Philippines Pride Pacquiao-Mosley card round-by-round

WBO welterweight title: Manny Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley

Round 1

Really impressive entrances for the two fighters ... Bob Arum wasn't joking when he said he had learned lessons from UFC and the likes of the Klitschko brothers in Europe. Live music — including a live rendition of "Eye of the Tiger!" Awesome!

It's the first mega-fight of 2011 in boxing. They spend most of the first round feeling each other out, with Pacquiao using his speed to get the odd shot off quickly. Pacquiao digs in a big punch to the body. Mosley responds with a body shot of his own. Pacquiao lands a quick jab. Both fighters clearly respect the other's power. Mosley gets a right hand through clean but misses with a body punch. Pacquiao threatens with a left hook. Close round as both fighters were tentative. Difficult to score due to so little happening. Pacquiao probably took it with all round ringmanship, his speed clearly making Mosley uncomfortable.

10-9 Pacquiao

Round 2

Pacquiao is certainly far more tentative than in previous fights. Mosley talking to Pacquiao trying to goad him into a wild lunge. Both fighters are trying to hit while staying out of range. Both successfully connecting with long-range punches. Mosley doing well to avoid having Pacquiao dictate where the fight takes place. Pacquiao backs Mosley up with several quick punches to the body. Pacquiao flicking out the jab. Mosley fires out one of his own. Pacquiao goes for a flurry of punches later on but Mosley seems to have it covered. Another even round with Pacquiao clearly concerned about the threat posed by the bigger man. Another difficult round to score but Pacquiao probably took it just.

20-18 Pacquiao

Round 3

Pacquiao starting to push the pace in an attempt to use his speed to take the fight away from Mosley. Pacquiao getting more punches in. Pacquiao floors Mosley with a big right hand after a straight jab and Mosley is on glass legs. Pacquiao has a minute to get what could be the telling blow. Pacquiao pushing for the finish but Mosley doing well to avoid taking a clean shot. A big round for Pacquiao.

30-26 Pacquiao

Round 4

Pacquiao threathening Mosley as the challenger is allowing himself to be pushed around the ring. They engage on the inside and Mosley takes a tumble after a slip. Pacquiao connects with the jab and this looks like the mismatch we were all expecting. Mosley tries to find success with body shots but Pacquiao walks through with a hard one-two combo. Mosley falling backwards as Pacquiao is dominanting. Mosley comes back with a nice little combination, although the hook landson Pacquiao's gloves.

40-35 Pacquiao

Round 5

Pacquiao is trying to connect with big hooks to the head of Mosley. Mosley complains about a clash of heads. Pacquiao flicking out the jab. Mosley doing better in standing his ground and got some tidy little body punches off. Pacquiao is starting to miss slightly and his decision to just go for power punches seems ill-judged given Mosley's clear discomfort when Pacquiao punches in bunches. Instead Mosley is doing a good job of avoiding taking anything too powerful cleanly. Pacquiao's round, but the fight has stabilized after it seemed on the brink of being over in the third.

50-44 Pacquiao

Round 6

Pacquiao turns up the pace midway through the round and Mosley is clearly struggling to match fire with fire. But Pacquiao clearly can't sustain the pace for anything more than the occassional burst. And it's when he slows down that Mosley is able to re-establish himself and claw his way back into the fight. Mosley is doing a good job of avoiding taking too much damage and is clearly trying to fight off the back foot and counterpunch Pacquiao.

Pacquiao is clearly frustrated but he's 60-53 ahead.

Round 7

Mosley controlling the beginning of the round with his jab, as the crowd gets restless at the slow-paced fight. Pacquiao is trying to get inside of Mosley, but the defensive tactics are confounding the champion. Pacquiao puts together a flurry that has Mosley on his bike, but he never comes close to landing a telling blow. Mosley flicking out the jab and is really showing superior ringmanship in this round. Pacquiao puts together some good combinations. Crowd boos that round, not very happy at all. Difficult round to score with little action. Pacquiao was the aggressive but he landed nothing of any quality so I'll give that to Mosley for superior ringmanship.

69-63 Pacquiao

Round 8

Pacquiao is clearly struggling to box his way inside Mosley. Mosley landed a right hand that spurred Pacquiao to put together a nice-looking flurry that was ended by another right hand from Mosley. Pacquiao is looking very flat here, struggling to force the openings to really punish Mosley. Pacquiao lands a couple of odd punches throughout the round, but could never put them together in a telling sequence. Mosley lands a good right hand on the gloves of Pacquiao toward the end. Another close round that but Pacquiao was more active than in the seventh.

79-72 Pacquiao

Round 9

Pacquiao is struggling like we have not seen for awhile, with Mosley's disciplined counterpunching perfectly pitched to play the spoiler against the fast moving champion. Regardless Pacquiao's performance is baffling as its all power punches and single shots when the third round should have gave him the template as to how he would secure a quick victory against Mosley. He does show better work towards the end and snaps Mosley's head back with a straight punch.

89-81 Pacquiao

Barasoain Church (also known as Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish) is a Roman Catholic church built in 1630 in Malolos City, Bulacan. Having earned the title as the Cradle of Democracy in the East, the most important religious building in the Philippines, and the site of the First Philippine Republic, the Church is proverbial for its historical importance among Filipinos.

Founded by Augustinian Missionaries in 1859, the church is also renowned for its architectural design and internal adornments. The original church was burned during the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution however, it was renovated. It is about 42 kilometers away from Manila.

The church recorded some of the important events occurred in the country. While it has been a temporary residence of General Aguinaldo, three major events in Philippine History happened in this church: the convening of the First Philippine Congress (September 15, 1898), the drafting of the Malolos Constitution (September 29, 1898 to January 21, 1899), and the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic (January 23, 1899). By Presidential Decree No. 260 , the church was proclaimed as a National Shrine by President Ferdinand Marcos on August 1, 1973. Unusual for newly elected presidents in the Philippines, the church has been a venue in an inaugural affairs. General Emilio Aguinaldo and former president Joseph Estrada were the only two who have been inaugurated in the place.

Historic Barasoain used to be independent from Malolos and this explains the presence of a stone church here. The Parish Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel had its first stone edifice in 1871 to replace a temporary one but was burned later. In 1885, the current structure was started while the belltower was constructed in 1889. The church was the scene of the proclamation of Philippine Independence and recently, where Joseph Estrada took his oath of office.

The facade has Neo-Classic touches and its rounded pediment is echoed by the arches and rose window at the lower part.

Espasol

Espasol is a type of rice cake that is made of rice flour cooked in coconut milk. This cyclindricaly shaped treat originated from the Province of Laguna and is visible in almost all bus stops and “pasalubong” stores.

Like the other famous rice-puddings (or kakanin), there are various ways in making Espasol. I’ll be showing you one of the simple ways on how to make this fabulous dessert. Say adiue to your cravings and start making your own delicous Espasol.

Ingredients:

3 cups glutinous rice flour, toasted

1/2 cup sweet rice flour, toasted

2 cups sugar

3 cups coconut milk

1 1/2 cups grated coconut, toasted

1 tsp vanilla essence

Cooking Procedure:

1. In a cooking pot, pour-in the coconut milk and bring to a boil.

2. Add the sugar and stir continously for 10 minutes.

3. Put-in the toasted grated coconut and cook for 5 minutes.

4. Add the vanilla essence and toasted rice flour and cook for 40 minutes to 1 hour or until the mixture becomes really thick while folding.

5. Remove the mixture from the pot and allow to cool down.

6. Dust the toasted sweet rice flour in a flat surface.

7. Divide the mixture into parts and roll over the dusted sweet rice flour until a cylindrical shape is formed.

8. Slice according to your preference.

9. Put in a serving plate or wrap in paper or banana leaf. Share and enjoy!

Callao Caves

Callao Cave is a very easy cave, and because it is only half an hour drive from Cagayan's capital Tuguegarao City, it is one of the province's most popular caves. It was named after the Kallaw bird, once very common in this area, but because of hunting it is now very rare.

It is made up of seven chambers and various formations: the Column, Chapel, Skeleton, Elephant’s Head, Praying Angel, Rocket, Lion’s Head and Dog’s Head Formations. The Chapel, being featured in many tourism ads and postcards, is the main attraction of the cave (and of the whole Cagayan), it is a chamber turned into a cathedral by the locals. The place draws a dramatic picture as the skylight illuminates the hall through its opening.

While in the area, one must also try a wooden boat ride in Mororan (Minoran) River passing through small rainforest, a bat cave, scenic rocky cliffs and picturesque river banks with crystal clear water ideal for swimming.

The cave is located above the Pinacanauan River. A stair leads up 187 steps on the mountainside to the cave entrance. A series of seven chambers may be visited. The first huge chamber is called the Aviary Room, having many openings which let in daylight and several species of birds who live here. The site of archaeologic excavations right at the entrance is fenced off. Archaeologists from the University of the Philippines found Neolithic tools and human remains.

The main attraction of the cave is the second chamber called Divine Room. It was transformed into a church, because it is spacious and has an opening allowing the sunlight to enter the huge chamber. There are benches and an altar. The locals jest that it is possible to have a wedding in this church, but only if the groom carries the bride all the way up the 187 steps.

The following chamber has no opening and is thus dark, logically it is called Dark Room. Form here a good torchs seems appropriate. The Cream Room was named after a large formation which looks like three scoops of ice-cream. It follows the Jungle Area, named after several animal-shaped rock formations. The sixth room has a passage branching off halfway up the ceiling. It is accessible on spelunking tours, but the participants enter the passage on the far end on the otehr side of the mountain.

The final chamber is called Sun Room, because early in the morning, between 8 and 10, sun rays shile through an opening in the wall. Later the angle changes and the sun does not directly hit the cave any more.

Anilao, Batangas

If you ever get to dive Anilao, you will find incredible diversity, rich reefs, a great variety of small fish, and unexpected critters & nudibranchs turning up around every corner. If you love underwater photography, or if you love marine life, Anilao is a dream spot.

Anilao diving - Macro and Nudibranch diving at its best

Anilao is just a 3 hour drive south of Manila, Philippines - just past Batangas, and it has some of the best scuba diving for underwater photography in the world, particulary for photographing macro subjects, nudibranchs, rare underwater critters, and finding new species of fish. The reefs of anilao are extremely healthy, at shallow depths and at very deep depths. Reef fish are plentiful at every dive site, although larger fish and pelagics are not common. Anilao is an underwater photographer's paradise.

Anilao Marine Life

Every reef and juvenile fish imaginable can be found in Anilao. Shrimp, crabs, nudibranchs, small squid and cuttlefish, are all more plentiful than almost anywhere else I've dove. Frogfish, pipefish, seahorse are also fairly common at some sites. I've seen Rhinopias and Hairy Frogfish. Wonderpus, Mimic and Blue-ringed octopus can be seen. Most species on the muck and macro diving critter list can be found in Anilao. Anilao is also a great place to find Bobbit worms. Anilao has a large number of species of hard and soft corals, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world.

If you really try, you can even see bigger stuff an Anilao, like large schools of Jacks and giant seahorses. At Mainit point, which has strong currents I've seen 3-4 great barracuda hunting, and blue trevally. Reef sharks are seen down deep at dive sites with stronger currents. On very rare occasions people have seen small whale sharks.

Best dive sites in Anilao

Twin Rocks, Basura, Mainit Muck (Secret Bay), Kirby's, and Bethlehem are consistently target rich environments for underwater photographers. Beatrice has some great wide-angle opportunities of schooling anthias. For very advanced divers wanting a dive with strong currents, healthy current and pelagics, try Mainit pointearly in the morning. I saw trevally's there, a shark and several great barracuda hunting. Devil's point is well known for prolific soft coral.

Secret Bay, Anilao - aka Mainit Muck

 "Secret Bay", also known as "Mainit Muck" -is one of the most famous, yet "secretive" muck-diving dive sites in Anilao. This dive site is one of the most productive dive sites I've ever been to for muck diving. Secret Bay (Mainit Muck) is excellent at any time of the day, but especially at night. the best diving is between 10ft and 70ft deep (3-21 meters).

Marine life at Secret Bay, Mainit Muck

 Mantis shrimp, gobies, wonderpus octopus and nudibranchs are prolific during the day. Squid and cuttlefish are easily found at night. Seahorses, ghost pipefish, ambon scorpionfish, tiny frogfish, colemani shrimp, and bobbit worms are all readily found.

Typical Dive Day at Anilao

Diving is usually by a small open boat, which is comfortable for up to 4 divers plus a crew of 2-3. Dive sites are usually 15-30 minutes away from most resorts. When we dive Anilao, we go out for 2 dives early in the morning, enjoy lunch and rest in the afternoon, and then go out for 2 dives in the last afternoon, with the last dive always being a complete night dive. Daily night dives are a must in Anilao! Dive times are usually not limited, and significant time can be spent in the shallows. We enjoy using Nitrox on all of our dives.

Diving other areas nearby Anilao

Verde Island is supposed to have some spectacular walls, and is doable as a long day trip from Anilao.

Puerto Galera is known for having many dive shops, many dive sites, inexpensive diving, and a noisy nightlife. Anilao, on the other hand, is very quiet and I don't even know if it has a restaurant. You can transfer to Puerto Galera in a couple of hours via car and ferry, or private boat, across the large channel. Diving in Puerto Galera is good, but Anilao has better corals, critters, and diving in general. Many people dive Puerto Galera because they want some options for eating out, clubs or bars, etc. Puerto Galera has a couple well known resorts with amenities which is also a draw.

Best time to dive Anilao

Anilao water temps, visibility, weather

October to the end of May is the main diving season in Anilao. July and August can get wicked monsoons. Please note that the water can get significantly cooler in january and february, around 25C/77F. The best months are probably november and april - may, with april and may being the most crowded months at the resorts. Visibility is consistently fairly good at 40-50ft.