Davao forges draw with favored Manila
Pinoy fighter faces Brazilian
falling short in two of his ONE Championship outings last year, Jimmy “The Silencer” Yabo seeks to start his 2017 campaign on a high note as he faces Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Bruno Pucci.
Their match is on the undercard of ONE: LIGHT OF A NATION, which takes place at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar on June 30.
The 36-year-old native of LapuLapu City lost to Singaporean sensation Benedict Ang via third-round stoppage in May before suffering the same fate at the hands of China’s Ma Jia Wen three months later.
Itching to enter the winner’s column once again, Yabo eyes a huge victory over Pucci in his fifth assignment as a ONE Championship competitor.
“It’s tough because my back is against the wall. But I keep myself optimistic as fight day approaches,” he shared. “I am looking to make a statement. It’s my first fight in ONE Championship this year. A big win will spark a strong momentum in my journey in this great organization.”
Yabo is no stranger to highlightreel performances as he boasts one of the best finishing percentages in ONE Championship’s featherweight division, having thwarted all five of his opponents by way of knockout.
Dylan de Bruycker scored an equalizer in the second half as the Davao Aguilas held league leader MeralcoManila to a 2-all draw Wednesday in the Philippines Football League at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex in Tagum City.
The Fil-Belgian midfielder struck in the 74th minute with help from Gilmar Fernandez in the attack that enabled the host Aguilas end the Sparks’ five-game winning streak by salvaging a point.
It was the second straight draw by Davao to climb into sixth place in the eight-team league with three points. The Aguilas were coming off a scoreless draw against StallionLaguna over the weekend in Biñan, Laguna.
Meralco remained unbeaten despite the draw with 16 points in six matches, but its hold of the lead reduced to one point after JPVMarikina downed Ilocos United, 2-1, at the President Elpidio Quirino StaAfter dium in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.
JPV posted its fifth straight win for 15 points after seven matches.
Meanwhile, Patrick Deyto made two big saves in the penalty shootout that gave Global-Cebu a dramatic 3-2 win over Geylang International to reach the quarterfinals of the Singapore Cup at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Both clubs were forced to play a shootout when they failed to break a 4-all tie after extra time.
The result left Global as the only Filipino club in the competition after Ceres-Negros was eliminated 1-0 by Hougang United a day earlier.