Pacquiao is Leading on ESPN’s Champion of Champions 2008

Our very own Manny Pacquiao is currently leading in the finals of ESPN and Star Sports’ “Champion of Champions” 2008 online poll.

Pacquiao, who fought in three weight divisions in 2008 and emerged victorious in all of those bouts, could very well be the winner of the online poll contest as he enjoys a huge lead over Malaysian squash player Nicol David.

As of Sunday afternoon, Pacquiao received an astounding 82.4% lead over Nicol. Our Pambansang Kamao amassed 91.20& of votes while the world’s top ranked squash player earned 8.8 percent.

Pacquiao made history in 2008 when he became the first Asian to wear four world titles in three different weight divisions. He is the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) and The Ring magazine’s super featherweight champion after beating Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in a split decision on March 15.

He then added the WBC lightweight belt after scoring a ninth-round knockout win over David Diaz last June 28. And his greatest victory so far is his eight-round demolition of future Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya on December 6.

He earned the Ring Magazine’s top pound-for-pound boxer title after then holder Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired this year. Pacquiao is also a former Ring Magazine featherweight champion, once hold the International Boxing Federation bantamweight crown and held the WBC flyweight belt.

Manny Pacquiao and Nicol David are the last 2 standing on the online poll after beating cricket superstars Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly in the semifinals. They also beat NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, Indian cricket sensation MS Dhoni, Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo, reigning world no.1 tennis player Rafael Nadal, Beijing Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, F1 champion Lewis Hamilton, legendary football manager Sir Alex Ferguson, world 100-meter record holder Usain Bolt, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres, golf’s Tiger Woods and world MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi in the preliminaries.

The final day of voting is on December 30 with the winner to be announced in ESPN Sports Center.

Ateneo beats rival La Salle, wins UAAP championship

The names of a handful of Ateneo players were being called one after the other to receive individual awards just minutes before game time, September 25. Several Eagles took home significant individual awards including the Most Valuable Player honor to Rabeh al-Hussaini and the Rookie of the Year trophy to Ryan Buenafe. Eagles forward Nonoy Baclao, adjudged the tournament's Best Defensive Player, and later won the UAAP Finals MVP. Chris Tiu who returned for one more season—his last- named as one of Mythical Five Players for this season.

A few hours later, the Eagles were being called for a trophy as one team.

Ateneo survived a determined La Salle team to win 62-51 and clinch the men’s basketball championship of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines at the Araneta Coliseum.