By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter

MACAU — ONE Championship made a successful second foray in Macau, China, at the weekend with two Brazilian champions and a soft-spoken but courageous Filipina fighter going away as big winners.

Dubbed “ONE: Kings & Conquerors” and held at the Cotai Arena in The Venetian Macao last Saturday, ONE Macau saw world bantamweight champion Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil retain his title and compatriot Adriano “Mikinho” Moraes reclaim the undisputed ONE flyweight world championship title.

Also victorious was women’s atomweight Jomary Torres of the Philippines, who made it a successful ONE Championship debut with a submission victory over a more regarded Thai opponent.

Making his seventh defense of his title in Asia’s largest sports media property, Mr. Fernandes, 37, maintained the status quo in the bantamweight division with a quick work of challenger Andrew Leone of the United States in their main event bout, stopping his opponent hardly two minutes into the fight.

Mr. Fernandes had it in the bag as soon as he hit the younger Leone in the midsection that quickly zapped the energy out of the latter, who showed little resistance when he went down to the mat after, prompting the referee to stop the contest at the 1:47 mark of the opening round.

The Brazilian, who was coming off a narrow split decision victory over Australian Reece McLaren in his previous fight, said he was very happy to make another successful defense and that his latest victory is a testament to kind of fighter he has always been.

“I really trained hard for this fight. I believe I have the best team and best coach. Every time I step into the cage my mind-set has always been to prove myself. I always look for the opportunity no matter what it is, and tonight is no different,” said Mr. Fernandes, whose record improved to 21 wins and three losses, at the post-event press conference.

“For me, my life is my motivation. I’m a proud of what I have become and how I have overcome the challenges in my life. That keeps me going both as a person and as a fighter,” added Mr. Fernandes, who dedicated his record ONE Championship seventh successful title defense not only to his motherland of Brazil but also to the “people who believe I can do my job,” including his Filipino fans.

BACK ON TOP
Mr. Fernandes’ compatriot Mr. Moraes, for his part, won back the flyweight world title by taking it away from the man who dislodged him from his spot as champion two years ago — Kairat Akhmetov of Kazakhstan.

Much like in their first encounter, where Mr. Akhmetov did just enough to edge Mr. Moraes, their latest fight was also tightly contested but this time with the Brazilian making sure the tide would go his way with a unanimous decision win.

Mr. Moraes shed the” interim” in his world title by outgunning erstwhile defending champion Akhmetov.

The Brazilian flyweight controlled the majority of the action with his grappling just as Kazakh Akhmetov tried his best to fend off his opponent’s advances with his wrestling.

In the end though, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Mr. Moraes, who unified the flyweight titles to become the undisputed king of the division.

“I’m not surprised [with the victory]. Thank you very much, one more time, for the opportunity, ONE Championship. I want to thank my coach, my family and my friends. I’m very grateful,” said Mr. Moraes (16-2-0), who incidentally dealt Mr. Akhmetov (20-1) his first professional defeat.

He went on to say that he is willing to fight Mr. Akhmetov for a third time but the Kazakhstan fighter has to earn the rematch much like he did.

“I’m willing to fight again but he has to earn it like I did. After I lost to him, I had to fight twice (including for the interim title last year as Mr. Akhmetov recovered from injury) to be in a position again for a title shot. I’m now the champion and I’m ready,” Mr. Moraes said.

ACTION DOES THE TALKING
Equally impressive at Kings & Conquerors was Filipina Torres, who stopped Thai fighter Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige by submission through a rear-naked choke in the second round of their women’s atomweight battle.

Vowing to let her action do the talking, the reserved Torres delivered accordingly with a very convincing stoppage win over the more touted Ishige.

The Filipina fighter, fighting out of Catalan Fighting System, showed no letup when she clipped her Thai opponent in the second round with a booming right that signaled the end as she finished things with a barrage of punches before going for the choke from which Ms. Ishige could not recover from.

“All of these things are new to me. But inside the cage I know what I have to do because that is what I’m trained for,” said Mr. Torres, who admitted she is still getting used to all the attention she is getting as part of ONE Championship.

“I’m happy with the win and the opportunity to fight here. This is just my first time but it is something that I believe I can get the hang of doing eventually,” she added.

Other winners in ONE Macau were lightweight Timofey Nastyukhin over Koji Ando by unanimous decision; Shannon Wiratchai over Rajinder Singh Meena by knockout in round one; strawweight Hayato Suzuki over Filipino Joshua Pacio by Submission (rear naked choke) in round one; featherweight Kotetsu Boku over Filipino Eric Kelly by technical knockout (strikes) in round three; and bantamweight Chen Lei over Saiful Merican by submission (armbar) in the third round.

Next stop for ONE Championship is Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Aug. 18 for “ONE: Quest for Greatness.”

MACAU — Recognizing how the Philippines has been good to ONE Championship since descending on the country in 2012, Asia’s largest sports media property said it has lined up bigger plans for the Philippine market starting next year.

Made its Philippine debut in August 2012 with “ONE Fighting Championship 5: Pride of a Nation” at the Smart Araneta Coliseum that attracted 12,000-plus fans at the live event, ONE has since staged nine more fights in Manila, the most recent of which was the highly successful “ONE: Kings of Destiny” last April at the Mall of Asia Arena that turned out to be the most watched MMA show in the Philippines to date.

The show featured ONE lightweight champion and Filipino Eduard “Landslide” Folayang, who successfully defended his title over Malaysian challenger Ev “E.T.” Ting, and a host of other local fighters winning in front of the hometown crowd.

The great reception that they have been getting from Filipinos all this time is not lost to ONE officials, who said that the Philippines is one market they value and look to engage further with quality and bigger offerings moving forward.

“The growth of ONE and the mixed martial arts culture in the Philippines has been massive. We plan to do four events there next year. We usually do one or two [in the Philippines] but next year we will have a record number of events in the Philippines,” said ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong in a session with international media for their recent live event in Macau, China, “ONE: Kings & Conquerors.”

“Having one of the highest, if not the highest ratings for a live sports event in the Philippines, including the National Basketball Association and the Philippine Basketball Association, in history, shows [how good the Philippines is for mixed martial arts and ONE Championship],” he added.

COMPANIES BUYING ITS VISION
Mr. Sityodtong also shared that ONE is very excited and proud of the partnerships it has forged with top and well-respected companies which bought into the group’s vision of celebrating Asia and the region’s inherent values.

“If you look at the brands that are partners of ONE Championship and compare it to any mixed martial arts brand in the world we have by far the most platinum brands. We have Disney, Haier, Canon and L’Oreal, among others, and the reason is because we do not espouse violence, we don’t espouse hatred or negativity,” said the ONE Chairman.

“These global brands understand that we want to celebrate Asia’s greatest treasures and Asia’s deep-rooted values and unleashing real-life superheroes [through our roster of mixed martial artists], which is why I think these brands decided to come on board with ONE when they could have easily been part of other MMA brands but they decided not to,” Mr. Sityodtong. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter

FC MERALCO Manila got the better of rival Kaya FC Makati on Saturday, claiming a 2-1 win in their “Capital Clasico” at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and thrusting itself back to solo leadership in the Philippines Football League.

Two goals from Tahj Minniecon proved to be the difference for Meralco, which began a new era in its football after Phil and James Younghusband’s recent transfer to Davao, as it made its way back to the top of the standings in the PFL with 30 points on the strength of nine wins, three draws and two losses in 14 games to date.

Meralco is up two points over second-running Global Cebu FC (8-4-2) while Kaya (9-3-4) is one rung bellow at third with 27 points after the defeat.

Mr. Minniecon got things going for the Sparks in the 23rd minute when he converted a nifty assist from teammate Curt Dizon to help their team to a 1-0 advantage.

The two teams went back-and-fort thereafter but Meralco would maintain the lead up to the halfway mark.

In the second half, both sides came out aggressive, looking to seize momentum.

An own goal by Meralco in the 78th minute gifted Kaya a score-tying goal.

But the Sparks, through a Minniecon free kick, were quick to make up for it, seizing the lead anew in the 85th minute and never looking back.

“The match itself speaks for the quality of the players,” said Meralco coach Aris Caslib after the game.

“The message to the team before the game was that the bench must step up, and they did,” added the coach, whose side made it 2-of-2 over its Capital Clasico rival in the inaugural season of the PFL.

With the loss, Kaya, for its part, saw its seven-game unbeaten run come to an end.

It said it hopes to bounce back in its succeeding games and learn from the lessons of the game against Meralco.

“We have to play two halves of quality football. That’s how the game goes. We didn’t perform properly as planned, but we were able to adjust in the second half. We have to play two 45 minutes of quality football to get the result,” said Kaya coach Noel Marcaida following the game.

Meralco next plays Stallion Laguna FC on Aug. 12 while Kaya faces Ceres-Negros FC in its next match.

ON the heels of June Mar Fajardo’s pull out from the national team, one player is showing signs of progress and a possibility of inclusion in Gilas Pilipinas looks imminent.

Seven-foot Greg Slaughter, an original member of the all-amateur Smart-Gilas Pilipinas, is making his presence felt this early in the PBA Governors’ Cup. Four games since returning from an ACL tear injury, the Barangay Ginebra slotman has been making significant strides, helping the Gin Kings to three straight wins.

Mr. Slaughter has averaged 15.25 points and 9.75 rebounds per game and is slowly but surely getting back in peak form.

With Mr. Slaughter back in harness, Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone decided to make him as the anchor of the triangle offense, which has been reverted following the return of their main man up front.

Four games since he returned after being idle for nearly a year, Mr. Slaughter is playing more comfortably — and that produced good results for the Gin Kings, who have now vaulted into solo second place of the team standings and made a push in their title retention bid.

And if Mr. Slaughter continues to get better, Mr. Cone believes he might be ready to play for the Gilas Pilipinas team if given the chance.

Mr. Slaughter getting better is definitely a welcome development not just for the Gin Kings, but also for the national team’s future international tournaments. After the FIBA Asia Cup, the Philippines will play in the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia, then will plunge back to action in November at the start of the six-window home and away tournament leading to the 2019 World Cup.

By that time, Mr. Slaughter will be ready, according to Mr. Cone, if ever Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes decides to tap his services.

“I think Greg will be a great help for the national team when his legs are back. I don’t think he’s ready now, but maybe six months from now or a year from now, he’ll be a big help,” Mr. Cone told BusinessWorld.

Hopefully, by November, Filipino basketball fans would see the twin towers — Messrs. Slaughter and Fajardo — playing for Gilas Pilipinas. — Rey Joble

Filipino basketball fans are hoping to see June Mar Fajardo (wearing no. 22) and Greg Slaughter (wearing no. 20) together in one team to represent Gilas Pilipinas in major tournaments. — REY JOBLE

GILAS PILIPINAS is ready to play with 11 players in case June Mar Fajardo will not be able to play for the FIBA Asia Cup in Lebanon.

The team left for FIBA Asia Cup along with the injured reigning three-time Most Valuable Player over the weekend as the Philippines try to reclaim Asian supremacy despite the unfortunate turn of events that happened the past two weeks.

Mr. Fajardo is expected to miss the action in FIBA Asia Cup after suffering a strained right calf injury as reported by Carla Lizardo of News 5. The 6-foot-10 slotman sat out San Miguel Beer’s game Friday night upon the advise of the doctor.

San Miguel Beer team manager Gee Abanilla confirmed to BusinessWorld that Mr. Fajardo left with the members of Gilas Pilipinas. The team also sent the equipment — the Normatech — which he’s been using for rehab on his injury.

“Our physical therapist is in close contact with the PT of Gilas Pilipinas. For now, the doctor’s advise is to rest the injury for three days before using the equipment for rehab,” Mr. Abanilla said in a telephone interview. According to Mr. Abanilla, Mr. Fajardo is suffering from acute exacerbation of chronic tear in his right calf.

“It’s not a complete tear, but it could lead to that if we’re going to force him to play. Right now, the advise is for him to take a one week rest and one week rehab. He had a previous tear on the same calf,” added Mr. Abanilla.

While Mr. Fajardo can suit up and play for Gilas Pilipinas once his condition gets better in the days to come, Mr. Abanilla, was informed by the doctor to rest it as it could lead to a more severe damage on his calf.

“The doctor also told us that the other calf is also developing a tear. I know June Mar is a fighter. He has played injured before, but looking at the long term, it would be advisable for him to rest so that Gilas could use him in future tournaments. The FIBA Asia Cup is not a qualifying tournament anyway,” added Mr. Abanilla.

Mr. Fajardo has trained twice a day several times while preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup — one for Gilas Pilipinas and one for his mother team. He has also played a lot of games and saw heavy minutes for the Beermen, who had won five championships the past three seasons and put themselves in a good position to win the grand slam this season. — Rey Joble

LOS ANGELES — England’s Greg Owen surged to the top of the leaderboard on Saturday in the third round of the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship, the Reno, Nevada, tournament that uses the Modified Stableford scoring system.

Owen, who is seeking his first USPGA Tour victory, had a total of 37 points and leads Derek Fathauer and Stuart Appleby by five points.

He could have had a bigger lead if he hadn’t stumbled badly on the final hole, where his tee shot was in the rough and his fourth shot went into the water in front of the green.

The double-bogey cost him three points under the points system designed to reward aggressive play. The system awards eight points for an albatross, five points for an eagle and two for a birdie.

Bogeys result in a loss of one point and double bogeys or worse mean a loss of three points. Pars don’t affect the score. — AFP