Saturday, June 13, 2009

Pacquiao gets Fighter of the Year honor in NY

abs-cbnNEWS.com

International boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has formally received the “Fighter of the Year” award for 2008 from the prestigious Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) in New York Friday (Saturday in Manila).

A report by InsideSports.ph said Pacquiao, the best Filipino boxer in history, received a standing ovation when he climbed the stage to receive the award from BWAA president Jack Hirsch.

It was Pacquiao’s second “Fighter of the Year” award having first won the honor in 2006.

Hirsch reportedly even hinted that Pacquiao’s sensational second round knockout of Ricky Hatton last May 2 may put the Filipino among the Fighter of the Year candidates for 2009.

In receiving the award, Pacquiao thanked Top Rank promoter Bob Arum for backing him up, his trainer Freddie Roach, his family and his countrymen for all their support.

He also said that he realized the value and prestige of the award which is why he flew all the way to New York.

Meanwhile, Roach won his third “Trainer of the Year” award. He credited his prized ward for much of his success.

“[His] work ethic is amazing and I’m real happy he walked through my door one day,” said the US trainer.

Roach said he wants Pacquiao to have two more big fights and then retire.

“With (Floyd) Mayweather Jr. coming up and, of course, (Miguel) Cotto and (Shane) Mosley, we’ll fight the winner of that down the line,” said Roach.

Roach said he saw “no problem whatsoever” in fighting Cotto or Mosley but added “right now, I think Mayweather is the better fight for Manny and that’s the fight I want.”

He said Mayweather “is not as strong as Cotto or Shane (Mosley)."

"He is not a big puncher. He’s been off for a long time now. He struggled with (Ricky) Hatton and was behind after six rounds. We destroyed Hatton. He struggled with Oscar De La Hoya and Manny destroyed Oscar so who’s the better fighter?” Roach said. -- Ronnie Nathanielsz

Friday, June 12, 2009

4 young Pinoy scientists bag awards in international science fair

– Rainier Allan Ronda
www.philstar.com


Fourteen-year-old Angeli Yap-Dy, an incoming junior at the Capiz National High School, won a 2nd Special Award given by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry and a $1000 cash price for her research on the anti-oxidant properties of the bangus or milkfish and their possible use to fight lung and colon cancer.

Jovani Tomale, 16, won a 2nd Special Award from the American Statistical Association for his mathematical formula that determines the gender of the Philippine eagle. Tomale graduated last March from the Davao City National High School and is an incoming freshman at the Ateneo de Davao University taking up accountancy.

Arlita Narag, Intel Philippines’ corporate affairs manager, expressed pride in the Filipino students’ impressive performance at the ISEF, where they were pitted against the best and brightest foreign students on science and engineering.

Intel Philippines presented the winning students to education and information technology industry reporters at the Edsa Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

All four winners said that their victory at the ISEF was a “life-changing” experience that gave them confidence and spurred their interest in science research.

Tomale said that while they were somewhat intimidated by their fellow students, especially those from developed countries such as the US, Japan and Canada, they knew that they can hold their own in science.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus also expressed his elation over the students’ win in New Mexico.

“We salute our young scientists who again made the country proud in the international science fair. Congratulations too to Intel for being a strong partner of DepEd in helping develop a culture of science, math and engineering research in our schools,” Lapus said in a statement.

This year’s ISEF was dominated by women, with the top prizes being won by three female high school students namely Tara Adiseshan, 14, of Charlottesville, Virginia; Li Boynton, 17, of Houston; and Olivia Shwob, 16, of Boston. The three won a $50,000 scholarship from the Intel Foundation.  

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