Philippine Showbiz Today 23 SPORTS
Golf
September 8 - 21 , 2017
Manila Southwoods-Masters will have a proverbial bulls-eye in its back starting Sept . 19 when the 12th PAL Ladies Interclub tees off in Cebu City as the squad shoots to rule the prestigious event for the seventh straight year .
Tree-lined Cebu Country Club , the venue of so many huge professional and amateur events in the past , will host the 72-hole tournament regarded as the unofficial club championship of the country .
SW-Masters will be without Pauline del Rosario , who turned pro after last year ’ s weathershortened conquest of the field in Baguio , but the team is still brimming with so much talent
Soccer
PAL Ladies Interclub blasts off Sept . 19 at Cebu Country Club
and it wants to prove a point .
Host Cebu CC and newcomer Pradera Verde are the others in the Championship field and are being tipped to crowd SW-Masters , with Crystal Faith Neri , the Gabasa sisters Irina and Junia and Mary Kim Hong bannering Cebu CC .
Pradera , meanwhile , will be spearheaded by the talented Yuka Saso , a Fil-Japanese who has played for the Philippine Team several times and who is regarded as one of the finest amateurs in the land today .
With Del Rosario making waves in the pro tour here and abroad and with another regular , Abby Arevalo in the United States on a scholarship at San Jose
State , Sofia Chabon , Mikhaela Fortuna and Bernice Ilas will carry the fight for SW-Masters .
Last year , the tournament was called off after 54 holes
with fog and rain rendering the Camp John Hay layout in Baguio unplayable .
And SW-Masters wants to put that behind this year .
PH Azkals keep top spot in Asian Cup qualifiers
Philippine Showbiz Today 23 SPORTS
Southwoods golf director Jerome Delariarte said , “ The players are very motivated to win No . 7 , and they know that this year will be a tougher challenge because of the arrival of Pradera , and of course , with rival Cebu CC still there .”
Tournament sponsors Primax Broadcasting Network , Mareco Broadcasting Network , Fox Sports , Asian Air Safari , Travelife Magazine , People Asia , Tourism Promotions Board , Bombardier , PLDT and Mastercard .
Support also comes from The Filipino Channel , Asia Brewery , Alaska Corp . and Philippine National Bank . ●
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Substitute soccer player James Younghusband scored a 71st minute goal and the Philippine Azkals battled Yemen to a 2-2 draw Tuesday and maintain their hold on the top spot in Group F of the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers at the Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City .
Younghusband , who turned 31 Monday and entered the game after halftime , headed the equalizing goal off a free kick to allow the Azkals to split a point with the visiting Yemenis in the country ’ s first major football match in the City of Smiles since
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Azkals midfielder James Younghusband |
Feb . 2011 .
The Azkals improved to seven points after three matches in the group , two clear of Yemen and four off Tajikistan . The top two teams in the group qualify for the prestigious 2019 competition in the United Arab Emirates .
Coach Thomas Dooley ’ s Azkals allowed Yemen to take the lead twice but came through with the timely goals in each half to salvage a tie .
Mudir Al Radaei delivered the opener off a set piece in the 27th , but Phil Younghusband fired a free kick from 30 yards three
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minutes later to help the Azkals draw level .
A speedy counterattack by the Yemenis allowed Abdulwasea Al-Matari to score an empty net near the hour mark . It took a while before James came through with the tying goal . ● - J . Terrado , MB Sports
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Wesley So drew with Colombian Joshua Daniel Ruiz Castillo in 31 moves of a Gruenfeld Defense Monday night to complete a 1.5- . 5 first round win and advance to the second round of the FIDE World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi , Georgia .
So gained the early initiative and a slight positional edge but ended up opting for a draw in the second game knowing he beat Castillo with black in 59 moves of a Caro-kann in their first game to gain the early upper hand the day before .
In their first duel , So won the exchange in the middlegame and easily turned it into a victory after finding a way to trap Castillo ’ s knight in the corner .
The win arranged So a second-round encounter with German Matthias Bluebaum , who edged Argentinian Sandro
Wesley So advances in Georgia chess tiff
Mareco , 1.5- . 5 .
Julio Catalino Sadorra , the country ’ s highest rated chesser , could muster just a 33-move standoff in 33 moves of another Gruenfeld to fall to Russian Maxim Matlakov , . 5-1.5 .
Sadorra , who lost their first duel , went desperately for a win that would force a two-game tiebreak with lesser time control but wound up splitting the point .
Sadorra though will not go home empty-handed as first round losers will receive US $ 6,000 .
So for his part is assured of US $ 10,000 for just making it the second round of this tournament giving US $ 120,000 to the champion and a spot in the World Candidates Matches , the final round to gain a crack of the world title currently held by Magnus Carlsen . ● - J . Villar , PS Sports