Isports ATBP.

Controversial athletics chief Go Teng Kok decided Wednesday night that he will no longer seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop Friday’s Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) elections and also chose to drop all of his cases filed against the group of incumbent president Jose Cojuangco Jr. Go, declared persona non grata by the POC that expelled him as a member of the country’s National Olympic Committee, made the surprise announcement as he will also step down as the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa) president and will call an election in January next year. “I have already proven enough. When Manny V. Pangilinan decided not to run, I decided to run and I was even ridiculed for my decision,” said Go. “(The TRO) is not good. I don’t want to stop the election, that’s why I decided to drop everything.” Go, on Wednesday morning, filed a motion seeking to stop Friday’s POC elections at the Alabang Country Club after the three-man election com...

Roger Mayweather stressed that undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not afraid of anybody, especially not against eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and even hinted that the much-awaited mega-fight between his nephew and the Filipino boxing superstar might push through in 2013. The elder Mayweather said, in an interview by On the Ropes Boxing Radio, that he and his nephew met with Arum last month to discuss the possibility of ending the three-year standoff between both camps and give in to the demands of fight fans to see both pound-for-pound fighters slug it out inside the ring. “He (Mayweather Jr.) has to fight Pacquiao ‘cause that’s the fight people want to see and people talk about,” said Mayweather. “If he wouldn’t fight Pacquiao he would go down in history as a scared mother****** champion, wouldn’t he? My nephew ain’t scared of Pacquiao.” Mayweather added the money involved in the mega-fight will surely lure both boxers to seal the deal. “Anyti...

Erwin Tagle, despite being the more experienced fighter, will come in as the underdog on Saturday when he challenges Ale Cali for the latter’s flyweight title in Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC) 34 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Tagle is considered to be one of the pioneers of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the Philippines, retiring early almost 10 years ago when little interest was shown in the sport during its early stages in the country. He said he got discouraged to continue fighting after he did not get paid by a promoter in one event in Pasay City. He then shifted to be the head coach and trainer of the Submission Sports Gym in Quezon City and then lent his expertise as a commentator in PXC-organized fights. “When PXC came to the Philippines they asked me if I want to come out of my retirement and fight, I was hesitant at first and told them: ‘I just want to watch your fights first.’ They then offered me to be a fight analyst,” said Tagle, who added that PXC promoter EJ Ca...

The Philippines will be banking on a strong pitching staff when it takes on Thailand at the start of the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) today at the Xinzhuang Stadium in New Taipei City, Taiwan. The 28-member Philippine team will be reinforced by Filipino-American players from US-based Major League Baseball when they vie for the coveted spot against host Taiwan, Southeast Asian neighbor Thailand and New Zealand in the qualifiers from November 15 to 18 at the Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium in New Taipei. Taiwan ranked third in Asia, will be the Philippines’ toughest opponent since they are ranked fifth behind two-time WBC champion Japan, South Korea, and China. Leading the Philippine squad’s bullpen are lefty pitchers Eugene Espineli of seven-time World Series champions San Francisco Giants and Ryuya Ogawa of the Chunichi Dragons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. Head of delegation Tom Navasero said that overall the Philippine team is stro...