PH Azkals overcome Maldives for 2nd win in World Cup
qualifiers
MALE – Iain Ramsay and Patrick Strauss struck in the second half as the Philippines overcame
a stiff challenge from the Maldives, 2-1, Thursday for only its second victory in the joint 2022
Fifa World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup Qualifying at National Stadium here.
Ramsay fired the opener in the 53rd minute, controlling excellently from the edge of the area
before firing a rocket from a narrow angle to beat Mohammed Faisal on the Maldives goal. The
second goal came in the 69th minute when Strauss stabbed home from close range after Luke
Woodland and Patrick Reichelt were denied by the upright.
Substitute Hassan Naiz denied the Azkals of a clean sheet with a goal in stoppage time that
turned out to be too little too late.
Coming off a goalless draw against China in Bacolod City last month, the Azkals traveled to this
country known for its postcard-pretty islands and beaches, needing to maintain a level of
consistency in their play.
With Martin Steuble out due to suspension, coach Scott Cooper sent in Luke Woodland to play
on the right side of the five-man backline. But it was the hosts who were knocking the ball
around with confidence early on with the Azkals struggling to get a grip on the match.
Still, the visitors had the first real chance of the match when the Maldivians were whistled for a
handball inside the area. Reichelt stepped up to take the penalty only to be denied by Faisal.
A goalless first half prompted the Azkals to amp up the intensity after the restart. Ramsay fired a
warning with a snapshot from the edge of the area just 30 seconds into the second half.
The win pushed the Azkals’ tally to seven points from four matches, although they remained in
third spot behind Syria and China. The Filipinos travel to Dubai on Friday to face the Syrians on
Tuesday at Rashid Stadium.
Rene Catalan sees long reign for ONE
strawweight champ Joshua Pacio
Joshua Pacio and Rene Catalan show respect to each other after their strawweight world title fight
in the main event of ONE: Masters of Fate. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Joshua Pacio retained his strawweight world title when he stopped fellow
Filipino Rene Catalan in the second round in the main event of ONE: Masters of Fate Friday night
at Mall of Asia Arena.
It was Pacio’s first title defense since regaining the belt, which Catalan doesn’t see changing
hands anytime soon as long as he stays healthy and determined.
“He will reign long. He is still young, he’s just 23 and if he remains disciplined, he will reach
even bigger heights,” Catalan said.
“I just hope he stays injury free and he remains disciplined because I see him holding the belt for a
long time.”
Catalan has reason to believe Pacio will remain the king of the strawweight division for as long as
he strives to after competing against him inside the ring.
The 40-year-old Catalan nearly had Pacio into a submission in the first round but only to be a
witness to the Team Lakay star’s resiliency.
“I was really planning to get that heel hook and leg lock, that’s where I was trying to get the
submission,” Catalan said.
Tea
“I heard his ankle snap three times, but he just stayed on it. He was really strong, that’s what
surprised me. He was really determined, and his fighting spirit is really impressive.”
Catalan, who saw his six-fight streak come to an end, hopes to get another crack at the world title
against Pacio.
“I know I still have a lot to learn when it comes to MMA,“ Catalan said. “I got motivated to train
more. Pacio is the king of the division and I was there with him.”
“I’m gonna come in even more confident the next time out because I feel like Pacio is the
strongest in the division.”
Nadal saves match point vs Medvedev for
1st win at ATP Finals
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after winning match point against Daniil Medvedev of Russia
during their ATP World Tour Finals singles tennis match at the O2 Arena in London, Wednesday,
Nov. 13, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
LONDON— Facing match point at 5-1 down in the third set, Rafael Nadal gave himself about a
one-in-a-thousand chance of turning things around against Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals.
Those odds turned out to be more than good enough for the top-ranked Spaniard.
Nadal saved that match point with a perfect drop shot and then rallied to beat Medvedev 6-7 (3),
6-3, 7-6 (4) Wednesday, keeping alive his chances of advancing from the group stage.
“Today is one of those days that one out of 1,000 you win and it happened today,” Nadal said. ”In
that moment (facing match point), what you think is probably in five minutes you are in the locker
room, because that’s the more normal thing. In that moment, you play with not much pressure
because you are almost lost.”
Nadal looked headed for a second straight loss at the season-ending tournament but won five
games in a row to go 6-5 up in the deciding set. In the tiebreaker, Medvedev missed a routine
forehand to hand Nadal a match point and then sent a backhand just wide. That shot was initially
called in but was overturned by Hawk-Eye after Nadal challenged the decision.
The win gives Nadal a 1-1 record after two round-robin matches, while Medvedev fell to 0-2.
In the late match, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat defending champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2 for his
second straight win, a result that guarantees him a place in the semifinals.
The other three players all still have a chance of advancing.
Tsitsipas, who is making his debut at the tournament for the world’s top eight players after a
breakthrough season, broke Zverev for a 5-3 lead in the first set and then twice more to go 5-1 up
in the second.
With dozens of Greek flags being waved around the O2 Arena, Tsitsipas then served out the
match with an ace.
“Once again, it was not just me out there, but a whole bunch of excited people that came to
support me,” said Tsitsipas, the first Greek player to qualify for the event. “It was a crew
situation.”
Zverev could still advance with a win over Medvedev on Friday, and he also lost his second
round-robin match last year on his way to the title.
“Things are still in my hands, and I’m looking forward to it, because I can still decide whether I’m
here on Saturday or not,” the German said. “There is nothing I can do about today now. He played
a fantastic match, I thought. I played really bad.”
Tsitsipas said he was playing with a pain-killing injection in his foot because of an injury but
pledged to treat his match with Nadal as a must-win situation even though he’s already through to
the semifinals.
“I’m going to try to give my soul, and I think it’s also a very good challenge for me in order to
prepare for more difficult matches in the semifinals and the final potentially, so this match is
going to give me a lot,” he said. “It’s going to educate me, and I’m going to try to get and absorb
as much as I can from that.”
In a rematch of this year’s U.S. Open final, Nadal came out looking much sharper than in his
opening loss to Zverev and broke Medvedev twice in the second set.
But the Russian raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and had two more break points in the next
game. However, Nadal held and then saved a match point at 30-40 in his next service game with a
backhand drop shot at the net.
Medvedev then started making more mistakes while Nadal played like a man with nothing to lose,
going for winners all over the court.
“Rafa fought his best, because he could just say ‘OK, it’s over at 5-1 and just give me the point,’
but we all know Rafa is not about this,” Medvedev said. “I just need to close out such matches.”
Nadal’s preparations for the ATP Finals were hampered by an abdominal injury that forced him to
pull out of the Paris Masters semifinals this month. But he insisted he feels fine physically, and is
gradually finding his best game after an error-filled performance against Zverev.
”I have been playing a better level of tennis than the first day in general terms,” Nadal said. ”Then
to win this match is a combination of a lot of things: luck, some mistakes of Daniil, some good
moments by myself at the end.”
Nadal’s win also strengthens his grip on the year-end No. 1 ranking, as it means Novak Djokovic
has to win the tournament to have any chance of overtaking him. Djokovic first has to beat Roger
Federer on Thursday just to advance to the semifinals.
