutors and this could further delay the publication of the Garcia report. FIFA had said it could not release the report in whole because of legal reasons.

"It has not been finalized whether the Garcia report will now be published," the source said. 

"There need to be checks made with Swiss prosecutors in Bern to see whether its release would interfere with evidence in ongoing cases."

The source said Platini and Blatter will have 10 days from the announcement of the ban to appeal. (READ: Sepp Blatter, Michel Platini vow to fight 8-year bans from FIFA)

The ban from all football activities around the globe means Blatter cannot enter FIFA headquarters in Zurich, speak on behalf of FIFA, which he led for 17 years, nor write on FIFA headed paper.

Platini is precluded from working as a commentator at the European Championship in France next year, which he helped organize, and cannot sit in the VIP area of any football stadium.

Both men can only attend football matches as paying spectators. – Rappler.com

WASHINGTON – Kobe Bryant says he's not pushing to play on the US Olympic team in Rio, but the retiring Los Angeles Lakers guard said Monday, December 21 it would make a "beautiful" ending to his 20-year career.

The 37-year-old American guard, a 5-time NBA champion and gold medal winner at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, announced last month this would be his final NBA campaign after a historic career.

After battling nagging injuries for years, Bryant is fit but the Lakers are in a rebuilding mode and at 4-23 have the second-worst record in the NBA.

Missing the playoffs could leave Bryant rested and in form to become the first man in Olympic history to win three basketball gold medals, should he earn a spot on the two-time defending champion American squad.

"It's not something I'm absolutely pressing for but being part of the Olympic experience is a beautiful thing," Bryant said. 

"It would be a beautiful thing to finish my career playing internationally. But that being said we will see how it goes."

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams would also have the chance for an unprecedented men's Olympic hat-trick at Rio, but for Bryant it would be a golden farewell.

"I try to look at my legacy as much as how do I impact the future, not where do I rank among the best players all time," Bryant said when asked where he fell among NBA icons.

"It's a moot point and for me it's pretty much of a shallow argument. It's how do I impact the generation of players coming in by what I have done. I think it has impacted the generation coiming in a big way and they will pass that along to the next generation to come."

(READ: 5 career-defining moments for Kobe Bryant)

Bryant, a 17-time NBA All-Star, was speaking ahead of his record-setting 16th career appearance in a Christmas NBA matchup, his Lakers hosting the rival Los Angeles Clippers on December 25. He is the all-time leader in scoring for games on the holiday.

Bryant has been nagged by injuries in recent seasons and is struggling with a sore right shoulder. He is averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists a game this season for the Lakers, with career averages of 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals a game.

"I would have loved to have played overseas but it's not going to happen. Body won't let me," Bryant admitted.

"My body has been through a lot. And it's very easy to forget I haven't played because of it. My timing is off, my rhythm is off. It was about me continuing my training and believing my timing will come back and that's what happened."

Bryant said he expects the megastar trend of the NBA to continue in the wake of Michael Jordan, LeBron James and himself, saying, "I think there's going to be a player in the next 10 years that's going to rise above it all." (READ: Kobe Bryant lists best teams, players he faced in NBA career)

Rising Aussie star

As bad as this season is going, the Lakers could be in position for the top pick in next year's NBA Draft, and that could be Australian forward Ben Simmons, who is averaging 18.7 points, 13.9 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game this season as a freshman at Louisiana State University.

"He's a tremendous player. He has got a lot of potential," Bryant said of Simmons.

But Bryant warned that the Lakers carry a history of success that must be respected by those who would join them.

"It's not about handing over the keys," Bryant said. "For the players that are here, winning championships is the only goal. That's the attitude."

Bryant, who spent some of his youth in Italy, said he plans to be a global ambassador for the sport, naming Singapore and Africa as two of his planned destinations.

"I definitely plan on helping the game spread and helping kids all around the world understand all that surrounds the game and its potential," Bryant said. "I look forward to visiting places like Africa and teaching the game." – Jim Slater, AFP/Rappler.com

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazil may not know who its president will be in 8 months' time, and Olympic athletes won't have TVs in their rooms because of the country's recession, but Rio de Janeiro is still promising a "spectacular" 2016 Games.

With its budget in tatters because of the economic crisis and the nation shamed by not cleaning pathogenic sewage from Guanabara Bay – the Rio venue for Olympic regattas – criticism has been rife.

Organizers have preferred to stress that the work to host the August 5-21 Olympic Games and 10,000 athletes from 206 countries has been without delays, and improvements to Rio's public transport network will be a lasting legacy.

"Rio today is 80 percent ready, in April it will be 100 percent, and during the Games it will be 120 percent," boasted the communications director for the Rio-2016 organizing committee, Mario Andrada, in an interview with AFP.

"The Olympics are going to be spectacular," he pledged.

Unsaid is the organizers' hope that the political chaos in South America's biggest country, wrought by the threat of impeachment for deeply unpopular President Dilma Rousseff over allegedly fiddled public accounts, will be settled by then. 

Or that at least anti-government discontent won't spill out into the streets as it did in 2013, a year before Brazil hosted the football World Cup.

Slashed budget

Faced with its worst recession in decades, double-digit inflation, swelling unemployment, and a corruption scandal sinking the state oil company Petrobras, the Rio 2016 committee has pledged to spend only "the money we have," Andrada said.

That means slashing 5 to 20 percent from the $5-billion budget, for example by not installing televisions in athletes' rooms, getting by with fewer computer printers, and offering Brazilian meat-beans-and-rice dishes to invited VIPs instead of fancy meals.

"The country is going through an enormous crisis. We can't be sending out a different message, (or) leaving debts to be paid by the government or, worse, by society," Andrada said.

However, Rio 2016 will cut back "nothing from the tracks, nothing from the sports, nothing from the ceremony, nothing from the legacy."

After the Paris attacks in which Islamist gunmen killed 130 people, Brazil is to oversee the biggest integrated security operation in its history: 85,000 police, soldiers and agents, in coordination with 80 countries.

"We are constantly working as if a threat were imminent," the head of the Brazilian intelligence service, Wilson Trezza, told AFP. 

The Rio-2016 committee also assured that "Rio will be the safest city in the world during the Games."

But there have been some unsettling security issues of late, such as the breaking up of a ring producing falsified birth certificates that allowed dozens of Syrians to obtain Brazilian passports between 2012 and 2014. Several of the Syrians are still fugitives.

What legacy? 

But beyond the security, what many in Rio, dubbed "the marvelous city" but over the past few years converted into a giant construction site, want to know is, will it be a better place to live after the Olympics?

Lamartine Pereira da Costa, an Olympic Games expert at Rio's State University, believes the answer is yes, based on the urban improvements seen in Barcelona after it hosted the 1992 Games.

"Things here work so badly that they can't get any worse," he said. 

"For example, the percentage of the population using public transport will go from 38 percent to 66 percent after the Games – it's the great achievement of Rio de Janeiro."

But the People's Committee for the Cup and the Olympics, a citizens' group critical of the Games, predicted that Rio will end up more "segregated" afterward. 

It pointed to the forced relocation of more than 4,000 families to make room for the Olympic works, as well as skyrocketing real estate prices benefiting only a handful of wealthy businessmen, insufficient and inefficient transport, and a violent and racist police force.

"This will be an Olympiad of exclusion," predicted Orlando Santos Junior, a university professor coordinating the group's efforts.

"We are losing opportunities to promote social integration. Unfortunately the city will be neither fairer nor more democratic" after August 2016, he said. – Laura Bonilla, AFP/Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – ONE Championship is set to make its 8th trip to the Philippines on April 15, 2016 to stage a fight card at the 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. 

Event name or bouts have yet to be announced for ONE’s April card in the Philippines.

ONE’s 9th Philippine outing is scheduled to happen on December 2, 2016 at the same showground. 

Asia’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion has held 7 events in the country since its first venture to Philippine shores in August 2012.

ONE formed a partnership with SM in 2014 that requires the organization to hold an MMA showcase at the aforementioned state-of-the-art location twice a year.

Company head honcho Victor Cui confided to Rappler that ONE plans to extend its reach in the archipelago by hosting a fight card in Cebu City, where Henry Sy’s SM Group is currently constructing a 16,000-seater indoor arena.

Aside from its next two Philippine visits, ONE publicly confirmed 22 events, including 10 MMA affairs in mainland China with dates still to be determined. 

Venues for the 12 other confirmed dates likewise include usual spots for ONE such as Malaysia, Indonesia and its homebase of Singapore. 

“We will also return to our favorite cities in Asia – Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Singapore – with even greater shows and blockbuster fight cards that will ignite stadiums and get fans demanding for more,” Cui said in a press release. 

ONE will also try its hand in new markets next year by visiting countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and Hong Kong for the first time.

“With our success in Asia and the Middle East, we are thrilled to announce that we will be entering 3 new markets next year, namely Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. These are amazing cities with a massive following of martial arts fans and next year, these fans will get to experience ONE Championship’s superlative MMA events live,” Cui added.

ONE concluded its 2015 calendar by crowning its first-ever heavyweight champion last December 11 as Filipino-American fighter Brandon Vera knocked out late-replacement Paul Cheng in just 26 seconds with a head kick.

“As we wrap up 2015, I’m very pleased that it has been a great year for ONE Championship in terms of growth as we continue to expand at an incredibly rapid pace. We look forward to bringing our signature brand of world-class MMA action into more cities in Asia come 2016,” Cui stated. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has found a new home on Philippine television as the world’s premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization will locally air its fight cards and other sideshows on TV5’s sports channel “Hyper” starting January 2016. 

The Manuel V. Pangilinan-bankrolled TV5 acquired the broadcast rights of the UFC from ABS-CBN Sports and publicly confirmed it on Monday, December 21, as it will start airing the promotion’s programs next month.

{source}<div id="fb-root"></div><script>(function(d, s, id) {  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;  js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3";  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));</script><div class="fb-video" data-allowfullscreen="1" data-href="/744653385666772/videos/vb.744653385666772/753595978105846/?type=3"><div class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore"><blockquote cite="https://www.facebook.com/744653385666772/videos/753595978105846/"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/744653385666772/videos/753595978105846/">The UFC is now on Cignal and TV5!</a><p>This January 2016, we&#039;re bringing the fight to you.Watch the UFC LIVE on Hyper ch. 53 on Cignal, and the encore telecast on TV5! #UFCOnCignal #UFCOnTV5</p>Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Hyper-744653385666772/">Hyper</a> on Sunday, 20 December 2015</blockquote></div></div>{/source}

Hyper, which is one of the two broadcast partners of the Philippine Basketball Association on cable television along with FOX Sports, airs on Channel 53 of the TV5-affiliated Cignal Digital TV and on Channel 85 of both ABS-CBN-owned Sky Cable and Destiny Cable. 

The network is not new to combat sports as it regularly broadcasts boxing as well as kickboxing and World Wrestling Entertainment shows since it was launched in April 2012.

UFC’s transfer to Hyper comes on the heels of a surprising announcement that Balls Channel will cease operations at the end of the year as ABS-CBN will solely focus on its “Sports and Action” outfit.

UFC’s events and news magazine shows have been a staple on Balls Channel for cable since 2007, while its fight cards were frequently catered on free television via Studio 23 before changing the station’s name to ABS-CBN Sports and Action in January 2014.

Balls Channel likewise played a pivotal role in bringing top MMA fighters into the country to hold open workouts such as Chuck Liddell, Georges St-Pierre, BJ Penn, Mark Muñoz, Alexander Gustafsson and Carlos Condit.

The third meeting between St-Pierre and Matt Hughes for the interim welterweight championship in December 2007 was the first UFC card that was aired on Balls Channel after several years being broadcasted on Solar Sports.

UFC made its maiden Philippine venture this past May, with Frankie Edgar defeating Urijah Faber in a featherweight super-fight as the event’s headliner.

The MMA company also highlighted Muñoz’s farewell bout as the Filipino-American stalwart had a storybook ending to his 8-year MMA career by dominantly defeating Luke Barnatt in front of the hometown crowd. – Rappler.com 

TOKYO, Japan – Japan on Tuesday, December 22 chose a new, slimmed down 2020 Olympic Stadium design, after an earlier version set off a row over a $2.0 billion price tag that would have made it the world's most expensive sports venue.

The country's preparations for the global games suffered a humiliating setback this year when the government pulled the plug on the original stadium plan by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid following spiralling costs and complaints over the design.

Two new construction plans – both by Japanese architects and with sharply lower cost estimates – were released last week by the Japan Sport Council, which is overseeing the project.

After deliberations, the JSC chose the slightly cheaper of the two, a joint venture involving renowned architect Kengo Kuma with an estimated cost of approximately 149.0 billion yen ($1.2 billion).

"I think this is a wonderful plan that meets criteria such as basic principles, construction period and cost," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a special cabinet meeting on the design. 

The winning plan, which beat out one involving Pritzker Architecture Prize-winning Japanese architect Toyo Ito, is far below the price estimated under the now-ditched design by Hadid. Besides cost, her plan also drew complaints over aesthetics.

Under the new plan construction is to be completed in November 2019, ahead of the January 2020 deadline demanded by the International Olympic Committee.

Tokyo is due to host the opening ceremony on July 24 that year.

'Awesome responsibility'

"I am feeling the weight of the awesome responsibility," Kuma told private broadcaster Nippon TV right after the announcement.

The new plan aims to "create Japanese tradition" by using steel frames and wood with a concept of a "stadium of trees and green," according to documents submitted to the JSC.

It will have a height of 49.2 metres (162 feet), lower than the original design of 70 meters, which was criticized as too high and for being a potential eyesore on Tokyo's skyline.

Characteristics for the new plan, which calls for 5 floors above ground and two below, involve placing greenery on stadium decks to shut out Tokyo's scorching summer sunshine. Seating capacity will be about 68,000.

The other proposal, at 54.3 meters, also featured a traditional Japanese touch in the use of 72 wooden columns, but planned 3 floors above ground and two below.

Abe shocked Olympic organizers in July when he pulled the plug on Hadid's futuristic design as soaring costs put it on course to become the world's most expensive sports stadium.

Japan demanded the new designs be more than 40 percent cheaper, setting a 155 billion yen cap on construction costs.

The stadium fiasco has pushed back the new venue's completion date, embarrassing Japanese sport officials who have also been forced to find an alternate showpiece site for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which the country is hosting.

Following Tokyo's decision to scrap the design plans, former sports minister Hakubun Shimomura in September said he would step down.

The new stadium will be built on the site of the one used as the main stadium for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. The neighborhood is surrounded by greenery including parks and Japanese Shinto shrines.

Tokyo organizers have also faced another headache after plagiarism allegations scuttled its first logo for the games and are in the process of selecting a new design after having received more than 14,500 suggestions from the public. – Kyoko Hasegawa, AFP/ Rappler.com

CHICAGO, USA – Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol called out his teammates for a lack of urgency Monday, December 21 (Tuesday, December 22) after a 105-102 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in which Joakim Noah was injured.

The Nets, a woeful 8-20 on the season, snapped an 8-game road losing streak while the Bulls lost their third in a row and fell to 15-11.

Spanish star Gasol said the Bulls struggled at times to match Brooklyn's intensity.

"We were missing a lot of parts of the game," Gasol said. "A sense of urgency. We cruise for most of the game. Then when we have our back against the wall, we turn it up and try to give ourselves a chance.

"But sometimes it's just too late. It's something we need to address and need to correct and improve upon. We just need change."

But be careful what you wish for as the change could be a replacement for star center Noah.

Noah had 4 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists when he left the game with a left shoulder sprain in the last minute of the third quarter and did not return. He will be re-examined on Tuesday.

With the game deadlocked at 60-60, the Nets went on a 21-9 run and never trailed again.

"We came out right from the start with a lot of fight and a lot of purpose," said Nets coach Lionel Hollins. "We took the fight to them. We were very focused for the whole game and that was good to see."

Brook Lopez had 21 points and 12 rebounds to spark Brooklyn while Jimmy Butler had 24 points and Gasol contributed 20 points, 9 rebounds and two blocked shots.

Knee in face, tooth in sock

Elsewhere, Atlanta reserve guard Dennis Schroder had 18 points to lead Hawks in double figures as the hosts ripped Portland 106-97 and improved to 18-12 with a fourth consecutive win.

But Schroder lost a tooth in the tussle. While falling to the floor, Schroder hit his face on an opponent's knee and lost a tooth. He picked it up off the court and tucked it into his sock.

At Washington, Wizards guard John Wall passed out a career-high 19 assists and Marcin Gortat scored a season-best 27 points in a 113-99 victory over Sacramento.

At New York, Orlando center Nikola Vucevic matched his season high with 26 points and the Magic beat the Knicks 107-99, snapping New York's 4-game win streak.

Boston snapped a 3-game losing streak, beating visiting Minnesota 113-99, but fans cheered for Timberwolves big man Kevin Garnett, who helped the Celtics win the NBA crown in 2008.

Garnett, who will be 40 in May, was touched as fans chanted "We want K-G" but he did not play. He saluted the crowd in the final seconds, yelling, "I love you all."

Spurs stay perfect at home

San Antonio improved to 16-0 at home with a 106-92 victory over Indiana, Kawhi Leonard scoring 24 points and keeping Pacer star Paul George to 1-of-14 shooting from the field as the Spurs dominated the fourth quarter to pull away.

Russell Westbrook scored 33 points and Kevin Durant added 24 to lead Oklahoma City over the host Los Angeles Clippers 100-99.

Westbrook's 3-pointer put the Thunder ahead 96-95 but Blake Griffin answered with a dunk that put the Clippers back in front, only to have Westbrook hit a jumper for a 98-97 Oklahoma City edge.

Chris Paul, who scored 32 points, made a layup for the Clippers but Durant sank a jumper for a 100-99 Thunder lead with 5.8 seconds remaining and then blocked Paul's final shot to secure the victory.

At Houston, James Harden scored 36 points and Terrence Jones added 17 and each made a 3-point play in the final minute to help the Rockets hold off Charlotte 102-95.

Gordon Hayward's 24 points led Utah over visiting Phoenix 110-89. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – It’ll be Christmas Day, a day of giving and love, when Barangay Ginebra takes on the Star Hotshots in the quarterfinals of the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup. 

But that doesn't mean head coach Tim Cone will go easy on his ex-team. 

“I’m not looking forward to it at all. But they’re a team in the way and we’re in their way, and we’re both gonna want to go out there and win,” Cone said after his new team Ginebra overcame Talk ’N Text Sunday, December 20, to set up the “Manila Clasico” Christmas edition quarterfinals match with Star.

“I love the Purefoods (Star) guys dearly but at this point they’re in our way so we’ve got to find a way to try and beat them. They’re gonna try to do the same thing for us. At this point right now there’s no love lost between us.” 

Ginebra and Star will headline a Christmas Day double-header on Friday, December 25, right after Globalport and Barako Bull’s clash. 

(BRACKET: 2016 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs)

“We have the Christmas Day game which is always a difficult, difficult game to play. So many distractions, so many things going on. But it’s difficult for both teams,” Cone said.

Cone manned the sidelines for the Purefoods franchise for 4 seasons, leading the then San Mig Coffee Mixers to a Grand Slam in the 2014 season before he was transferred to sister team Ginebra last July. 

The Gin Kings will hold a twice-to-beat edge over their rivals, which Cone definitely sees as a welcome convenience, considering the Hotshots routed them 86-78 in the elimination round. 

(SCHEDULE: 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Quarterfinals)

“They handled us so easily the first time we played them. Hopefully we’re a better team and we understand a little bit more what we want to do.”

Knowing full well the capabilities of a team led by veterans Marc Pingris, James Yap, and Mark Barroca, the winningest coach in PBA history is bracing for a tough, grind-it-out match-up.

“Those Purefoods players obviously know how to play the playoffs. They know how to get themselves ready for the playoffs,” he said. “Of all the teams out there, I think they’re the toughest team because they are veterans and they know how to play.” 

Not only that, Cone has also learned his lesson in the past during his first conference with the Purefoods franchise (then B-Meg) when they also had a twice-to-beat advantage as the first seed but were booted out by Powerade. 

“Hopefully I can be a little smarter and that can be a warning to our players not to take things for granted.” 

Cone and Ginebra are trying to end a 7-year title drought, having recovered from a 1-3 start and going on a 6-1 run to end the eliminations as the 4th seed. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – American boxer Adrien Broner confirmed that Manny Pacquiao’s camp submitted an offer for a possible in-ring encounter against the Filipino fighter next year.

Broner, who won the vacant WBA super lightweight championship with a unanimous decision victory over Khabib Allakhverdiev this past October, revealed that Pacquiao’s Canadian adviser Michael Koncz gave him a phone call to discuss a 12-round bout in April 2016. 

"I hear they want me to fight Pacquiao next. Michael Koncz actually called me. We [are] waiting to hear from him,” he said in an interview with FightHype.com.

{source}<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y-S4-AJty48" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>{/source}

Pacquiao is slated to return to the squared circle on April 9, 2016 in what could be the final fight of his illustrious 20-year boxing career, but he chose to delay the announcement of his next opponent nearly two weeks ago.

The 37-year-old favorite son of General Santos City, Cotabato del Sur has not competed since losing to Floyd Mayweather Jr via unanimous decision in their blockbuster duel last May.

Pacquiao blamed his injured shoulder for his lackluster performance against Mayweather as he suffered a torn rotator cuff 3 weeks before the heavily-hyped showdown and was forced to take several days off from sparring as he nursed the ailment. 

According to Pacquiao, the shoulder injury limited him from throwing more shots versus Mayweather as he only connected 19%of his punches as opposed to his foe’s 34% success rate. 

Pacquiao had surgery on his injured right shoulder 4 days after the bout and recently declared that he is fully recovered.

When asked if he is willing to face Pacquiao in the Philippines, Broner gave a thumbs down to the idea of entering enemy territory. 

“Hell, no. I got a name too, and if you ask me, our name is damn near at the same level,” he said. 

Broner downplayed Pacquiao’s aggressive style as a southpaw and added that he will not turn down a match-up with the sport’s only 8-division world champion.

“I love fighting southpaws, man. Just check my record. He’s a great guy. It would be a hell of a fight [pitting] a young rising star against an elite Hall of Famer on his way out. I can’t wait to send him home to the Philippines to go back to be Governor. You can’t put it past nobody. This is boxing. It only takes one shot,” he added.

Aside from Broner, possible opponents for Pacquiao also include current WBO welterweight titleholder Tim Bradley and reigning WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford. – Rappler.com

MANILA, Philippines – By now you likely know about the events of Miss Universe 2015, specifically the mishap by host Steve Harvey during the announcement of the pageant’s winner.

In case you don’t, Harvey mistakenly announced Miss Colombia as the winner of the tournament when it was actually Miss Philippines who was supposed to come away triumphant. The correction was made and Pia Wurtzbach was handed her crown, but the succeeding reaction on social media and all around the world was palpable.

Add the NBA's Houston Rockets to the list of those having a laugh about it.

During their game against the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, December 22, two Rockets mascots played the part of the two Miss Universe finalists, with the results of this pageant similar to those of Miss Universe.

Check it out:

{source} <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cF7DW0Rwjro" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> {/source}

– Rappler.com