Philippine Showbiz Today Vol 14 No 7 | Page 22

22 Philippine Showbiz Today SPORTS October 22 - April November 2017 8 - 21, 7, 2019 Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent down to Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia The names of Manny Pacquiao’s next opponent on July 13 are down to two in Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia. International matchmaker Sean Gibbons, who is also Pacquiao’s official representative in the US, said Thurman and Garcia are the two frontrunners to land a showdown with the Filipino ring icon. Pacquiao breezed through his last two fights, stopping Lucas Matthysse in the seventh round last July in Malaysia before outclassing Adrien Broner two months ago in his return to Las Vegas. The 40-year-old Pacquiao, however, could be in for a tough fight against either Thurman or Garcia. Thurman, 30, the current WBA (Super) welterweight champion, is undefeated at 29-0 with 22 knockouts while the 31-year-old Garcia (34-2, 20 KOs) is a former WBC welterweight titleholder. Garcia will be in action on April 20 against Adrian Granados in Carson, California. (M. Giongco, Inq) UAAP: Adamson extends softball dynasty, beats UST anew A transferee from National University, Vallestero capped her collegiate stint by delivering two hits and three runs in the title clincher. “Dito ko siya kailangan sa year na ito. Siya ang nagdala ng game na ito. Lahat ng individual awards halos kinuha niya,” said coach Ana Santiago, who gave Vallestero a warm hug after the Lady Falcons won their 18th championship overall. “Sinabi niya sa akin, salamat sa din iyo Ate Ana at nakaranas ako na maging champion sa The Adamson Lady Falcons won their 18th championship overall in UAAP.” UAAP softball. Arvin Lim,ABS-CBN Sports Vallestero emerged as the Adamson University got extend its reign to nine years season MVP to go with Best a superb effort from Arianne Tuesday in the UAAP Season 81 Hitter (.556), Best Slugger (.972) Vallestero to beat University of softball tournament at the Rizal and Most RBIs. She shared the Most Homerun award with Santo Tomas (UST), 11-2, and Memorial Baseball Stadium. UST’s Charlotte Sales with three and Most Stolen Bases with her teammate Angelu Gabriel with six. “Wala akong pressure. Hindi ako kinakabahan. Ini-enjoy ko lang. All out na rin ako,” said Vallestero. Aside from capturing the Finals MVP honors, Lyca Basa made it two in a row as the league’s Best Pitcher with 1.167 earned run average. Nicole Padasas also shone with four hits and three RBIs, while MJ Maguad and Jeanette Rusia scored two runs for Adamson. The Lady Falcons, who only dropped only one game this season, swept the best-of-three series, 2-0. (abs-cbn sports) Philippine Sports Commission chairman William Ramirez yesterday announced a donation amounting to P842 million from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor). Ramirez said during the weekly PSA Forum at the Amelie Hotel Manila that the amount will be used to renovate and restore existing sports facilities under the government’s care. Venues like the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and PhilSports in Pasig will undergo a center in both the RMSC and PhilSports will undergo major renovation. “You will not recognize them after the renovation. Magbabago na talaga inside and out,” said Ramirez, who clarified that the P842 million is separate from the monthly remitance of Pagcor to the PSC. “Also, it’s not part of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) budget for the SEA Games,” added Ramirez. (A. Cordero, PS) Philippine Sports Commission gets P842 million boost from Pagcor major facelift. The historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum along Vito Cruz will benefit the most. For the first time in its existence, the 8,000- seat venue will be air-conditioned, and made more suitable to host events like the UAAP and NCAA. The Ninoy Aquino Stadium will also be renovated. Ramirez said the PSC will soon identify the other venues, numbering at least 10, that will benefit from the dole-out from Pagcor under its chairman Andrea Domingo. “We will make sure that these venues will be ready as back-up venues for the SEA Games in November,” said Ramirez. “The Pagcor chairman was very generous with this, and I have informed President Duterte about it,” added the PSC chairman. Included in the plan are the improvement and construction of new dining halls for the athletes and coaches, medical building and even a chapel. The track oval and aquatics