UAAP Season 75: League Leaders after 7 games

We are at the halfway point of the Men’s basketball tournament of the Season 75 of the UAAP.  Here some of the players who dominated the important statistical categories:

Scoring

1. Bobby Ray Parks (NU Bulldogs) 20.71 ppg
2. Karim Abdul (UST Growling Tigers) 17.57
3. Terence Romeo (FEU Tamaraws) / Jeron Teng (DLSU) 16.71

Rebounding

1. Karim Abdul (UST Growling Tigers) 13.57 rpg
2. Emmanuel Mbe (NU) 10.57
3. Norberto Torres (DLSU) 9.86

Playmaking

1. Bobby Ray Parks (NU)/ Jeric Fortuna (UST) 5.0 apg
2. Terence Romeo (FEU) 4,.29
3. RR Garcia (FEU) 3.86

Steals: Bobby Ray Parks (NU) 1.86 spg

Blocks: Greg Slaughter (ADMU) 2.86 bpg

 

 

Ronda Pilipinas 2012 Stage 13: Valenzuela wins ITT but Galedo keeps Red Jersey

Route: Tuba, Benguet – Baguio City (27.4 Kms)

Stage Honors

1. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 44:51
2. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 00:14 behind
3. Lloyd Lucien Reynante (Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance) 02:02 behind

Top 3 teams of Stage 13

1. American Vinyl/LPGMA 2:21:33
2. Roadbike Philippines 0:01:20 behind
3. V-Mobile 0:02:13 behind

Top 10 in Individual Over-all Classification after 12 stages (Red Jersey)

1. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 46:08:52
2. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:00:33 behind
3. Lloyd Lucien Reynante (Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance) 00:04:06 behind
4. Oscar Rindole (V-Mobile) 00:05:50 behind
5. Cris Joven (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:06:23 behind
6. Baler Ravina (Roadbike Philippines) 00:08:50 behind  (up from No.7)
7. Joel Calderon (V-Mobile) 00:09:33 behind (up from No.8)
8. Harvey Sicam (Eastern Pangasinan) 00:09:33 behind (down from No.6)
9. John Rene Mier (Philippine Army/RC Cola) 00:11:13 behind
10. Rey Martin (V-Mobile) 00:12:38 behind

Top 5 Teams Overall after 13 stages

1. V-Mobile 135:20:27
2. American Vinyl/LPGMA 00:02:52 behind
3. Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance 00:13:08 behind
4. Metro Manila 00:14:39 behind
5. Roadbike Philippines 0:14:41 behind (Up from No.6)

Top 5 in Best Young Rider Classification (Yellow/Gold Jersey)

1. John Rene Mier (Philippine Army/RC Cola) 46:20:05 
2. George Oconer (RP Team) 00:05:29 behind
3. Ronald Oranza (Northern Luzon/Ilocos Sur) 00:08:48 behind
4. Rudy Roque (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:15:37 behind
5. Rustom Lim  (American Vinyl/LPGMA)  00:18:08 behind

Top Sprinter (Blue Jersey):

1. Cris Joven (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 98 pts
2. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 75 points
3. Rustom Lim  (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 66 pts

King of the Mountain (White Jersey):

1. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 88 pts
2. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 61 pts
3. Lloyd Lucien Reynante (Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance) 34

The Stage 13 Individual time Trial was won white jersey holder Irish Valenzuela.  He won the stage with a time of 44:51 seconds.  His valiant feat, though, was not enough for him to annex the red jersey from Mark Galedo who finished a strong second in the ITT.  Galedo only trailed Valenzuela by 14 seconds in the stage. His lead is cut down to just 33 seconds. Third running Lloyd Lucien Reynante also finished third in the day.  In the team classification, V-Mobile’s lead over American Vinyl/LPGMA was cut down to 2:52 from 5:05 yesterday. Philippine Army/RC Cola’s John Rene Mier gained 22 seconds over RP Team’s George Oconer to pad his lead to 5:29. American Vinyl/LPGMA kept the Blue (Cris Joven) and White (Valenzuela) Jerseys.

Other notes: V-Mobile coach Arjunsa Saulo was fined 10,000 and got banned from the rest of the Ronda Pilipinas 2012 after figuring in a fight with sportscaster Snow Badua. It is a big blow in V-Mobile’s campaign is they try to fend off the challenge of American Vinyl/LPGMA for the overall team supremacy.

King of the Mountain Irish Valenzuela tops ITT (from Ronda 2012 official Facebook page)

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• Ronda Pilipinas 2012 Stage 10: Mier wins flat stage (caloysports.wordpress.com)
• 2012 Ronda Pilipinas Stage 12: Cebu’s John Rene Mier grabs the Yellow/Gold Jersey (cebulive.wordpress.com)
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Ronda Pilipinas 2012 Stage 12: Galedo retains Red jersey after crucial Baguio lap

Route: Lingayen City – Baguio City (96.7 Kms)

Stage Honors

1. Joel Calderon (V-Mobile) 2:56:10
2. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) same
3. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 1:57 behind

Top 3 teams of Stage 12

1. American Vinyl/LPGMA 8:55:18
2. V-Mobile 0:04:21 behind
3. Roadbike Philippines 0:06:24 behind

Top 10 in Individual Over-all Classification after 12 stages (Red Jersey)

1. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 45:23:53
2. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:00:51 behind (up from No.6)
3. Lloyd Lucien Reynante (Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance) 00:02:16 behind (up from No.4)
4. Oscar Rindole (V-Mobile) 00:03:13 behind (down from No.3)
5. Cris Joven (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:03:28 behind
6. Harvey Sicam (Eastern Pangasinan) 00:05:34 behind (down from No.2)
7. Baler Ravina (Roadbike Philippines) 00:05:40 behind  (up from No.10)
8. Joel Calderon (V-Mobile) 00:07:21 behind (up from No.19)
9. John Rene Mier (Philippine Army/RC Cola) 00:08:34 behind (up from No. 17)
10. Rey Martin (V-Mobile) 00:08:38 behind (down from No.7)

Top 5 Teams Overall after 11 stages

1. V-Mobile 135:20:27 (Up from No.4)
2. American Vinyl/LPGMA 00:05:05 behind (Up from No.5)
3. Philippine Navy/Standard Insurance 00:07:11 behind
4. Metro Manila 00:10:24 behind (down from No.1)
5. One Tarlac 00:12:25 behind (down from No.2)

Top 5 in Best Young Rider Classification (Yellow/Gold Jersey)

1. John Rene Mier (Philippine Army/RC Cola) 45:32:27 (Up from No.3)
2. George Oconer (RP Team) 00:05:07 behind (up from No.4)
3. Ronald Oranza (Northern Luzon/Ilocos Sur) 00:06:29 behind (down from No.1)
4. Rudy Roque (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 00:10:04 behind (up from No.5)
5. Denver Casayuran (Metro Manila) 00:13:32 behind (down from No.2)

Top Sprinter (Blue Jersey):

1. Cris Joven (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 90 pts
2. Orlie Villanueva (V-Mobile) 65 points
3. Warren Davadilla (Metro Manila) 64 pts

King of the Mountain (White Jersey):

1. Irish Valenzuela (American Vinyl/LPGMA) 63 pts
2. Mark John Lexer Galedo (Roadbike Philippines) 41 pts
3. Baler Ravina (Roadbike Philippines) 24 pts

The biggest cycling tours in the Philippine history are always know for the killer lap going to Baguio City.  This year is no different as the Ronda Pilipinas’s stage 12 is from Lingayen to Baguio City.  The 96 kilometer ascent to Baguio is marked by a Hors category climb and a history of ending dreams of many aspiring riders to become the overall tour winner. In cycling circles, a Hors Category climb is considered a “5th” kind of climb. Climbs have only 4 categories with 4 the easiest and 1 the hardest. Hors Categorie is a classification given for climbs harder than Category 1 climbs.

32 year old Joel Calderon surprised everyone by topping Stage 12. He beat this year’s Mountain King Irish Valenzuela to the finish line to cop the stage honors and the 50,000 check that accompanies it. Red Jersey leader Mark Galedo finished 3rd to retain his overall leadership. Valenzuela is now second overall just 51 seconds behind Galedo.  Harvey Sicam dropped from 2nd to 6th practically switching places with Valenzuela. Lap winner Calderon moved 11 spots to barge into the Top 10, moving from 19th to 8th.

The Baguio lap has jumbled the overall team classification, as well. V-Mobile and American Vinyl/LPGMA are now 1 and 2 after exchanging places with erstwhile leaders Metro Manila and One Tarlac.

There is also a change in the yellow/gold jersey rankings.  Philippine Army/RC Cola’s John Rene Mier is now No.1 in the young rider classification and also, being 9th place over-all. RP Team’s George Oconer trails him by over 5 minutes. Yesterday’s yellow/gold jersey holder Ronald Oranza is relegated to 3rd.

Cris Joven retained his lead in the Sprint classification to keep his Blue jersey. Irish Valenzuela pulled away in the King of the Mountain race by topping the Hors Categorie climb. Valenzuela leads Galedo by 25 points for the white jersey honors.

Stage 13 will be an individual time trial.  The remaining 74 riders will be released at one minute intervals starting from the last ranked cyclist.  They will try to get their best time in a 27.4 km ride from Tuba, Benguet to Baguio City.  Many fans are expecting to see the 2012 Ronda champion emerge after this crucial time trial.

Calderon celebrates! (from Ronda Pilipinas official Facebook page)

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2012 AFC Challenge Cup: Philippines beats Palestine 4-3 in the battle for 3rd

Playing without star keeper Neil Etheridge, the Azkals scored enough goals to survive and win against the Al Fursan despite conceding 3 goals. Etheridge was suspended in the 3rd place match after getting a red card in the Philippine‘s heartbreaking semifinal loss to Turkmenistan. In for the Fullham goalkeeper is Philippine Army‘s Eduard Sacapaño. Sacapaño made enough saves to help Philippines win the high scoring match.

Phil Younghusband had a brace to up his total to six goals in tournament. He was awarded the golden booth after the tournament. The goal scores for the Philippines were the Guirado brothers. Angel Guirado scored his second goal in the tournament for a 3-1 lead at the half. Brother Juan Luis scored his first ever as an Azkal in the second half. Juan Luis’ goal turned to be the game winner.

Abdulhamid had 2 goals for Palestine. The third goal of Al Fursan was courtesy of Fahed attal in the 78th minute.

The third place finish in the AFC Challenge Cup is  big achievement for the Philippines where football lags in popularity to basketball and boxing. The good finish in this recent tournament will surely improve the country’s standings in the FIFA World Rankings where it is ranked 155th.

Azkals Celebrate (from goalnepal.com)

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PBA Results November 2, 2011: Cone and Alaska win in the same night

November 2, 2011 will be remembered as the date when Alaska won its first game in the post-Tim Cone era. The Cone-less Alaska Aces brought back to earth the streaking Barako Bull Energy, 93-72. In the main game, ex-Alaska coach Tim Cone steered his new team B-Meg Llamados to a 76-65 when over Shopinas.com Clickers.

Alaska 93 – 73 Barako Bull

A few days after Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi declared that his team is for real and a big title threat, the winless Alaska Aces showed that it is too early to declare any team as a title contender. The losing streak of the Aces now coached by Joel Banal ends at 5. Center Sonny Thoss led a fiery second half barrage to humble the Barako Bull Energy who were seeking to tie league leaders Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. From being outscored at the first half, 36-40, the Aces turned the tables and routed the Energy 57-32 in the final 2 quarters.

Thoss finished with a career-high 27 markers and towed 3 other Aces players in double figures. Rookie Mac Baracael, point-guard L.A. Tenorio, and swingman Cyrus Baguio combined for 41 points. Rookie Dylan Ababou led Barako Bull in scoring with 19 points while veterans Don Allado and Sunday Salvacion added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

B-Meg 76 – 65 Shopinas.com

Not to be outdone by his former team, Tim Cone made sure that they will win against the winless Shopinas.com. The Llamados relied on a big fourth quarter run to deny Franz Pumaren and the Shopinas.com Clickers their first victory. The win was the third for the Llamados in 7 games while the Clickers fell to 0-6.

The game was pretty tight in the first 3 periods as the Llamados only had 3 point lead at the end of the third period, 51-48. Rookie Mark Barroca starred in an anti-climactic 22-8 run in the first half of the final period to pull away from the Clickers. With a 72-56 lead, B-Meg just coasted to get the victory. Barroca finished with 13 points. Peter June Simon topped the scoring for B-Meg with 18. James Yap had 12 markers in the game. Elmer Espiritu was the lone Clicker in double figures with 13.

The scores:

ALASKA 93 – Thoss 27, Baracael 16, Tenorio 15, Baguio 10, Dela Cruz 9, Reyes 8, Cablay 8, Custodio 0, Eman 0.

BARAKO 72 – Ababou 19, Allado 11, Salvacion 10, Seigle 9, Artadi 6, Miller 5, Salvador 4, Pena 4, Pennisi 2, Arboleda 2, Sorongon 0, Avenido 0.

Quarters: 18-17, 36-40, 61-54, 93-72

B-MEG 76 – Simon 18, Barroca 13, Yap J. 12, De Vance 9, Raymundo 7, Pingris 5, Urbiztondo 4, Reavis 3, Yap R. 3, Maierhofer 2, Acuna 0.

SHOPINAS.COM 65 – Espiritu 13, Sena 9, Jazul 9, Hubalde 8, Duncil 6, Canlas 5, Mirza 5, Ritualo 5, Menor 4, Aquino 1, Sison 0, Hermida 0, Daa 0, Se 0.

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The Gold Medallists of the 2011 Pan American Games

Guadalajara, Mexico – The goal of every athlete in any major competition is win the gold medal. The gold medal symbolizes being the top athlete in a certain event. Here are the gold medal winners at the 2011 Pan American Games:

Women’s Mountain Bike - Cross Country:  Heather IRMIGER 

Men’s Mountain Bike- Cross Country:  Hector Leonardo PAEZ 

Women’s Taekwondo - -49 kg:  Ivett GONDA 

Men’s Taekwondo – -58 kg:  Yulis Gabriel MERCEDES REYES 

Women’s Modern Pentathlon: Margaux ISAKSEN 

Women’s Rhythmic  Gymnastics All Around:  Julie Ashley ZETLIN 

Women’s Swimming 100m Butterfly:  Claire DONAHUE 

Men’s Swimming 400m Individual Medley:  Thiago PEREIRA 

Women’s Swimming 400m Individual Medley:  Julia Elizabeth SMIT 

Men’s Swimming 400m Freestyle:  Charles Gipson HOUCHIN

Women’s Swimming 4x100m Freestyle Relay:  UNITED STATES

Women’s Road Race Inidividual Time Trial:  Maria Luisa CALLE 

Men’s Road Race Inidividual Time Trial:  Marlon Alirio PEREZ 

Equestrian Team Dressage:  UNITED STATES

Rhythmic Gymnastics Groups All Around:  BRAZIL

Men’s Modern Pentathlon:  Oscar  SOTO 

Women’s Taekwondo -57kg:  Irma Edith CONTRERAS 

Men’s Taekwondo -68kg:  Jhohanny JEAN BARTERMI 

Men’s Shooting 10m Air Pistol:   Daryl Lee SZARENSKI 

Women’s Shooting 10m Air Pistol:  Dorothy LUDWIG 

Women’s Swimming 100m Backstroke:  Rachel BOOTSMA 

Men’s Swimming 100m Freestyle:  Cesar CIELO 

Women’s Swimming 200m Freestyle:  Catherine BREED 

Men’s Swimming 100m Breaststroke:  Felipe FRANÇA 

Men’s Swimming 4x100m Freestyle Relay:  Brazil

Women’s Table Tennis Team :  Dominican Republic

Men’s Table Tennis Team:  Brazil

Women’s Rowing Pair:  Argentina

Women’s Rowing Double Sculls:  Cuba

Men’s Rowing Double Sculls:  Argentina

Men’s Rowing Four:  Argentina

Men’s Shooting 10m Air Rifle:  Matthew Lee RAWLINGS 

Women’s Shooting 10m Air Rifle:   Emily Jean CARUSO 

Men’s Squash Doubles:  Mexico

Women’s Squash Doubles:  Mexico

Men’s Track Cycling Team Pursuit:  Colombia

Men’s Track Cycling Team Sprint:   Venezuela

Women’s Track Cycling Team Sprint:  Venezuela

Women’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Hoop:  Cynthia Yazmin VALDEZ

Women’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Ball:  Julie Ashley  ZETLIN 

Women’s Rhythmic Gymnastics Groups 5 Ball:  Brazil

Women’s Taekwondo 67kg:  Melissa AGNOTTA 

Men’s Taekwondo 80kg: Sebastian CRISMANICH 

Women’s Swimming 400m Freestyle:  Gillian Rene RYAN 

Men’s Swimming 200m Butterfly:  Leonardo DE DEUS 

Women’s Swimming 100m Breaststroke:  Ann Catherine CHANDLER 

Men’s Swimming 100m Breaststroke:  Thiago PEREIRA 

Women’s Squash Individual:  Samantha TERAN 

Men’s Squash Individual: Miguel  RODRIGUEZ 

Women’s Rowing Single Sculls:  Margot SHUMWAY 

Women’s Rowing Lightweight Double Sculls:  Mexico

Women’s Rowing Pair:  United States

Men’s Rowing Pair:  Argentina

Men’s Rowing Lightweight Double Sculls:  Mexico

2011 Rugby World Cup: Australia beats Wales, places 3rd

Image via Wikipedia

The Wallabies of 2011 got some sort of revenge for the 1987 team as they beat an equally young Welsh side for the bronze medal in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Australia survived 2 crucial injuries early in the match to hold on and beat unlucky Wales.

Fly-half Quade Cooper and full-back Kurtley Beale were injured inside 25 minutes in the match at Eden Park. Cooper could be out for as long as 6 months as he is suspected to injure his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Beale reinjured his hamstring that prevented him from playing in their semifinal match against New Zealand last week. The Wallabies had enough firepower to beat Wales that also missed some key players. Absent for Wales were missing suspended skipper Sam Warburton, plus injured pair Rhys Priestland and Adam Jones.

Australian centre Berrick Barnes started the scoring with a try and a conversion by wing James O’Connor  barely 11 minutes into the game. Wales promptly answered via a James Hook penalty.  In the 44th minute, Hook had a chance to narrow the gap but missed an easy penalty. In the 49th minute,  Shane Williams put the Welsh on top, 8-7, after making an amazing try using kicks twice. Hook, however, missed the conversion attempt. Coach Warren Gatland decided to substitute Hook with  Stephen Jones.

The Wallabies took back the lead in the 53rd minute via James O’Connor penalty. O’Connor added 3 more points for Australia in the 58th minute to extend the lead to 5, 13-8. Barnes made a drop goal in the 67th minute to make it an 8 point lead. Welsh Stephen Jones got 3 points back three minutes later. Australia number 8 Ben McCalman scored the second try of the game for the Wallabies to put the game out of reach at 21-11. O’Connor failed to convert the extra points. Halfpenny scored for Wales in added time followed by a Stephen Jones conversion for the final points of the game. Australia won 21-18.

The third placers have been decided and there is only one match left. It is for the hardware, France vs. hosts New Zealand. It is a 1987 finals rematch at the same venue. The match is expected to be close but more than half of the rugby world is rooting for the All-Blacks.

Aussies celebrate!

 

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2011 MLB NLCS: Cardinals win Home Run battle to clinch WS berth

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

Tony LaRussa  and St. Louis Cardinals relied on their bats to clinch another World Series spot. The wildcard Cards outslug the NL Central Champs Milawaukee Brewers, 12-6, in Game 6 of the 2011 National League Championship Series (NLCS) in Miller Park, Milwaukee. The game was between the best hitting team in the NL (Cards) and the best home run team (Brewers). The Cardinals showed the Brewers that they can hit out of the park was well.

Game 6 featured 6 home runs in the first 3 innings, 3 for each team. The Cards though scattered 14 hits, twice more than the Brewers can produce. In the game, the Cards batted .368 against the 7 Brewer pitchers who came to the mound. David Freese, NLCS MVP, had 3 hits to raise his series average to .545. He hit .297 in the regular season. LaRussa again depended on his bullpen that pitched 7 of 9 innings of the game. All in all, the legendary manager made 26 pitching changes in the series.

The Cards will have the home field advantage in the World Series owing to the Prince Fielder homer that clinched the All-Star Game victory for the National League. The World Series will start on Wednesday (U.S time).

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PBA 37: Meralco notches first win minus 4 key players

Image via Wikipedia

10/12/2011

Mark Cardona, Sol Mercado, Reynel Hugnatan and Chris Ross were not able to suit for Meralco’s second game of the season but their absence hardly mattered as the other players stepped to give Coach Ryan Gregorio his first win of the season. The Meralco game was a big opportunity for Shopinas.com to get its first ever win but veteran big man Asi Taulava hit fade-away jumper with 25 seconds left to make it a 2-possession ballgame at 77-72.

Shopinas wasted their next possession and was forced to foul Mark Macapagal for the final points of the game. Gabby Espinas led the Bolts in scoring with 16 markers. The three Marks (Macapagal, Isip, and Yee) all scored in double figures. Paolo Hubalde who scored a PBA career high 21 points led Shopinas.

With the win, the Bolts evened their record to 1-1 while dropping the Clickers to the cellar at 0-2. Meralco will face Ryan Gregorio’s former team, the B-Meg Llmados on Saturday while Shopinas battles Petron on Sunday for their next assignments.

The scores:

MERALCO 79 – Espinas 16, Macapagal 14, Isip 11, Yee 10, Lanete 8, Taulava 7, Borboran 6, Timberlake5, Omolon 2, Ballesteros 0.

SHOPINAS.COM 72 – Hubalde 21, Menor 9, Sena 7, Duncil 7, Ritualo 7, Mirza 6, Se 6, Hermida 4, Sison 2, Jazul 2, Canlas 1, Espiritu 0.

Quarterscores: 9-11, 32-31, 58-52, 79-72

 

 

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Philippine Azkals blank Nepal 4-0 in friendly match

Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila – The 166th ranked Philippines played a friendly with the 135th ranked Nepal yesterday. The home side gave the visitors a rude welcome as the Azkals blanked the Gorkhalis 4-0. The game marked the local debut of some of the newest recruits by the Azkals.

The first half was marked by goals by the Younghusband brothers. Phil Younghusband struck fist in the 17th minute as he made good move to outwit Nepalese goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu. In the 28th minute, brother James scored his 7th international goal via a fine strike just aside the area. The Philippines had a comfortable 2-nil by halftime.

In the second half, new acquisition Dennis Cagara showed why he is one of the most highly touted Filipino midfield prospects as he set the table for the Azkal goals in the second half. His technique is evident as he sent a fine cross to Phil Younghusband in the 55th minute. Younghusband completed his brace by shooting the ball away from the diving Limbu. The Cagara-Younghusband combination figured well in another goal before the end of the game. Cagara made another superb cross to Younghusband in 89th minute. Younghusband then set-up fellow Filipino-British Matthew Hartmann for his first international goal.

The Man of the Match was clearly Phil Younghusband who dedicated the game to his late mother Susan who passed away a month ago.

 

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