STAR's Top 10 stories: Manny pulls off lucky 13th

(Second of three parts)

MANILA, Philippines – Here are the year’s top 10 sports stories.

• Lucky 13 for Manny. It was Manny Pacquiao’s 13th straight win last Nov. 13 as he decisioned Mexico’s Antonio Margarito at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for the vacant WBC superwelterweight crown to pocket an unprecedented eighth world championship in eight different classes. Coincidentally, the number of letters in Manny Pacquiao is 13. The victory reaffirmed Pacquiao’s status as the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter and established a legitimate argument for his recognition as the best ever.

Pacquiao, 32, figured in two fights in 2010. Last March, he outpointed Ghana’s Joshua Clottey before a crowd of 50,000 at the Cowboys Stadium. Pacquiao won as Congressman of Sarangani in the May elections and became the only active fighter ever in public office. Pacquiao’s fight against Margarito registered over a million pay-per-view buys, his third million seller in the last three years.

The only other Filipino world titlist is WBO minimumweight champion Donnie Nietes. In line for world title cracks next year are bantamweight Nonito Donaire Jr., superflyweight Drian Francisco, flyweight Milan Melindo and minimumweight Denver Cuello – all of whom are considered potential champions.

• Azkals bring football to life. An improbable surge to the AFF Suzuki Cup semifinals has revived mass interest in football in the country as the Azkals, coached by Simon McMenemy, brought the game back to the sports headlines. Barging into the semifinals wasn’t easy. The Azkals went through a qualifying grind where the Filipinos crushed Timor Leste, 5-0, drew with Laos, 2-2 and held Cambodia to a scoreless tie to advance. Then, the gritty Azkals drew with Singapore and Myanmar and blasted defending champion Vietnam, 2-0, to arrange the semifinals showdown with Indonesia.

Because no local venue met AFF standards, the Philippines forfeited its right to host the first game of the two-leg semifinal series and had to play two away matches before wildly-cheering Indonesian fans. Uruguay’s Cristian (El Loco) Gonzales, a naturalized player, delivered for Indonesia as he knocked in the marginal goals in the pair of 1-0 wins. The Philippine Football Federation underwent a leadership overhaul last month when the National Congress voted Mariano Araneta Jr. to replace Jose Mari Martinez as president.

FIFA, the world governing body for football, also recently okayed Araneta’s assumption of the PFF top post.

• Meltdown in Guangzhou. The Philippines had little to crow about in the 16th Asian Games. Nine countries in Asia collected at least 10 gold medals. Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore bagged at least four gold medals. Hong Kong hauled in eight gold, 15 silver and 16 bronze medals with a population of seven million compared to the Philippines’ 92 million. The final tally showed only three gold, four silver and nine bronze medals for the Philippines. Hitting paydirt were flyweight boxer Rey Saludar, men’s singles bowler Rivera and 9-ball singles cue artist Orcollo. The silvers were brought in by flyweight boxer Annie Albania, 9-ball singles cue artist Warren Kiamco, singles golfer Miguel Tabuena and the chess team made up of So, Torre, Laylo, Gomez and Rogelio Antonio Jr.

• Gold in world poomsae. Last year, the Philippine women’s team of Janice Lagman, Rani Ann Ortega and Camille Alarilla became overnight celebrities with their good looks after winning the world poomsae title in Cairo. This year, it was the men’s turn to shine. Anthony Ray Matias, Jean Pierre Sabido and Brian Alan Sabido topped the first team male category, the most challenging and difficult in seven events of the World Poomsae Championships in Tashkent last October. Coach Igor Mella described it as an inspiring showing by the Filipinos who improved on their sixth place finish last year. Accompanying the team to Uzbekistan were Philippine Taekwondo vice president and grandmaster Hong Sung Chon, Korean coach Jeong Tae-seong, international referee Stephen Fernandez and Mella. The defending ladies champion narrowly missed bringing home a bronze by .01 of a point, settling for fifth among 22 entries.

• New order in sports leadership. Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Monico Puentevella called it the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Philippine sports, the unfolding of an era of unity. Last July, the POC General Assembly welcomed newly appointed Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Richie Garcia as a special guest. “Now, we’re one family again, under one roof, fighting for our country and athletes,” said Puentevella.

Garcia, 64, served a combined six years in two terms as PSC commissioner under Presidents Estrada and Arroyo and worked as chef de mission at the Macau Asian Indoor Games in 2007, head of operations at the Manila Southeast Asian Games in 2005 and deputy chef de mission at the Thailand SEA Games in 2007. “The key is transparency,” he said. “I recognize what the athletes need. I’m not starting from scratch. I realize our goal is to win that elusive gold medal in the Olympics. Together with the POC, we’ll do our best to achieve that objective.” Serving with Garcia in the PSC are commissioners Jolly Gomez, Akiko Thomson, Chito Loyzaga and Buddy Andrada.

Garcia and POC president Jose Cojuangco Jr. are known allies so the expectation is the partnership will go a long way in boosting Philippine sports. (To be continued)