The Laguna Heroes downed the Rizal Batch Towers and San Juan City Predators to gain a share the Northern Conference lead with Caloocan going into the final stretch of the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) All-Filipino Conference Wednesday night.
Spearheaded by Grandmasters Banjo Barcenilla and John Paul Gomez, the Heroes dumped the Batch Towers, 13.5-7.5, before getting back at the Predators with a come-from-behind 11-10 win.
The pair of victories catapulted the Heroes to the top of the Northern Conference alongside the Loadmanna Knights with identical 22-3 win-loss records.
San Juan fell to third with a 21-4 mark.
Vince Angelo Medina, Kimuel Aaron Lorenzo and Arjie Bayangat delivered the decisive wins for Laguna against Michael Gotel, Narquingel Reyes and Narciso Gumila on the lower boards to help turn the tables on San Juan.
There will be nine more games left before the playoffs start and Laguna is hoping it could keep its grip of the lead. (Kristel Satumbaga)
Cignal getting ready for PVL
The Cignal HD Spikers has acquired Ayel Estranero to boost their lineup for future Premier Volleyball League competitions.
The team disclosed this on its social media account Thursday, a day after officially announcing their move to the league.
This isn’t the first time that Estranero will be playing in the PVL having played for the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons that won the 2018 Collegiate Conference title.
Estranero has played multiple positions for the Lady Maroons as a converted setter, libero and attacker.
She also boasted of a UAAP Season 80 beach volleyball bronze medal with partner Tots Carlos.
She played for Motolite before transferring to Cignal.
With the move, Estranero will join Rachel Daquis, Ranya Musa and Jheck Dionela to the fold. (Kristel Satumbaga)
Fil-Am fighter eyes UFC comeback
Filipino-American fighter Mark Striegl is reportedly set for his UFC comeback against American Johnny Munoz in April.
Per MMA Fighting, the Striegl-Munoz bout is an additional bantamweight matchup in UFC 261 on April 24 which headlines the UFC women’s flyweight championship between current queen Valentina Shevchenko and Jessica Andrade.
Both Striegl and Munoz will make their sophomore appearance in the biggest mixed martial arts promotion.
Striegl, 32, suffered a bitter loss in his UFC debut against Russian opponent Said Nurmagomedov last October.
Nurgomedov only needed 51 seconds to hand the Striegl’s first loss in the promotion, sending the Fil-Am down the canvas with a solid left counter before finishing with ground and pound action. (Carlo Anolin)
Zion, Hachimura among NBA Rising Stars selections
NEW YORK (AFP) – New Orleans All-Star forward Zion Williamson and Washington forward Rui Hachimura of Japan were among 20 players named to NBA Rising Stars rosters Wednesday even though the game won’t be played.
A showdown between US and World lineups of top first- and second-year players is a traditional start to NBA All-Star Weekend, but the game was wiped out by Covid-19 and the choice to stage All-Star events only on Sunday.
The league continued the custom of having NBA assistant coaches to recognize deserving rookies and talent second-season players.
Hachimura was the only Asian representative on a global squad that also included Miami rookie forward Precious Achiuwa of Nigeria, French rookie guard Theo Maledon of Oklahoma City, Washington rookie forward Deni Avdija of Israel and Denver rookie guard Facundo Campazzo of Argentina.
Five second-year Canadian players were in the World lineup — New Orleans guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, New York swingman R.J. Barrett, Golden State guard Mychal Mulder, Memphis forward Brandon Clarke and Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort.
