Triumphant homecoming for Donaire and Viloria.

The Philippines' finest: IBF Flyweight Champion Nonito Donaire Jr. scored
a victory against Mexican-American Raul Martinez.
(Yahoo! Sports/AP)

I wasn't sure about watching the boxing match last Sunday but since I've already started catching up with the sport, why not. Glad I made the right decision. True enough, it didn't disappoint. The good thing about it, I didn't have to spend a single centavo to watch the fight. Thank goodness it was aired on free TV. It was sort of "live" but it's all good. I'm not very knowledgeable nor an expert in boxing, I just enjoy watching it that's all.

Floored @ 8.

Didn't catch the other under-card matches but this particular bout was just amazing. Sonny Boy Jaro, one of the new breed of fighters in the Philippines, floored his opponent (not sure if he's Mexican) in 8 measly seconds of the first round. That has got to be one of the quickest fights I've ever seen in my life. I'm not certain if it was a title match but nevertheless that match is clearly one for the books.

Man on a mission.

Fil-am Brian "The Hawaiian Punch" Viloria got his eyes set on one thing: regaining the IBF Light Flyweight Championship from Mexican Ulises Solis. And that's exactly what he did but clearly, he knows it won't be an easy one at that. Known as "the Filipino Executioner", Ulises Solis seemed like he had an advantage over Viloria, or so he thought. The moniker given to him would soon be blemished, nay, erased by "The Hawaiian Punch" on Philippine soil.

Mexican resilience.

The first 3 rounds looked like it favored Solis but it was back and forth the rest of the way. Then the 5th or 6th round was the turning point of the match (I think) Solis was the receipient of a Viloria left hook (or was it a straight) thus cutting his right eye brow. Half of his (Solis') face was already scarlet red. Surprisingly, Viloria got minor damages despite taking most of the Mexican's killer jabs.

Dude wouldn't go down that easily. The blow on Solis made him even tougher. The fight would soon become tougher. Solis' resiliency would soon take it's toll in the 11th round.

Hawaiian Punch.

The fight was certainly heating up. It was already round 11, seemed like both fighters already gave it all until Brian Viloria saw an opening that would end the Mexican's misery. Viloria avoided Solis' desperation left hook then "The Filipino Executioner" was decked with a beautifully executed right straight punch. Lights out, it's all over. Brian Viloria wins the IBF Light Flyweight title.

Hitting the canvass: Fil-am Brian Viloria KO'd Mexican Ulises Solis
to reclaim the IBF Light Flyweight crown.
(Yahoo! Sports/AP)

A redemption indeed for Viloria in his struggling boxing career. He's now back on top of the mountain. It was his best fight to date. What a way to winning a title match on your home turf. The midcard fight looked it was the main event. A show-stealer, literally. Fans at the Araneta Coliseum who payed for the tickets in the fight got their money's worth.

The Donaire-Martinez fight was next.

Homecourt advantage.

The edge was on the defending IBF Flyweight champ Nonito Donaire Jr. obviously. Other than the fight being in the Philippines, the height difference and reach favored "The Filipino Flash" over Mexican-American Raul Martinez. The only advantage Martinez has is that he's undefeated with a 24-0 record while Donaire is 21-1.

Streak on the line.

With Martinez's unblemished record in jeopardy, there's a lot of pressure on him in winning a title match. Everything he does has to be consistent. Scoring a huge upset in Manila could be a confidence booster but a tarnished win-loss card is a different story.

Jitters.

I believe this is Donaire's first ever fight here in the Philippines (I may be wrong on this). Fighting front of your homecrowd can be tough. Expectations are quite high and I don't blame him from getting butterflies in his stomach, so to speak.

A short fight.

I expected the fight to be as long as Viloria's which is also a 12-rounder. Donaire was dominant on Martinez right from the start. I noticed that the Mexican-American fighter was losing his footwork everytime he tries to dodge Donaire's punches. I figured something was wrong and dude could go down anytime. Martinez actually went down twice in the first round. He went down the third time, I believe in the 2nd round.



Martinez's legs looked wobbly in the 3rd round. It could be nap time for him soon. Donaire was ready to go for the kill. He would seal his fate in the 4th round as he floored him with a left uppercut right in the kisser. Referee stops the match. Crowd roars. Donaire successfully defends his IBF title. A great main event.

Fighters on the rise.

Nonito Donaire Jr. and Brian Viloria could be the next Filipino greats in boxing. Both these fighters might even have the same success as Manny Pacquiao. Pacman will soon be hanging up his gloves. They are the Philippines' finest and inspiration to every Filipino. Let's all support their upcoming fights may it be title or non-title matches like we all did for Pacquiao.

Speaking of which, I'm looking forward to the Pacquiao-Hatton fight on May 3 (May 2 in the US). That would be a good slugfest I'm sure.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Powerade-Team Pilipinas humbles Australian Team.

Powerade-Team Pilipinas Skipper Asi Taulava (no. 8) tries to avoid
an altercation with Australia's Patrick Pilae.

The RP Team managed to pull-off an overwhelming victory over the visiting Aussie Team last Friday. The Filipinos had somehow managed to contend with the Australians despite the height advantage. But last night's game at the Araneta Coliseum was a different story altogether.

The Motolite-Goodwill games may be a friendly one but it was all business for both teams. Imports Tiras Wade and Shawn Daniels beefed up the Aussies' roster for some added firepower. It was a challenging task for Team Pilipinas as they held off the Australian team in an overtime win 91-86. For RP Team coach Yeng Guiao, it was a test on how the Philipines can contend with international teams:

“This series will be a point of discovery for us,” said national coach Yeng Guiao. “We will make our adjustments based on what we see in these tune-up games.

“We’re a little rough around the edges, considering our limited time together, but the competitive fire is there,” he added. “What we’ll learn here will help us win in the future.”

The PBA-backed Philippine team is being readied for at least three international tournaments starting in June—the Southeast Asian Basketball Association championship, the Jones Cup tournament, and the FIBA-Asia qualifying for the World Championships.

In the dying seconds of the 4th quarter, Kerby Raymundo's clutch jumpers forced the game in overtime. Giving the Australians a run for their money. Raymundo chalked up 24 points for the National Team while Arwind Santos took over and finished the extra period with 12 points.

Imports Tiras Wade led with 30 points and Graeme Dann chipped in with 19 for the Australians. 7-footer Patrick Pilae created problems for the Filipinos in the paint:

“I think he just wanted to fight everybody,” said RP skipper Asi Taulava, who had repeated scrapes with the well-built Samoan.

The PBA backed RP Team have proven they can go toe-to-toe with a big and physical Australian Team, suffice to say, the Nationals are ready to go into battle in the upcoming international games. It was indeed a learning experience for Team Pilipinas in the process. The real test perhaps for the Nationals' is the team chemistry and how consistent they are along the way. Adapting to the international style of play is another factor the RP team should consider. That I believe is where the consistency will come in. The transition from the professional game is no easy task.

It's a good confidence booster for Team Pilipinas but then again, more exhibition games are needed to help the team be more prepared before the SEABA (Southeast Asian Basketball Association) Championship in June. No guts, no glory as they say. Going up against a towering Australian Team is no joke, mind you. Bottomline is, two exhibition games is definitely not enough to toughen up the National Squad. Nevertheless, it was one hell of a basketball game.

Box Scores:

Powerade-Team Pilipinas - 93

Raymundo 24, Santos 12, Helterbrand 10, Reyes 9, Thoss 6, Norwood 6, Baguio 5, Dillinger 4, Yap 4, Pennisi 3, De Ocampo 2, Miller 2, Taulava 2

Hoopdreamz (Australia) - 89

Wade 30, Daniels 19, Lalic 11, Hyams 11, Veg 9, Susnjara 5, Dann 4, Pilae 0, Amir 0

Quarters: 23-14, 43-38, 60-67, 80-all, (OT) 93-89

A rainy finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Still on top: a wet 1st place podium victory for Brawn GP's Jenson Button
at the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang.
(Eurosport/AFP)

Rain, rain go away! Fans and F1 teams prayed the dark gray clouds wouldn't come. Things were just fine, or so everybody thought. Right in the middle of the race, the inevitable happened. The weather didn't cooperate thus rain started pouring in. I thought at the time it was just a slight drizzle but then again, it already turned into a storm.

I could tell the drivers didn't have clear vision of the track because of the rain, obviously. Flashing red rear fog lights were the only thing they could see. It's as if there's liquid fog all over the place. Then minutes later, the safety car was deployed with 24 laps remaining in the race. On the 32nd lap all the cars remaining stopped and positioned themselves in the grid. Then the FIA officially announced the suspension of the race.

The heavy downpour gave Brawn GP's Jenson Button another first place finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix. I was happy with the results but the fact that popular teams like Mclaren and Ferrari has yet to taste a podium finish this season. Brawn GP maybe a rookie team but it seems like they've been in the league for years. I'm now one of their fans. Oh yeah! I consider them one of the dark horse teams in F1.

I guess it didn't matter to the British driver whether he had a safety car to take credit for his wins or not. He did acknowledge the race officials of making the right decision to stop the race:

"It wasn't like it was rivers, it was a lake," said Button, who also won in Australia last weekend with the safety car deployed on the final lap.

"It was really bad conditions and you could not actually see the circuit. I mean it was that bad. We were behind the safety car and my team, who did a fantastic job, said all you have got to do is drive around and that was difficult enough.

"A few moments I was almost off the circuit...the safety car was pulling away from us.

"The race was way too wet and I think that the call was correct," he added.

"It rained so hard so quickly that I think they did the right thing. It was very difficult for them to judge how wet the circuit is and in Fuji, for me, two years ago it was too wet. But this year I think they made the right call to stop it at the right time."

BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Toyota's Timo Glock finished at 2nd and 3rd respectively. Brazil's Rubens Barichello placed 5th behind William's Nico Rosberg at the 4th. It was a great race indeed despite watching the Malaysian GP live for the 1st time in years ending in a suspension. It's still all good though.

I guess all the brouhaha on Mclaren's Lewis Hamilton at the Australian GP last week somehow had an effect on him. I'm not sure If I'm gonna feel sorry for the dude. The thing is, I still don't like him. I still feel he didn't deserve last year's driver's championship. But then again, all the hype has gotten past him. Albeit the controversy surrounding him, he still managed to check in at 7th place in Sepang.

Nevertheless, it was Jenson Button's reckoning, so to speak. He has yet to win a Grand Prix without the aid of a safety car. I'm sure that little footnote is not gonna stop him from making a strong impact in the F1. It won't be easy but right now, Brawn GP literally, pushed the right 'button'.

Wrestlemania 25 coming up....

Yeah! I'm not missing that one, ever! Glad it's going to be aired on Jack TV but it's gonna be a little delayed. OK, so it is a delayed telecast. There, I said it. But I'm still hoping I could get that exclusive invite to watch the whole thing LIVE at the Glorietta 4 in Makati on Monday morning, April 6. That's already next week. I joined their promo in hopes of watching the PPV live.

Whether or not I get the invite, I'm still gonna watch the biggest spectacle in the WWE. I'll be blogging about the live screening event, if ever I'm one of the chosen few to watch it.

So WWE fans, unite!!!

Bobcats upset Lakers twice. No April Fool's joke.

The Charlotte Bobcats kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the L.A. Lakers 94-84.
(Brock Williams-Smith/NBAE/Getty Images)

I'll keep this post rather short. Anyways, when I found out that the L.A. Lakers lost to the Charlotte Bobcats, that really made my day. Hell yeah! I know one Bobcats fan who's absolutely happy about it (I'm looking at you BET). I'm sure a lot of Laker fans aren't all too pleased of the Lake Show's loss at Charlotte.

It's really good to know that the Bobcats are still in the hunt for the 8th playoff spot. They're just one of the teams that I wanna make the playoffs. At least, the Portland Trailblazers have a much better chance of making a return to the post season. The playoffs is just around the corner and I'm excited and looking forward to that one.

On that note, I'll see y'all on my next post. Peace.