Because this is my blog and I don't have anything to post as of the moment, I have decided to put my stories that came out of the Visayan Daily Star today.
Cojuangco nominated
to top football post
Former Rep. Carlos Cojuangco (Fourth District, Negros Occidental) is one of four nominees for president of the Philippine Football Federation, which will hold its quadrennial elections on Nov. 24 at the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila .
This was confirmed to the DAILY STAR last night by PFF general-secretary Pablito Araneta, who said Cojuangco will be up against former national players Mariano “Nonong” Araneta Jr., Mari Martinez and PFF publicist Ed Formoso.
The PFF executive said Cojuangco was nominated by the Cagayan De Oro-Misamis Oriental FA and the Baguio FA, headed by Leo Arnaiz.
Both Cojuangco and Araneta Jr., president of the Iloilo Football Association, are members of PFF Board of Governors.
Araneta Jr., a former PFF executive vice-president and director of the FIFA Goal Program in the Philippines , was nominated by 11 provincial FAs as the deadline for nominations expired yesterday.
Cojuangco, meanwhile, spearheaded the hosting of two international football events in Negros Occidental --- the 2005 Southeast Asian Games and the ASEAN Football Championships Qualifying at the Panaad Park and Stadium.
The presidents of the 32 FAs under the PFF will decide who will succeed Johnny Romualdez, also the vice-president of the ASEAN Football Federation.
The NCR FA will not have voting rights since it has been indefinitely suspended by the PFF, Romualdez said.
The PFF receives an annual subsidy amounting to approximately $321,620 (P13.8 million) from the sport's international governing body, FIFA, the Asian Football Confederation and the AFF, the PFF officials said.
The amount includes the $250,000 annual aid from the FIFA, the monthly AFC doleout of $3,385 for coaches' seminars, among others, and the $25,000 subsidy for administrative expenses from the AFF, Pablito Araneta said.*
LOPTTA NAT'L TABLE TENNIS TILT
Favorites in early
show of force
Fancied teams, led by defending champion Lopue's Table Tennis Association-A, produced a dominant show on Day 1 of the LOPTTA National Table Tennis Invitational Championships at the Lopue's San Sebastian Annex Building in Bacolod City yesterday.
With local standouts Isaias Seronio, Marrel Lagunday and Arnie Uy sweeping their matches, LOPTTA-A moved to the top of Group A with two straight victories together with another favorite, Hua Ching and E.C. Jack-B.
LOPTTA B, last year's losing finalist, shares the Group B lead with E.C. Jack A and Lopue's Mandalagan-College of St. Benilde with identical 2-0 win-loss records.
LOPTTA-A shutout Bacolod-B, 3-0, and swept Wuerth Amkor, 3-0.
Lagunday sealed the win against Amkor with an 11-9, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 victory over Angelie Deolan, after Seronio toppled Ojack Morsequillo, 11-5, 6-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-5, and Uy dismantled Joey Raymundo in straight sets, 12-10, 11-4, 11-8.
Hua Ching defeated A.D. Marketing, 3-0, in a series where RP No. 1 Sendrina Balatbat recorded an 11-8, 11-4, 11-6 triumph over local hope Cherry Tiongco.
Hua Ching, which also has former national player Antonio Aguinalde in its fold, cruised to another 3-0 win over Star Paper-A, while E.C. Jack B, led by former RP Team standout Joseph Cruz, routed A.D. Marketing, 3-1, and Bacolod-B, 3-0.
Noah Trayco, LOPTTA's top 17-Under player, representing Bacolod-B fell to Cruz, 3-11, 6-11, 6-11.
In Group B, Mark Jimenez overwhelmed Rainbow Connection-Davao's Patrick Mendiola, 11-5, 11-6, 11-6, and Johnard Baldonado rallied past Danilo Dividina, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6 to power LOPTTA-B to its second straight win.
Ruby Ann Longno completed the rout with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-8 whipping of Mary Cris Catalan.
It was a follow up to LOPTTA-B's impressive 3-1 win over Bacolod -A.
Boosted by the fine games of Jojo Almazan and 13-year-old wonder Yanyan Lariba, RP's No. 2 ranked player in the women's division, E.C. Jack A hammered Bacolod-B, 3-0, before shutting out GCSOC-Cebu, 3-0.
CSB overpowered Rainbow Connection, 3-0, and later trounced Star paper B, 3-1.*
Bustamantes reach
WPC quarterfinals
Time and time again, Joven Bustamante made some crucial mistakes that could have ended his stirring run in the World Pool Championships.
Time and time again, Japanese star Satoshi Kawabata failed to capitalize on Bustamante's miscues.
And now Bustamante, like distant relative Francisco “Django” Bustamante, stands just two victories away from the finals in his maiden WPC stint at the Araneta Coliseum.
Joven's error-filled 11-9 triumph over Kawabata last night forged a quarterfinal duel with Karl Boyes of England , who crushed Konstantin Stepanov of Russia , 11-4.
The Russian had eliminated Efren “Bata” Reyes and Jeffrey De Luna in the round of 64 and last 32, respectively.
After blowing hot and cold and hot again in his round of 32 win over Dutchman Nick Van Den Berg, “Django” took out Filipino-Canadian Alex Pagulayan, 11-2, to also enter the quarterfinals.
Joven and “Django” are assured of $10,000 each for reaching the last eight.
Roberto Gomez, the third Filipino still in contention, was to play Niels Feijen of the Netherlands late last night.
Kawabata, the Asian Games gold medalist, was the third big name booted out by Joven, who squeezed into the tournament through qualifying.
Among Joven's victims were 2005 WPC winner Wu Chia Ching and fancied Filipino bet Dennis Orcollo.
Unlike in his match against Wu, the 28-year-old Bustamante did not get off to the best of starts, falling behind 3-5, as Kawabata momentarily took the momentum after the Filipino blew an easy shot on the 9-ball in the fourth rack.
A jittery Joven surrendered the next two racks to Kawabata, who was also having all sorts of problems on his break, after tying the match at 5-all, before equalizing again on the 14 th rack.
Joven reached the hill on the 18th rack, after losing the two previous racks that he should have won if not for missed a thin cut on the red three-ball that rattled in and out of the bottom left pocket that left the table open for Kawabata, who managed to close in at 8-9.
On the break, Joven drained three balls but was unable to get a good angle on the blue two and played a safety that worked wonders as Kawabata was forced to give the Filipino a clear shot en route to the win.
