Isports ATBP.

The Philippine Azkals are now the top Southeast Asian (Sea) football team based on the latest world rankings released by the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa). The Azkals climbed four spots higher to 137th place with 213 points to jump past traditional Sea Games powerhouse Thailand, which dropped four places to 143rd. Myanmar is the third-best team in the region at third (149) followed by Vietnam (151), Singapore (155), Malaysia (160), Indonesia (162), Laos (167), Brunei Darussalam (193), Timor Leste (193) and Cambodia (198). The Philippines also placed 20th in Asia with 213 points behind powerhouses Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Australia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, China, and Saudi Arabia. The Philippines’ 3-1 win over Pakistan to successfully defend the 2013 Philippine Peace Cup was also instrumental in the country’s rise in the world rankings.

Using a home-and-away format is among the changes that the United Football League (UFL) is planning to implement soon. This was revealed by UFL Media Officer Jing Jamlang as the league's move to bring the games closer to the fans. "We would love to bring the games to the Visayas and Mindanao since football is really big in those areas," said Jamlang. "We have to consider all areas concerned. It is a huge logistic challenge on the part of each team." Organizers have been discussing ways to reinvent the league to maintain the interest in the sport and at the same time attract new fans. The UFL, if the plan pushes through, will truly become a nationwide league with teams from the Visayas and Mindanao hosting their counterparts from Luzon and the National Capital Region. The Emperador Stadium in Taguig City is the current home of the league where Bacolod-based Ceres-La Salle, the reigning Smart National Club Championships title holder

Rene Desuyo and Janette Agura ruled the 42-kilometer event of the 2nd Run United Philippines Marathon held Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia grounds in Pasay City . Desuyo clocked two hours, 34 minutes, and 12.77 seconds for a 10-minute win over runner-up Elkin John Quinto (2:44:34.41). Mario Maglinao (2:49:00.75) finished third. Agura, De La Salle University-Lipa’s athletics coach, needed one final push to beat Jocelyn Elijera on the women’s side. The 35-year-old crossed the finish line at 3:35:41.82 against Elijera’s 3:36:18.82. Gella Mayang placed third with a time of 3:53:56.07. Close to 3,000 runners joined the full marathon, which started in Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City . More than 9,000 were spread out in the 21K and 10K races. It was a Kenyan sweep in the foreigner's division with last year’s third-place Jackson Chirchir (2:27:54.01) besting compatriots Douglas Mwitti (2:34:33.76) and Philip Ronoh (2:48:37.75). Another Kenyan ruled the women’s class a

The Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) tapped the youthful but veteran international coach Munehiro Kugimiya, whose credentials include being the assistant mentor and trainer of Japan’s gold-medal winning squad in the Team All-Around event of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He was the assistant coach of Japanese mentor Kano Minoru where he helped train Japan’s men’s gymnastics team that scored 173.821 points to beat the United States (172.933) and Romania (172.384) to rule the Team All-Around event. The 29-year-old Kugimiya, fresh from a similar coaching stint in Sri Lanka, is also a former member of Japan’s men’s gymnastics team and will team up with Romanian mentor Luminta Eftimius in training the national training pool made up mostly of six-year-old kids. Kugimiya is personally handpicked by Japan-based organization Zippy Action Sports and Culture Foundation, which will shoulder the salary and expenses of his stay in the Philippines. He will train the boys’

Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (Paba) President Hector  Navasero died on Tuesday afternoon at the Makati Medical Center where  he was confined for three weeks. He was 78. Navasero was the longest-serving president of a national sports  association where he led Paba for 27 years. He replaced Dominador  Pangilinan, the father of businessman/sports patron Manny V.  Pangilinan. Navasero was an active member of the Baseball Federation of Asia and  the American Baseball Foundation. He promoted baseball at the  grassroots level throughout the country by inviting numerous  international coaches for seminars and training clinics. He was also part of a group that pushed for baseball’s inclusion when  the Philippines hosted the Southeast Asian Games in 2005 with the  country clinching the gold after an 11-0 thrashing of Thailand. The former Laguna provincial board member also guided the Philippine  team to the Asian baseball Division II title by beating Pakistan in  2012. The Philip