Philippine Azkals lost to Beckham and the LA Galaxy

The country’s much revered team, that is, the Philippine Azkals just met David Beckham and his very popular LA Galaxy team last December 3, 2011 in a friendly football match that attracted throngs of fans and aficionados in the country.

The effervescent Beckham, who once became the pillar of strength of the British National Football Team and one of the most popular and most highly-paid athletes in Europe is bringing his wares and fearsome skills to the country.  Showcased his finesse and vast creativity in passing as he quarterbacked the Galaxy to a smashing 6-1 victory over the host team.

The two teams faced in a historic match at Rizal Memorial football stadium. The game is the second in a three-leg Asia Pacific tour for Beckham and the Galaxy. The Galaxy team is still basking in victory after capturing the 2011 Major League Soccer (MLS) Cup.

Earlier the Galaxy escaped with a 1-0 win over resilient national team of Indonesia. Irish football stalwart Robbie Keane scored a goal in the 14^th minute of the match.

Beckham said, “It’s hard to be diplomatic sometimes but definitely want to win the game…” and he added, “we want to win, no matter where we are.”

The Azkals will be parading a team minus its captain Aly Borromeo (nursing a knee injury) the same lineup that competed in the semis of 2010 ASEAN Suzuki Cup.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss and his team will surely have their hands full over their opponents but is confident that they will give the visiting a competitive game.

Phil Younghusband, Azkals ace striker quoted, “We’re more than excited than pressured. It’s important  that we just enjoy the game.

Though the Philippines lost the match the country still benefited from it since it just promoted the game in a grand fashion. Expect more Filipino kids to emulate the world class players of the Galaxy.

Philippines Win Over Bangladesh 3-0 Enters the Final Round of AFC Challenge Cup

(Update of the Game Result Between the Philippine Azkals and the Bangladeshi Bengals)
Philippines win over Bangladesh 3-0

Its final the Philippines is marching into the elite eight of the AFC Challenge Cup as the Philippine Azkals comes up with a stellar performance. The Philippines Azkals thanks to the new reinforcement in Fil-Spanish Anghel Guirido and local stalwart Ian Araneta, finally showed classy football act as they drubbed the Bengals in a lopsided 3-0 fashion. Guirido scored two goals in the second half while his teammate Araneta scored a goal in the first half.

James Younghusband played superbly as he made great passes from the midfield even as the Philippine defenders did their as they made a decent job of shellacking the enemy’s offense.

The Palestine wins it game against host Myanmar to raised its total points output to 7 points to top the group. Philippines checked in second with 5 points, the Bangladesh is at third with 3 points and Myanmar bring up the rear with just one point to show.

Maldives, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and India also advances into the next round together with the Philippines and Palestine after qualifying from their group.

(The Philippines is leading at half time 1-0)

Needing no less than a win to advance into the next round of the AFC Challenge Cup the Philippine Azkals have a gargantuan task of upending equally surprising Bangladesh which wielded the upset axe against host Myanmar.

The Philippines lived up to the challenge as it takes a 1-o lead after halftime against the gritty Bangladeshi side. Striker Ian Araneta filling the shoes left by the Philippine’s top gunner Phil Younghusband scored a sizzling free kick on the first half to help the Philippines seize the early lead.

The Philippines which is running third with two points on the two draws scored against both Palestine and Myanmar is hard-pressed to win its third game to snatch one of the two berths at stake into the next round. Palestine has four points to pace the group. Bangladesh has three points, the Philippines 2 points and Myanmar with only a point to show.
The tournament calls for 3 points for every won match, one point for a draw and nil for a loss.

Latest Game Result of the Philippines Versus Palestine in AFC Challenge Cup

(The update of the game between the Philippine Azkals versus the Palestine after fulltime)

(The update of the game between the Philippine Azkals versus the Palestine at halftime)

The Philippine Azkals found Palestine a tough team to crack as they are held to 0-all after halftime on their second game in the Group Stage of the AFC Challenge Cup.

Parading more reinforcement to make up for the loss of its main gunner, Phil Younghusband, the fast-rising Azkals is now leaning on tough defense to neutralize the cohesive plays of the Palestinian team. Azkal goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is so far doing a good job of foiling enemy attempts with worthy saves.

The Azkals are held to scoreless draw by host Myanmar and hopes to nail a win over the Palestine to bolster its bid in collaring one of the two berths to the elite eight at stake in the tournament.

Palestine is leading the group with full 3 points after winning against Bangladesh 2-0 on their first game. Myanmar and the Philippines are tied for second place with one point a piece, since a draw is worth a point.

The Palestinian national football team is one of the favorites in the tournament and the Philippines hopes to at least salvage a draw or perhaps score a win to enhance chances of qualifying in the next round.

The Philippines Lost to Japan 1-3 in Davis Cup

The Philippine number one ranked tennis player Cecil Mamiit was beaten by Japanese Go Soeda 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 to allow the Japanese to seize the tie in the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup Group I tie at the Plantation Bay Resorts and Spa. Soeda’s win propelled the Japanese to a 3-1 triumph over the Filipino and next faces Uzbekistan for a spot in the world group.

The fifth game wasn’t played since the Japanese already have an unassailable lead and which also a non-bearing game according to the latest rule in the Davis Cup.

The Philippines will next face New Zealand with the winner retaining the Group I position.

Philippine Cuppers Takes the Doubles Match Trims Japanese lead 1-2

Davis Cup Tie Result Between Japan versus the Philippines

Japan lead series 2-1

The Philippines bounced back to contention on their Davis Cup tie against the fancied Japanese team as the tandem of Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey breezed past the duo of Yuichi Sugita and Takao Suzuki 6-1, 7-6 and 6-2 in the Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines.

The win of the Filipinos on the second day trimmed the lead of the visiting Japanese team 1-2 heading to the crucial third day of action.

The Filipinos must sweep their remaining two matches against the Japanese. The Japanese on the other hand will win the tie if it at least takes one of the two remaining games. The winner of the tie will meet the Uzbekistan which already wrapped up their series with the New Zealand by triumphing on the doubles match to take an unassailable lead 3-0, and makes the remaining two singles matches non-bearing.

Wesley So Now Ranked 62nd Best in the World

Filipino chess whiz and sensation Wesley So’s ascend to the pinnacle of chess gets a big boosts as his ranking soar to 62^nd in the latest January, 2011,Elo Rating released by FIDE. So now totes a remarkable rating of 2673 which improved by four points.

Last November 2010, So has a rating of 2669 which is good for 73^rd spot. So is one of the top chess players in the world that doesn’t have a coach, an advantage that could’ve given him a big lift in high profile tournaments he participated in. Although he has this handicap he still managed to pull surprises and maintain a consistent performance.

In the last 2010 Asian Games held at Guangzhou, China, So helped the Philippine men’s chess team secure a silver medal in the team competition behind host China and besting crack teams like India, Kazakhstan, Vietnam and Uzbekistan.

His solid game play reinforced by blind attacks makes him an enjoying player to watch as he was also invited to join in the SPICE tournament organized by GM Judith Polgar. He also played in the Group B section of the prestigious Corus tournament, where a blunder against Anish Giri of the Netherlands prevented him from taking the title.

Phl Smart Gilas Team Nips Chinese Taipei Enters Quarterfinal Round

The Philippine Smart Gilas team breezed past gritty Chinese Taipei 82-73 to earn a quarterfinal berth in the basketball competitions of 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The Philippine team finished third in Group F with a 3 win 2 loss record in the second round and will meet many time rival South Korea, where the winner will advance to the semifinal round.

Asi Taulava and Marcio Lassiter each scored 18 points while Chris Tiu chipped in 15 points to lead the Philippine charge. The Filipinos just lead by two points at half time but managed to pull away from Chinese Taipei in the fourth quarter to secure their third win in five outings.

China meanwhile annexed the top spot in Group G by beating South Korea 72-64, while Iran crushed Qatar 88-46 to top Group F.

Other countries that also made it to the quarterfinals are Japan, Iran, Qatar, North Korea, and Jordan.

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Philippines Versus India in Asian Games

The Philippines will take on lowly India on their fourth game in the second round of action in Group F of the basketball competitions of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. The Philippines must win one of its two remaining games to gain a berth in the quarterfinals. The last game of the Smart Gilas Phl team would be against dangerous Chinese-Taipei.

If the Philippines will sweep its two remaining game it will face South Korea in the next round. Winning one of their remaining them may set them an early duel with China and two setbacks will virtually eliminate them in the tournament.  The Filipino cagers stomped its class against Qatar, while bowing to Asian champion Iran and Japan.

Overall the Philippines had amassed 2 golds 2 silvers and 8 bronzes on their Asiad campaign which is good for 15th place, and now lags behind SEA rivals such as Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia, and ahead over Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Timor Leste.

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games in China

The 16th Guangzhou Asian Games kicked off last November 12, 2010 showcasing the vast, distinct and colorful culture of the world’s most populated country in the world which is China.

Countries from all corners of Asia are here for the conclave sending their best athletes in various sports discipline (ubiquitous and traditional), with hope that they can collar some measure of respect in the region by bagging the medals at stake or rip some existing records.

The Far Eastern countries represented host China, South Korea, Japan, Hongkong-China, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia and Macau-China boasts athletes that can perform very well even in the world stage, are the perennial favorites in capturing most of the medals up for grab. And halfway through the games, the region amassed a lion’s share of the medals. Far East Asian countries especially China, South Korea and Japan, are heavy favorites in swimming, judo, taekwondo, table tennis, dance sports, gymnastics, chess, athletics, archery, cycling, weightlifting, fencing, shooting, softball and canoeing and kayaking.

The former territories that formed Union of Soviet Socialists Republic (USSR) like Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyztan and Tajikistan which comprises Central Asia are also contending for top honors in the event. The region is strong in chess, dancesports, gymnastics, cycling, boxing, athletics, tennis, football, basketball, rowing and canoeing and kayaking.

The Game’s darkhorse, the Middle East or Western Asian countries are locked for a battle and will surely make their presence felt in events like basketball, football, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling. Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and Jordan form the Middle East bloc.

The South Asia which is consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Seychelles are pinning their hopes in events like cricket, khabaddi, tennis, chess, athletics, shooting, weightlifting, and boxing, billiards and snooker.

Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and Timor Leste from South East Asia are force to reckon with in boxing, chess, bowling, golf, sepak takraw and billiards and snooker.

The games which will end on November 27, 2010, will truly showcase the strength, wit and courage of the participating athletes from all over Asia.

China as expected is leading charge in the medal tally followed by South Korea and Japan.

Related Links:

Philippines Beat India in Fifth Round to Wrest Second Place in Asian Games

Philippines Upsets Kazakhstan in 4^th Round of Chess Competition in Asiad

2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou China

The Complete Lists of Filipino Medalists in the 2010 Asian Games

Philippines Loses to Japan in Asian Games

Wesley So Loses to Giri in Biel Chessfest in the Eighth Round

Grandmaster Wesley So of the Philippines bowed to old nemesis GM Anish Giri of the Netherlands in the eighth round of the 43rd Biel Chessfest Young Grandmaster Tournament  category and remained stacked with 4 points. So playing with the black pieces engaged Giri into complications in their English Opening (Pidgin Variation) and even pushed the Dutch number 2 player in time trouble. At the end So was in big trouble as the match was culled to just 5 pawns for both players and a Zugswang favors the white pieces with strong passive pawns on the kingside that.

The loss dashed the hopes of Wesley So of bagging the tournament’s top plum.

Almost the same fate happened to So earlier this year as he bowed to time troubled Giri after making a blunder. So missed a winning line that enabled Giri to wield the upset axe and eventually wrap up the Corus Section B championship and the automatic seeding to next year’s elite Group A.

Vietnamese GM Nguyen Truoc Son meanwhile pulled out a stunning reversal as he repulsed second seed GM Evgeny Tomashevsky  of Russia to enhance his chances of winning the tournament. Nguyen now totes 4.5 points to catch Caruana for the lead on this All-Grandmaster, single round play tournament.

Other chess matches are still played as of presstime.

Standings After the Eighth Round in the 43^rd Biel International Chess Festival

4.0 points So (Philippines), Tomashevsky (Russia), Andreikin (Russia)*, Vachier-Lagrave (France)*, Rodhstein (Israel)*, Giri (Netherlands)

2.0 points Negi (India)*, Howell (England)*

Playing as of presstime

Wesley So Keeps Share of Second Place After Seven Rounds in Biel Chessfest

Updated

Another draw for GM Wesley So of the Philippines this time against GM Nguyen Trouc Son of Vietnam to stay in a share of the second place in the 43^rd Biel Young Grandmaster Tournaent  held in Switzerland. The Filipino chess whiz finds himself in big trouble but as the battle nears the end game Wesley So managed to make a comeback and squeezed the draw. The Qc2 move of so in the 16^th proves to be very weak as Nguyen pounced on it. The Vietnamese controlled the game from then on, but So didn’t waver as he launched counter attacks and parry all the threats provided by Nguyen.

Three other games in the tournament also ended in a draw on this 10-man all-GM tournament – top seed Maxime Vachier of France against second seed Evegeny Tomashevsky, Fabiano Caruana of Italy against Anish Giri of the Netherlands and Paramirjan Negi of India against Dmitry Andreikin of Russia.

GM Maxime Rodhstein of Israel is still battling GM David Howell of England as of presstime.

Caruana still holds a very slim lead and just a half a point ahead of So, Vachier-Lagrave, and Andreikin.

Standings After Seventh Round in the 43^rd Biel International Chess Festival

4.5 points Caruana (Italy)

4.0 points So (Philippines), Tomashevsky (Russia), Andreikin (Russia), Vachier-Lagrave (France), Rodhstein (Israel)

3.5 points Nguyen (Vietnam)

3.0 points Giri (Netherlands)

2.0 points Negi (India), Howell (England)

*Playing as of presstime

Wesley So Scored a Draw Over His Russian Opponent in the Sixth Round of Biel Chess festival

Updated

Filipino Grandmaster Wesley So escaped with a draw against his second seeded opponent Russian GM Evgeny Tomashevsky in just 24 moves of Carokann in the sixth round of the 43^rd Biel Chess Festival held in Switzerland to hike his output to 3.5 points. He tied his opponent,  Russian GM Dmitry Andreikin and Israeli GM Maxim Rodhstein  for the share of the econd place. Andreikin drew his game over Rodhstein.

Italian GM Fabiano Caruana nurses a slim half point lead in the tournament by also drawing his game against Vietnamese GM Nguyen Truoc Son, to raise his total points to 4.0.

Also playing as of presstime are French GM Maxime Vachier-Lagraive and David Howell, and Dutch GM Anish Giri and Indian GM Paramirjan Negi.

Giri who is the reigning Groub Section of the Corus Chess Tournament is running into time trouble but against his opponent.

Standings After Sixth Round in the 43^rd Biel International Chess Festival

4.0 points Caruana (Italy)

3.5 points So (Philippines), Tomashevsky (Russia), Rodhstein (Israel), Andreikin (Russia), Vachier-Lagrave (France)

1.5 points Howell (England), Negi (India)*

So Loses to Caruana in the Fifth Round in Biel Chess Festival

Grandmaster Wesley So’s hold of the lead in the 43^rd Biel Chess Festival was wiped out as Italian GM Fabiano Caruana of Italy inflicted him a resounding defeat on their Carokann encounter in the fifth round match. The Filipino chess lion who now totes 2 wins, two draws and a loss and was stalled at 3.0 points now half a point behind his tormentor. Caruana seized the solo lead with 3.5 points.

Israeli GM Maxim Rodhstein who played very well for his country in the last staging of the Olympiad made up from a loss to So in the fourth round, as he bounced back into contention by outwitting favored Anish Giri of the Netherlands 1-0 to hike his points output to 3.0.

In other fifth round action, GMs Nguyen Truoc Son of Vietnam and Paramirjan Negi of India agreed to a draw, ½ – ½, the same outcome transpired with the game between second-seeded GM Evgeny Tomashevsky of Russia and David Howell of England.

The result of the game between top seed GM Maxime Vachier-Lagraive of France and Russian GM Dmitry Andreikin is still not available as they are still playing as of presstime.

So will have its hand full when it battles Tomashevsky in the sixth round.

Standings After Fifth Round of the 43^rd Biel International Chess Festival

3.5 points Caruana (Italy),

3.0 points So (Philippines), Tomashevsky (Russia), Rodhstein (Israel)

2.5 points Andreikin (Russia)*, Truong Son (Vietnam)

2.0  points Vachier-Lagrave (France)*, Giri (Netherlands)

1.5 point Howell (England)

1.0  point Negi (India)