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[av_heading heading=’Elorde brothers continue to shine’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Friday, March 3, 2017
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BROTHERS Juan Miguel and Juan Martin Elorde successfully retained their World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles in the main event of “Boxing Kontra Droga” card recently at the Elorde Sports Center in Parañaque City.
Juan Miguel was able to defend his WBO Asia-Pacific super bantamweight title for the second time after scoring a technical-knockout victory over Indonesian boxer Erick Deztroyer.
Juan Miguel, No. 3 in the WBO rankings, started strongly by knocking down Deztroyer in the first round. The Indonesian fell to the canvass again on the fourth round, although referee Bruce Mctavish ruled a slip.
With the victory, Juan Miguel improved his boxing slate to 23-1-0, including 12 knockout victories, while the record of the much younger Deztroyer slid to 8-5-1, with one stoppage win.
Meanwhile Juan Martin had an impressive night when he successfully defended the WBO Oriental lightweight championship via stoppage victory over Thai boxer Aekkawee Kaewmanee.
The first two rounds saw an even exchange of punches between Juan Martin and Kaewmanee, but the former kept his composure with a combination of upper cuts and right hooks that staggered the opponent.
Juan Martin continued to pressure Kaewmanee with solid body blows, which put the Thai on the defense. The Thai did not get up anymore from his seat, prompting referee Ferdinand Estrella to declare a TKO win.
The 32-year-old Juan Martin stretched his winning streak to 11 and a 22-1-1 win-loss-draw slate, with nine knockout wins, while the 35-year-old Kaewmanee’s record fell to 16-8-0, with six stoppage victories.
Both fights by the grandsons of the legendary Gabriel Elorde were the main events of Boxing Kontra Droga presented by the Johnny Elorde Management International in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Manila Premier.
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Nearly a decade after it decided to bolt from the PBA, the Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. is making a grand return in big sport leagues when it joins the Philippine Superliga (PSL) Invitational Conference starting March 4 at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.
The Sta. Lucia Land, which has won two PBA titles during its stint from 1993 to 2010, will try its luck on women’s volleyball when its sponsors a squad composed of NCAA superstars.
Sta. Lucia Land head coach Michael Cariño said even if they have a short time to prepare for the PSL Invitational, he believes he has a young team capable of pulling off surprises.
Composing the squad are Janine Navarro, Djanel Cheng, Ranya Musa, Rachel Austero, Melanie Torres, Lourdes Clemente, Nacael Gual, Cindy Imbo, Dana Henson, Jonna Sabete, Rica Enclona, Rialen Sante, and Shaira Umandal.
“What we have is a young but fighting team,” said Cariño. “We have been preparing for Philippine Superliga the past three weeks, and we’re confident that we will make the company proud.”
PSL president Ramon Suzara said he expects the squad — one of the new teams this season — to make an immediate impact in the 2017 season opener.
“I expect Sta. Lucia to be competitive right in its debut and give PSL mainstays Petron (Tri-Activ Spikers), Cignal (HD Spikers), Foton (Tornadoes), Generika (Lifesavers), and Cocolife a run for their money,” Suzara said.
“Sta. Lucia is known for its fighting spirit and winning tradition when it was still involved in professional basketball,” Suzara added. “The team has already been assembled, and we’re expecting it to hit the ground running.”/PN
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