Marvin Sonsona (center) poses with other fighters of Pinoy Knockout 1. (Photo by Sid Ventura)

In late 2009, "Marvelous" Marvin Sonsona was on top of the world. He was the newly-crowned World Boxing Organization super flyweight champion, winning the title via unanimous decision over Puerto Rican Jose Lopez in Ontario, Canada, and was the toast of Philippine boxing. Only 19 at the time, the future seemed bright for the GenSan native.

Yet barely two months after beating Lopez, Sonsona was forced to vacate his title after failing to make the weight limit in his first defense against Mexico's Alejandro Hernandez, also in Ontario. Although the bout ended in a draw, the WBO stripped Sonsona of his belt.

Realizing he had outgrown the super flyweight division, in February 2010, Sonsona invaded the super bantamweight ranks, where he challenged eventual Nonito Donaire victim Wilfredo Vazquez for the vacant WBO title. Fighting in Vazquez's home country of Puerto Rico, Sonsona was easily dispatched in four rounds.

The loss began a tailspin for the youngster, both in and out of the ring. He

The Philippine Azkals made history by advancing to the semifinals of the AFC Challenge Cup with a thrilling 2-1 win over Tajikistan in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Tajikistan, at 145 ranked 11 places higher than the Philippines in the FIFA rankings, took the lead in the first minute of stoppage time in the first half off a header by Alexey Negmatov from a corner kick. Initially it appeared as if Chieffy Caligdong had cleared the shot before it crossed the goal line, but the referee eventually ruled it a goal.

The Philippines knotted it up in the 54th minute when Angel Guirado's cross beat goalkeeper Alisher Tuychiev and found an unmarked Phil Younghusband, who easily tapped it in for his third goal of the tournament and his 21^st overall for the Philippines.

Buoyed by the equalizer, the Azkals appeared to take better control of the match, and seven minutes later Younghusband nearly scored again, his effort catching Tuychiev off his line but hitting the post.

The Azkals finally seized the lead for

After coming up short in the first two conferences of the PBA D-League, the new-look Cebuana Lhuillier Gems are hoping their fortunes will change in the 2011-12 Foundation Cup, which reels off on Tuesday at the Arena in San Juan.

In the inaugural D-League Foundation Cup last year, the Gems were swept in the best-of-three finals by the NLEX Road Warriors. Then in the recently-concluded Aspirants Cup, they were waylaid in the best-of-three semifinals by Freego Jeans. The Gems lost both semis games in painful fashion, dropping Game 1 thanks to a buzzer-beating triple by Roider Cabrera that gave Freego a one-point win, and falling by two points in overtime in Game 2.

But in an ironic twist, Freego took a leave of absence this conference, and Cebuana seized the opportunity to shore up its roster by signing up former Freego players Lester Alvarez, Janus Lozada, and Bacon Austria. The Gems also enlisted NCAA stalwarts Raymond Maconocido of San Sebastian and Jeckster Apinan of Jose Rizal

B-Meg's PJ Simon drives against Ginebra's Jay-jay Helterbrand. (Photo courtesy of the PBA)

Much of the talk in this import-flavored conference has centered on Talk 'N Text, Petron Blaze and Barangay Ginebra. Last night, the B-Meg Llamados reminded everyone that they're very much in the hunt for the top two spots in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Playing what Coach Tim Cone called their best game of the conference, the Llamados went to their guards in the fourth period as they pulled away down the stretch to blast Barangay Ginebra, 109-93, and gain possession of solo second place.

Mark Barroca and PJ Simon scored 18 points each and teamed with import Denzel Bowles to help B-Meg break away from a tight game. With the score knotted at 85, Simon sank two free throws and hit a basket to give the Llamados a four-point lead. After Rudy Hatfield scored for the Kings, Bowles scored seven points and Simon stole the ball for a fastbreak layup in a 9-2 run that pushed B-Meg in front by nine, 98-89 with only 3:02 remaining.

With Ginebra's offense in disarray, James Yap, who added 15

Phil Younghusband scored a goal in each half to power the Philippines to a 2-nil victory over India in the AFC Challenge Cup in Kathmandu, Nepal and keep alive the country's hopes of advancing to the semifinals.

The Loyola Meralco Sparks striker first found the back of the net in the 10^th minute, gathering a header from brother James off a long throw-in from Jason Sabio and then turning for a left-footed shot that was just beyond the reach of Indian keeper Karanjit Singh. The goal gave the Azkals the early lead and helped set the tone for the rest of the match as the Philippines successfully rebounded from a 2-nil loss to North Korea.

The Blue Tigers, winners of this event in 2008, actually had the first meaningful chance of the match just five minutes in when Reisangmi Vashum's solid effort from the right flank flew just inches above the crossbar. India wouldn't get another quality attempt for the rest of the half, as the Azkals' back four, which now included Rob Gier, held firm.

Marcio Lassiter, seen here against Rain or Shine, had 23 points against Petron. (Photo by Sid Ventura)

After dropping two games in a row and a date with the streaking Petron Blaze Boosters up next, the Powerade Tigers knew they needed to come out strong and get back into their running game if they wanted to avoid a third straight defeat. They did just that, erecting leads of as many as 30 points and holding off the Blaze Boosters' last-minute rally to fashion out a 98-88 win Saturday night in Legazpi, Albay.

It was a good bounce-back game for the Tigers, who lost by nine to Barangay Ginebra and by 10 to Barako Bull, uncharacteristically giving up more than 100 points in both losses as their trademark defense was nowhere to be found.

They rediscovered their commitment to defense against Petron, particularly in the first half when they forced turnovers and bad shots on their way to a whopping 66-39 halftime lead. By this time, Gary David, Marcio Lassiter and Dwayne Jones were all in double digits in scoring.

"We made sure that we understood that if we play unselfish basketball, we will

NLEX, shown here at the Aspirants Cup, will have a virtually intact line-up. (Photo by Sid Ventura)

With a virtually intact lineup, it looks like the NLEX Road Warriors are favorites to bag their third consecutive D-League title when the 2011-12 Foundation Cup opens on Tuesday at the Arena in San Juan.

Nine other teams, led by Cebuana Lhuillier, will be out to spoil the Road Warriors' title aspirations, but looking at all the rosters, it appears they all have their work cut out for them. NLEX lost only big man Ford Arao and replaced him with Ateneo swingman Kirk Long, who was granted a special exemption by the D-League top brass to be able to play.

That means the Road Warriors, who easily won the first two league titles, will still have a loaded lineup that features collegiate stars Ian Sangalang, Calvin Abueva, Dave Marcelo, Eman Monfort, Garvo Lanete, and Borgie Hermida, plus the athletic Fil-Am duo of Cliff Hodge and Chris Ellis. FEU stalwart RR Garcia is still a question mark as of now, and if he returns, NLEX will be even more formidable.

While those championships were

Considering the quality of their opponent, the final score wasn't all that embarrassing.

Up against a team that played in the last World Cup in South Africa, the Philippine Azkals relied on superb defense to keep the match scoreless for nearly an hour, but eventually North Korea's might proved too much to overcome, and the Koreans came away with a 2-0 win in the AFC Challenge Cup in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The Koreans, defending champions in this event, stamped their class early on and constantly challenged the Philippine back four of Juan Guirado, Jason Sabio, Ray Jonsson and Carlie De Murga with crisp passing and good possession ball, but were unable to break through in the first half.

They had an excellent chance, though, in the 17^th minute when they were rewarded a penalty kick after a Philippine foul inside the box. Pak Song-Chol found the back of the net, sending Neil Etheridge the wrong way, but the referee ordered a retake due to encroachment. This time, Etheridge guessed right and