ALLAN THE MAN

Marc Pingris will not be part of the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the FIBA Asia Cup 2012 this September, coach Chot Reyes said on Thursday.

Reyes told InterAKTV in a telephone interview that the San Mig Coffee forward is still on vacation and recuperating from a neck injury suffered during the Governors’ Cup finals.

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday spoke out against the leadership of Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, whom he described as “the greatest stumbling block to sports development.”

The senator called on members of national sports associations to elect a different set of leaders during the POC elections set on November. Cojuangco is eyeing a third four-year term.

Bruno Mars move over. Will.I.Am has got a new single coming direct from Mars, the first-ever song to debut on another planet.

The Mars Curiosity mission has something for everyone: Cool pix, lasers blasting rocks, and now the music of the spheres.

"Reaching for the Stars" will be broadcast from the red planet at 4 p.m. EDT Tuesday.

The broadcast will be part of a NASA educational event for students at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Against an American team with superior size advantage, it was the smallest man on the Philippine side who stood tallest.

LA Tenorio delivered the biggest buckets in the SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team’s 76-75 victory over USA to bring home the William Jones Cup to the Philippines for the first time since 1998.

The Alaska point guard scored 20 points, including the go-ahead basket with 17 seconds to go to lift SMART-Gilas to the win.

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team put itself in position to clinch the title with a win in its last assignment, taking care of business against home team Zhonghua of Chinese Taipei, 76-72, in the 34th William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

With fellow tournament leaders Iran and USA both losing their matches on the penultimate day of the competition, the Philippines moved up to solo first place at 6-1. Iran, USA and Korea are in a three-way tie in second with 5-2 marks.

SMART-Gilas took an eight-point lead, 37-29, to halftime, but watched as the hosts rallied behind big man Tseng Wen Ting and some hot outside shooting in the third quarter. Chinese Taipei had a big 13-point turnaround to lead by five, 56-51, before Larry Fonacier hit a three-pointer that got the Filipinos within two entering the final period.

MANILA, Philippines - Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno has been named the 24th Chief Justice of the Republic of the Philippines.

Sereno, 52, is the youngest member of the High Court. She was appointed by President Aquino in August 2010. She will potentially occupy the seat of Chief Justice until the mandatory retirement age of 70, giving her a potential 18-year-term.

Sereno beat out seven other candidates, namely Acting Supreme Court chief justice Antonio Carpio; associate justices Roberto Abad, Arturo Brion, and Teresita Leonardo De Castro; Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza, ex-Ateneo Law School Dean Cesar Villanueva and former congressman Ronaldo Zamora.

The SMART-Gilas Pilipinas national team banked on a late rally to defeat Japan, 88-84, and remain unbeaten in the 34th William Jones Cup in Taiwan.

Japan led the Philippines by 13 points at the start of the fourth period, but the Filipinos opened the quarter with an 8-2 run then rode a huge 16-4 run capped by a three-pointer from Gabe Norwood to take the lead, before holding off the Japanese with steady shooting from the free throw line.

Naturalized center Marcus Douthit paced the Filipinos with 26 points while LA Tenorio added 13 points, including three triples. Norwood added 11 points.

The Philippines moved up to 4-0, drawing themselves into a tie with Iran, which earlier defeated the US team in double overtime.

The Philippines will play Lebanon next before wrapping up their campaign with three tough assignments in Iran, hosts Chinese Taipei A and USA.

MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATE, 9:44 a.m.) Three days after his plane crashed Saturday, the body of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo was recovered early Tuesday, Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel "Mar" Roxas II announced in Masbate City.

Roxas, in a tearful press conference, said Robredo's body was recovered 800 meters from shore at a depth of about 180 feet. The body was surfaced at about 8:15 a.m.

"At roughly 8:30 a.m.-8:40 a.m., ang bangkay ni Sec. Jess abot na surface inilagay sa body bag," Roxas said.

Roxas said the plane was "inverted" and two pilots were closest to the dashboard of the cockpit, in the deepest part of the cockpit. Robredo was the closest to the back and was the first retrieved by divers.

Here's the PBA Rookie Draft Pick 2012 Results. Petron Blaze Booster picked The First Overall Draft Pick June Mar Fajardo and Third Overall Draft Pick Alex Mallari. Second Overall Draft Pick is Calvin Abueva for Alaska Aces.

FIRST ROUND:

1. Petron Blaze – June Mar Fajardo

2. Alaska – Calvin Abueva

3. Petron Blaze – Alex Mallari

4. Meralco – Cliff Hodge

5. Barako Bull – Aldrech Ramos

6. Ginebra – Chris Ellis

7. Rain or Shine – Chris Tiu

8. Ginebra – Keith Jensen

9. GlobalPort (from B-MEG) – Vic Manuel

10. GlobalPort – Jason Deutchmann

The Miss World 2012 Coronation Night will be aired today , August 18, 2012, 7:30 PM, on TV5 Network. 

My Blog, 'Allan is the Man', has now surpassed 1 Million Pageviews! 

To give you little info about my blog, well, my blog started May 2008 but only on 2009 that I started posting. That time, It carries a blog title of ‘A Blogger Wanna Be' then in early 2011, I replaced it with the blog title 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved', which I got from the popular then song of the band The Script and on the later part of 2011, The 'Allan is the Man' was born and, as cliché goes, the rest was history. 

Memory Card Reader ka ba?

Bakit?

Kasi.. gusto kung ipakita sayo ang memory card ng puso ko na tanging ikaw lang ang laman nito..

Sen. Tito Sotto's emotional story on the Senate floor last Monday about the death of his son may have come from his heart, but at least one lengthy passage from his speech came from someone else's blog.

Sotto's description of the purported ill effects of birth control pills on unborn children was lifted nearly word for word from the blog of "Sarah, the healthy home economist," a US-based writer who also opposes vaccines for children and offers recipes for goodies like grain-free pumpkin cookies.

Sotto did not attribute any of his words or research to "Sarah, the healthy home economist," whose disclaimer cautions that "the nutritional and other information on this website are not intended to be and do not constitute health care or medical advice.

The plagiarism was first exposed by Alfredo Melgar on the blog Filipino freethinkers.

Here is a comparison of Sotto’s speech and Sarah’s blog:

The London Olympics 2012 Closing Ceremony kicked off with a typically British mass singalong to bring the curtain down on an Olympic Games that have retained the feelgood factor throughout.

The show in the Olympic Stadium, entitled "A Symphony of British Music", is a celebration of Britain's pop prowess, featuring some of the kingdom's best-known acts like the Spice Girls, Muse and George Michael.

The pumped-up 80,000-strong crowd wasted no time getting into the party atmosphere, sending Mexican waves around the bowl as they eagerly waited in anticipation for the show to start.

In a hardly-kept closing ceremony secret, the Spice Girls played not one, but two songs from their whirlwind two-album career in the late '90s and early '00s.

Annie Lennox gave the 80,000-strong crowd a bit of "Little Bird" after riding in aboard a death galleon.

As is now custom, the final medal of the Olympics was awarded during the closing ceremony, with men's marathon winner Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda picking up the gold medal he secured earlier in the day.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 – The United States Dream Team of NBA stars captured their second successive Olympic men’s basketball gold medal and the 14th overall for America by beating Spain 107-100 in Sunday’s final.

Running unbeaten through the tournament as they did in 2008 when they also beat Spain in the final, the US multi-millionaire lineup of NBA elite claimed their fifth crown in the past six Olympics.

“I’m on cloud nine. It’s such a huge honour,” US star Kobe Bryant said after his final Olympic bow.

“It’s hard work and perseverance. I feel very fortunate to go to the Olympics twice and give it a go. I feel very lucky. It was nice.”

The Americans improved to 62-1 since revamping the national team program after settling for Olympic bronze in 2004.

“It’s a relief because if we don’t come back winners it’s a disaster,” US assistant coach Mike D’Antoni said.

But reigning European champion Spain, routed by the US NBA stars in a pre-Olympic exhibition game last month in Barcelona, stayed with the defending champions to the very end, keeping within reach until the final minutes.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012: Men's Basketball Gold Medal Match 'USA vs Spain'.

The Americans now take on their toughest competition of the Games with a gold-medal final game against Spain (5-2). Both Pau and Marc Gasol have been making opponents suffer inside, while Jose Calderon continues to orchestrate the efficient offense.

After losing its first two games, Spain has won five consecutive games and come into this contest fresh off of a come-from-behind victory over Russia. Pau Gasol led the way in the victory with 16 points and 12 rebounds in what was Spain's most resilient victory of the Games.

Meanwhile, the United States are playing like a team that won't even be contested in the final. They outright embarrassed Argentina 109-83 after beating them by six points prior to the start of the Games.

Kevin Durant leads the way for Team USA with 18 points per game, and has been the outright star for this team throughout the Games. His play has propelled his teammates and the shooting has been jaw-dropping from the Thunder talent.

After both Spain and the United States have made their promising runs, it will all come down to this one surefire thriller in London.

WATCH LIVE STREAMING OF 'USA vs SPAIN' MATCH BELOW:

*the match will start 3:00 PM London / 10:00 PM Manila (August 12, 2012)

The Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games will be titled ‘A Symphony of British Music’, to celebrate the fact that music has been one of Britain’s strongest cultural exports over the last 50 years. The worldwide broadcast of the Ceremony will start at 9pm and feature more than 4,100 performers, including 3,500 adult volunteers and 380 schoolchildren from the six east London Host Boroughs.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 – Kevin Durant scored 19 points and LeBron James added 18 to lead the United States team of NBA stars over Argentina 109-83 on Friday and into the Olympic men’s basketball gold medal final against Spain.

The Americans booked a rematch of the 2008 Olympic final and reached the gold medal game for the 15th time in 17 attempts, having missed out in 1988 and 2004 and skipped the 1980 Moscow Olympics in a boycott.

The US men, who also had 18 points from Carmelo Anthony, seek their 14th gold medal against a Spanish side filled with NBA standouts, one that battled the US to the end before falling 118-107 in the 2008 Beijing final.

Spain defeated Russia 67-59 in Friday’s other semi-final. Argentina will play Russia on Sunday for the bronze medal.

Argentina ousted the US squad in a 2004 Athens Olympics semi-final on the way to capturing gold but the Americans returned the favour in Beijing.

The US team improved to 61-1 since settling from bronze at the 2004 Olympics and revamping the national team program with Mike Krzyzewski as coach.

The US NBA multi-millionaires had defeated Argentina 126-97 in a preliminary group match four days earlier, a physical contest in which Carmelo Anthony was hit in the groin while shooting by Argentina’s Facundo Campazzo.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 - Team USA (6-0) has breezed through the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. However, they'll have a real challenge going up against an Argentina team (4-2) that gave them trouble in an exhibition game back in July in the semifinals of the tournament.

The Americans seemed to figure the Argentinians out in the group stage, as the stars and stripes ripped off a huge second half and beat their opponent 126-97.

Should Argentina somehow figure out a way to rekindle the passion and skill they displayed in the exhibition game, this game could be a lot closer than their second meeting of the year.

Let’s take a look at when and where to watch this game, who you should keep an eye on and make a prediction on the outcome.

WATCH 'USA vs ARGENTINA' LIVE STREAMING BELOW:

*game will start 9:00 PM (London) 4:00 PM (USA)

A four-team trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers is complete, multiple sources told ESPN on Thursday night.

A source with direct knowledge of the talks told ESPN.com's Marc Stein the Lakers will receive Howard, the Denver Nuggets will acquire Andre Iguodala, the 76ers will receive Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson, and the Magic will get Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and one protected future first-round pick from each of the three teams.

In addition, the Magic will be getting other pieces, including 76ers No. 1 draft pick Moe Harkless, a source told Stein.

Sources close to the process told Stein and ESPNLosAngeles.com's Ramona Shelburne that a trade call with the league office has been scheduled for Friday to secure the necessary NBA approval to make the deal official.

Lakers forward Pau Gasol had been in and out of talks, sources told Shelburne, before ultimately being excluded.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 (Men's Basketball) – Kobe Bryant scored 20 points to lead the United States over a stubborn Australia squad 119-86 on Wednesday and advance the Americans into a Friday semi-final against Argentina.

Bryant sank three 3-pointers in a row within 31 seconds in the fourth quarter to seal the Boomers’ fate, improving the NBA Dream Team to 14-0 over Australia in global tournaments.

LeBron James added 11 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists while Deron Williams had 18 points and Carmelo Anthony scored 17.

Reigning European champion Spain, which lost to the US NBA squad in the 2008 Beijing final, will face Russia in the other semi-final.

Argentina defeated a set of US NBA stars in the 2004 Olympic semi-finals, ending Dream Team gold domination that began in 1992, but a revamped US squad avenged that loss with a triumph in the 2008 Beijing Olympic semi-finals.

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 – Kevin Durant scored 28 points and the US NBA Dream Team defeated Argentina 126-97 on Monday to remain undefeated and book an Olympic quarter-final date Wednesday against Australia.

The result completed the entire medal playoff pairings, which will see the Americans face Argentina or Spain in the semi-finals if they defeat the Aussie Boomers, who knocked Russia from the ranks of the unbeaten earlier on Monday.

In the other half of the playoff bracket, reigning European champion Spain will face France in one quarter-final while Russia will meet Lithuania in the other. Semi-finals are on Friday with gold and bronze medal games on Sunday.

The Americans led by only 60-59 at half-time but seized command from the start of the third quarter, which began with LeBron James scoring the first seven US points to ignite a 19-7 run by the US NBA stars.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, likewise, announced on Twitter (@dawende) that Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr. announces suspension of work in private offices in NCR, Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal n Bulacan. 

GMA News also reported that the President through Deputy PresidentialSpokesperson Abi Valte (@abi_valte) announced that BPO/Call Center is included insuspension of work.

Here is the List of Suspended Classes for August 7, 2012 , Tuesday. 

LONDON – LeBron James silenced stubborn Lithuania to lift the unbeaten US NBA Dream Team into the Olympic medal playoffs on Saturday while Russia edged Spain to secure a top seeding in next week’s quarter-finals.

James, seeking his second gold medal in his third Olympic appearance, scored nine of his 20 points in a 12-2 US run in the final minutes as the Americans beat Lithuania 99-94, improving to 58-1 since taking Olympic bronze in 2004.

“I feel like it was my time to step up offensively,” James said. “I’ve been doing everything else, which I’m OK with. I’m here to do the little things. I can also score. I’m happy I was able to make a few buckets down the stretch.”

Just as “King James” took command for the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals and won his first league crown, he stepped up to the Olympic spotlight and hoisted a multi-millionaire lineup into the quarter-finals as they try to defend gold.

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will battle it out for Olympic gold on Saturday afternoon. 

Going into the London 2012 Olympics, Serena and Sharapova were the only players in the field who have achieved the legendary career Grand Slam (Serena achieved the feat back in 2002 with Sharapova completing the set in June). As such it seems only right that they're battling it out in the final with the winner achieving the career Golden Grand Slam.

Steffi Graf (who won all four slams and Olympic gold back in 1988) is the only other player to have managed this. 

Serena will be strong favourite to win her first singles gold medal (she's won two doubles golds with her sister Venus) given her progress through the draw so far this week. The American has yet to concede more than three games in a set and she's destroyed Vera Zvonareva, Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka in success. Given how good those players are (they've all reached Grand Slam finals), for Serena to beat them all dropping just 7 games across the three matches, is simply remarkable.

The long wait is over: Chris Tiu is joining the PBA.

After skipping the draft last year to continue to focus on the national team, Tiu announced he was making himself available to turn pro on Friday.

“It took me some time because I have to consult my family and had to wait for their go signal before I made myself available for the draft,” Tiu told InterAKTV in an exclusive interview.

Tiu beat the August 3 deadline and submitted his application to the PBA at around 11 a.m.

He said he looks forward to playing in the league regardless of which team takes him.

“Ang gusto ko lang naman makalaro,” said the former SMART-Gilas Pilipinas team captain. “Maski saan, as long as gagamitin ako.”

PETITION FOR A CAUSE: Imagine, if you can, a youngster, shipped to a strange and frightening place, never to see her family or home ever again. But no alert is ever issued, no reward for her safe return offered. This is because the victim is an elephant, Mali, the lone elephant at the Manila Zoo.

This nursing baby was taken from Sri Lanka in 1974 and has spent the last 35 years in a small, concrete pen.

Try to imagine living your whole life in a room the size of a bedroom, seeing the same four walls every day. You'd have no friends or companionship and nothing whatsoever to pass the time or provide you with comfort. You'd never get to leave. That's exactly what life is like for Mali. 

LONDON OLYMPICS 2012 – The United States team of NBA stars shattered a host of records, including most points in a single Olympic men’s basketball game, by defeating Nigeria 156-73 on Thursday in a preliminary round game.

Carmelo Anthony scored a game-high 37 points on 10-of-12 shooting from 3-point range, all of those figures setting US Olympic team records.

The old Olympic record for points by a team in one game was set by Brazil in 1988 at Seoul in a 138-85 preliminary round triumph over Egypt. Brazilians also had the prior mark from a 137-64 victory over India in 1980 at Moscow.

The Americans also eclipsed their own Olympic team record for points in a game, set in a 133-70 victory over China in 1996 at Atlanta.

Watch the Boxing Journey of Filipino Boxer Mark Barriga in the London Olympics 2012. 

London, Great Britain, 1 August 2012 - Philippines' new boxing sensation, two-time Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament winner Mark Anthony Barriga is really making a name for himself after defeating world class rivals in recent months and impressing at the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

The Filipino Light Flyweight (46-49kg) fighter was part of the AIBA Road to London Program where he trained hard and amazed his various sparring partners with his tenacity and now he is ready to challenge the current order and bid for an Olympic medal. 

His sensational victory against the promising Italian Manuel Fabrizio Cappai, has made the rest of the competition stand up and take notice of his talent. He now meets Kazakhstan's Asian Games silver medallist Birzhan Zhakypov with a quarter-final place at stake. 

Watch Mark Barriga Fights Below: