DAVAO CITY – Founding member Montaña Pawnshop-Davao returns to the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) when it competes in the community-based league’s Sinulog Cup from January 27 to 31 at the New Cebu Coliseum.

Montaña reached the Mindanao Division semifinals of the MVBA’s very first conference in 2006, losing to the Iligan Archangels, 1-2. Since then, the team of businessman Armando Quibod took a leave of absence from the league.

Former Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue guard and Davao City native Michael Manigo has been added to Montaña’s youthful roster and is expected to be among the team’s main men along with team captain Randy Panerio, guards Allan Quibod and Ryan Abanes and forwards Junel Jawod and Dado Ayson.

The Davaoeños thus complete a tough six-team cast sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP). Leading the way is defending back-to-back champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City of Michel Lhuillier and Coach Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba.

Three teams are from Metro Manila – Philippine Basketball League (PBL) members Pharex Medics of Coach Carlo Tan and Toyota-Balintawak Road Kings of Coach Ariel Vanguardia and Metro Basketball League (MBL) titlist Fifth Avenue Telecoms under playing coach Junel Mendiola.

Also in the hunt are the multi-titled University of the Visayas Green Lancers of Coach Elmer Cabahug, who will carry the colors of Hotel Fortuna-Boljoon thanks to the help of businessman Lorenzo Chao Sy and Mayor Deogenes Derama. The Lancers are keen on enlisting some of their recent alumni owing to the tough competition ahead.

The Sinulog Cup is making a return after a three-year absence. In 2005, M. Lhuillier bested the Quezon Coco Huskers in the finals to claim the crown, 97-87. The Jewelers are gunning for a rare three-peat having also bagged the 2004 Sinulog Cup over the San Sebastian-Cavite Baycats, 97-78.(Anthony E. Servinio)

DAVAO CITY — Shiela Mae Perez, the three-meter springboard diving gold medalist in the Thailand SEA Games, and four fellow Davaoeños will be training in Xian, China for six weeks.

On Thursday’s Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum at the Tower Inn, Perez said that Jaime Asok, Zardo Domenios, Niño Carog and Rexel Ryan Fabriga already left for Xian and she will immediately follow.

She said that they are all preparing for the Olympic qualifying World Cup in Shenzhen where the top 36 divers will earn a ticket to the Beijing Olympics in August this year.

Perez presented her gold medal and her silver medal she won in the one-meter springboard in Thailand last month. “We are happy to present these medals to our fellow Davaoeños,” she said.

After a lunch treat courtesy of Davao City Sports Coordinator Christopher “Bong” Go to Perez and the other SEA Games medallists Edmer del Socorro and Ruel Batuto of baseball, Luvelyn Maganda of softball, Amina Anuddin, Sanita Kasim and Ruditha Poralan of traditional boat race, Perez left for Manila on Thursday afternoon to take a Friday morning flight to China.

Edwin Cabalquinto, Antonio Bongato and Rafael Suarez won their respective divisions in the recently-concluded 2007 Pamaskong Handong ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Dama Tournament at the Osmeña Park.

Cabalquinto trounced Roy Rodas in the class A finals while Bongato beat Eulogio Daan in class B and Suarez defeated Pronie Cardiño in class C.

Tournament director Arturo Partosa thanked Mayor Duterte for his continued to support to dama that has grown as a sport and attracted players outside of Davao City to also compete.

Domingo Alquino placed third in class A followed by Rosito Malaran at fourth. Veronico Casada settled for third in class B while Luciano Lamoste came in fourth. Aces Cabigunda Sr. wound up third in class and David Morales finished at fourth place in the tournament presented by Mayor Duterte and supported by City Sports Coordinator Christopher “Bong” Go.

Calinan National High bested A.L. Navarro National High in the high school finals of the 2007 Pamaskong Handog ni Mayor Rodrigo Duterte Sepak Takraw Tournament, late Friday afternoon, at the City Hall Drive.
The Agustin Juyad-mentored Louie Andrade, Joel Libaton, Neil Mark Villaflor employed a better offense to stop teh squad of Jerson Too, Randy Trestiza, Lyster Intal, Chruck John Belesario and coach Bong Laureano.
Malabog SK settled for the second runner-up honors after beating Malabog National High School-B.
The event was presented by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, supported by City Sports Coordinator Christopher “Bong” Go and the Davao Sipa Sepak Takraw Association.

Games December 17 - New Cebu Coliseum
4:00PM Christmas Cup Opening Ceremonies
4:30PM M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City vs. Tagaytay City
6:00PM Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue vs. Pagadian City

CEBU CITY — Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr eked out a 97-94 win over defending champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City Friday night at the New Cebu Coliseum to level the best-of-three 2007 Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) Second Conference Finals at 1-1.

The winner-take-all third match was being played at press time last night. M. Lhuillier won Game One, 76-75, last December 12 at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro City. The multi-titled Jewelers are gunning for their third MVBA crown in four conferences while MisOr is looking for a back-to-back after ruling this year’s First Conference of the league sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) and bankrolled by ML Kwarta Padala, Nature’s Spring, Accel, Reva Sandals, Gameface.Ph and Nike Basketball.

Center Nat Cruz unloaded 12 points in the final quarter including eight out of 10 free throw attempts in the final 35 seconds to hold off the scorching M. Lhuillier comeback. With MisOr shakily on top, 94-91, Woodrow Enriquez opted to drive to the hoop and threaten for the last time with five seconds to play, 93-94. Cruz was quickly fouled but could only make one free throw for a 95-93 MisOr edge.

In the ensuing sequence, Cruz nearly turned goat as he fouled Jerry Cavan. After making his first attempt, Cavan would miss the potential equalizer and Cruz grabbed the defensive rebound plus a foul from Game One hero Ronald Capati. Cruz calmly sank both free throws for the final tally. With no timeouts left for Coach Raul Alcoseba, M. Lhuillier failed to put up a decent shot in the final two seconds of play.

MisOr controlled the entire second half after taking the lead at halftime on back-to-back baskets by Cruz and Frank Nailon, 42-40. Dennis Concha powered MisOr’s initial third period run capped by a three-point play by Ramil Tagupa that erected their biggest lead of the game, 62-50, at the 5:28 mark of the third.

Winning coach Bong Abad credited his players’ good shooting percentage and overall defensive effort that made up for their 20 turnovers versus the nine turnovers of M. Lhuillier. MisOr team owner Gov. Oscar Moreno hardly sat and paced the Coliseum stage for majority of the tense game that saw his wards shoot 34 out of 54 or 63% of their field goal attempts. On the other hand, M. Lhuillier made 30 of 65 attempts for 46%.

Cruz finished with 24 points. Mark Moreño came off the bench in the second period to pump in 11 of his 18 points. Anton Villoria added 15 and Concha 13. Enriquez led M. Lhuillier with 30 points followed by Stephen Padilla with 17 points off five triples. Jett Latonio chipped in 13 and Marlon Basco 11.

Meanwhile, the MVBA Christmas Cup will unveil on December 17 at the Coliseum with M. Lhuillier, MisOr, Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue, Arthro Kontra Arthritis-Cebu and guest teams Pagadian City and Tagaytay City. The tournament will run until December 20 and offers big cash prizes to the winners.

How They Scored:

HOLCIM PRYCE-MISOR (97) - Cruz 24, Moreño 18, Villoria 15, Concha 13, Nailon 10, Tagupa 6, Sanchez 5, Abadia 4, Sevilla 2, Apepe 0, Jabagat 0.

M. LHUILLIER-CEBU (94) - Enriquez 30, Padilla 17, Latonio 13, Basco 11, Capati 9, Gatumbato 4, Cavan 4, Dacia 4, Aying 2, Caputolan 0, Rodriguez 0, Bat-og 0.

Period Scores: 17-19, 42-40, 73-66, 97-94.(Series tied, 1-1)
(Anthony E. Servinio)

Game on December 14, New Cebu Coliseum
5:30PM M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu vs. Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr

DAVAO CITY — HIS team may have finished at the bottom of the pile with a solitary win this conference but burly Eliazar “Boboy” Berami of the Duterte Agilas-Davao ended up with some consolation by walking away as the best scorer of the 2007 Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) Second Conference with an average of 15.1 points over 12 games.

The scoring title is determined by all games played before the MVBA Finals between Visayas Division Champion M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City and Mindanao Division Champion Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr. Game One of the series was being completed late last night at the Xavier University Gym in Cagayan de Oro City. Game Two is scheduled for December 14 at the New Cebu Coliseum starting at 5:30PM. If needed, Game Three will be on Saturday, still at the Coliseum.

Berami averaged only 14.6 points in the 10-game classification round and upped his average to 17.5 in their semifinal series against MisOr. He registered a personal high of 26 markers twice, against M. Lhuillier last October 10 and in Game One of the Mindanao semis against MisOr last November 19. The conference record is 28 points set by Doroteo Almacin of Arthro Kontra Arthritis-Cebu versus M. Lhuillier last October 8.

Finishing a far second to Berami was do-it-all player Rolly Menor of the MP Warriors-GenSan at 14.4 ppg. Defensive wiz Mark Yee of Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue earned the nod of Visayas top gun and third overall with 14.3 ppg.

Rounding out the top ten scorers are Visayas Division MVP Bruce Dacia of M. Lhuillier (13.8 ppg), Almacin (13.8 ppg), Alex Cainglet of Arthro (13.0 ppg), Nat Cruz of MisOr (13.0 ppg), Bong Marata of Landmaster (12.5 ppg), Richard Ian Saladaga of Landmaster (11.9 ppg) and Jonjon Gonzaga of the Agilas (11.5 ppg).

Meanwhile, the MVBA Christmas Cup kicks off on Sunday (December 16) with six teams participating in the five-day joust. M. Lhuillier, MisOr, Landmaster and Arthro will match wits with guest entries from the cities of Pagadian and Tagaytay in the tournament sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP).(Anthony E. Servinio)

Game Today (December 2) – Almendras Gym
7:00PM MP Warriors-GenSan vs. Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr
(Mindanao Finals, Game Two)
 
     DAVAO CITY – Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr shoots for its third straight Mindanao Division Championship tonight when they battle MP Warriors-GenSan in Game Two of the best-of-three Mindanao Division Finals of the 2007 Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) Second Conference at the Almendras Gym.
 
     Should the Warriors of Manny Pacquiao and Coach Ramon Pido stave off elimination by winning tonight and leveling the series, the winner-take-all Game Three will be played tomorrow (December 3), at a venue to be determined.
 
     Entering tonight’s contest, MisOr of Gov. Oscar Moreno and Coach Bong Abad remains the heavy favorite owing to their perfect record against their fellow Mindanao Division teams.  MisOr defeated the Warriors twice in the classification round, 81-74 at the Xavier University Gym last October 9 and 78-57 last November 16 at the South Cotabato Gym and Cultural Center.
 
      Expected to lead the charge of MisOr are guards Anton Villoria and Mark Moreño, who are known to up their numbers whenever they play the Warriors.  Also seen to play big roles are centers Nat Cruz and Frank Nailon, gunner Lowell Briones and reigning Player of the Week Ramil Tagupa.
 
     The Warriors seem to struggle against MisOr, with center Erian Daja the lone bright spot averaging 14.0 points in their two meetings.  Coach Pido has to restore the confidence of the rest of his crew to produce their regular statistics, especially team scoring leader Rolly Menor and usually prolific guards Louie Medalla, Donald Tadena, Roderick Ramos and Apol Coronado.
 
     MisOr swept Goldstar Hardware Duterte Agilas-Davao in the Division Semifinals, 2-0, to arrange the showdown with the Warriors who earned a outright spot in the Division Finals of the league sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) and made possible by ML Kwarta Padala, Nature’s Spring Water, Sulpicio Lines, Accel, Cokaliong Shipping, Reva Sandals, Gameface.Ph and Nike Basketball.
 
     Meanwhile, Game Three of the Visayas Division Semifinals between Arthro Kontra Arthritis-Cebu of Jonathan Guardo and Coach Al Solis and Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue of Joe Soberano and Coach Jun Tan will be played tomorrow at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Complex.  The winner will then play M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City in the best-of-three Visayas Division Finals that will start on December 4 at the New Cebu Coliseum.
 
     The two division champions will tangle in the best-of-three MVBA Finals tentatively scheduled to start on December 8.(Anthony E. Servinio)

Game November 29 – Xavier University Gym
6:00PM Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr vs. MP Warriors-GenSan(Mindanao Finals, Game One)

CAGAYAN DE ORO – Holcim Pryce Pharma-MisOr barged into the Mindanao Division Finals of the 2007 Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) Second Conference Thursday night with a convincing 84-68 thumping of Goldstar Hardware Duterte Agilas-Davao at the Xavier University Gym.

MisOr of MVBA chairman Gov. Oscar Moreno and Coach Bong Abad thus swept the best-of-three series, 2-0. MisOr took Game One last November 19 at the Almendras Gym in Davao City, 92-84. This marks MisOr’s third straight appearance in the Mindanao Finals of the league sanctioned by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP) and supported by ML Kwarta Padala, Nature’s Spring, Sulpicio Lines, Accel, Cokaliong Shipping, Reva Sandals, Gameface.Ph and Nike Basketball.

A 13-0 bomb at the start of the final quarter was all MisOr needed to send the Agilas into extinction, 79-57, and still 5:30 to play. The Agilas trailed by as much as 15 points, 50-65, but managed to build good momentum by closing in at the end of the third period, 57-66. Sadly, that was the best the Agilas could do. Lowell Briones ignited the run with a triple and Nathaniel Cruz capped the demolition with a slam dunk.

Cruz led MisOr with 18 points. Five other MisOr players submitted double-figures in Ramil Tagupa and Jerome Numeran with 12 and Briones, Dennis Concha and reigning Player of the Week Anton Villoria with 10. Jonjon Gonzaga was the lone Agila in twin digits with 14. Boboy Berami and Joel Solis finished with nine markers each.

Game One of the best-of-three Mindanao Division Finals between MisOr and top seed MP Warriors-GenSan will be on November 29 (Thursday) at the XU Gym. The Warriors of Manny Pacquiao will host Game Two on December 1 and if needed, Game Three on December 2. Over in the Visayas Division, top seed M. Lhuillier Kwarta Padala-Cebu City of Michel Lhuillier will have to wait until a little longer to know their opponent in the Visayas Division Finals. The semifinal series between Cebu Landmaster-Mandaue of Joe Soberano and Arthro Kontra Arthritis-Cebu of Jonathan Guardo is tied at 1-1.

e deciding Game Three will be on December 1 at the Mandaue City Cultural and Sports Center. Landmaster won Game Two, 83-80, last November 21 at the New Cebu Coliseum.

How They Scored:
HOLCIM PRYCE-MISOR (89) – Cruz 18, Tagupa 12, Numeran 12, Concha 10, Villoria 10, Briones 10, Nailon 5, Moreño 4, Abadia 3, Apepe 2, Sanchez 2, Jabagat 1, Sevilla 0
DUTERTE AGILAS (68) – Gonzaga 14, Berami 9, Solis 9, Razon 8, Ilanga 8, Sagad 6, Te 5, Sampilo 4, Mejorada 3, Delica 2, Bajinting 0. Period Scores: 24-20, 49-38, 66-57, 89-68.(Anthony Servinio)

DAVAO CITY — The 1st Philippine Association of Family Physicians-Davao Chapter hopes to raise funds for the poor when it holds the 1st PAFP Open Golf Tournament on December 9 at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club.

PAFP-Davao Chapter President Dr.Ana Liza Lanuza-Moscoso said that they intend to equip their Wellness Center at S.I.R. Matina which is serving the poor, especially children ages one to 12 years old, in coordination with the Davao City Health Office. Free consultation is given to the patients but they could not complete the laboratory tests because of the cost.

“We hope to raise the funds to buy laboratory equipment like a miscroscope and for CBC, urinalysis, stool exam,” she said on Thursday’s DSA Forum at the Tower Inn.

She said projects for health, education, surgeries and nutrition program are among the things they are currently working to help the marginalized sector.

“All the money that will be raised will be appropriated for the community,” she said referring to the registration fee of P2,500.

Emcor has donated one motorcycle as one of the prizes for the tournament and an anonymous donor also came in to help them, she siad.

Help also came in from Pharma 3, Enterprise Bank, Pascual Laboratory, DPWH Malita, Ulticon Builders, Natrapharm, Atty.Bonifacio Military, LRI, Otsuka, Kiwanis Club of Cosmopolitan Detroit, Global Times, Stroke Society of the Philippines which is co-presenting the event.

DAVAO CITY — Close to 5,000 senior citizens are joining the 6th RRD Elderlympics on December 8 to 9 at the Rizal Memorial Colleges gym and on December 10 at the SM City Davao.

On Thursday’s DSA Forum at the Tower Inn, Councilor Leo Avila, Chairman of the RRD Elderlympics 2007, the event, chiefly backed by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, is to provide a venue for physical and mental exercise as well as to recognize the significant contribution of the senior citizens to the community.

With the them of “Active Ageing”, the RRD Elderlympics will have various activities lined-up like the field demonstration, 25 meters by 4 relay, 100-meter walkathon, basketball free throw and four on four, chess, table tennis, paper cutting, message relay, candle relay, golf ball putting, fish fanning, quiz bowl and social ballroom dancing competition.

City Poblacion A is defending its title in this year’s event supported by the Office of the City Mayor, Office for the Senior Citizens Affairs, Davao City Federatoin of Senior Citizens Association, SP Committee on Social Services headed by Councilor Tomas Monteverde IV, City Social Services and Development Office, City Administrator’s Office, City DILG, PASWI-Davao, DSAP, Rotary Club of Davao 2000, Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine, Dr.Maria Luisa Aportadera, Dr.Melanie Herrera, City Health Office, Dancesport Davao, City Sports Division, Fil-Canadian Development and Training Center for Caregivers and the Office of Councilor Leonardo R. Avila III.

He said that SM City Davao, RMC though President Leo Tereso A. Magno, Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Veterans Bank have also supported the event including the Drugstores Association of the Philippines which will hold a medical mission.