Philippine Azkals wins in Hong Kong

James Younghusband scores the lone goal of the match that lift the Philippine Azkals to a 1-0 win over Hong Kong. The goal came from a broken play after a Hong Kong defender deflected a Stephan Shrock cross.

Goalkeeper Neil Etheridge had a great night with several stunning saves in the second half to deny goals from the Hong Kong squad.

Before Tuesday's match, the Philippines had not beaten Hong Kong in 6 previous FIFA-sanctioned meetings.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss deployed a strong starting line-up consisting of Etheridge, skipper Chieffy Caligdong, brothers James and Phil Younghusband, Stephan Schröck, Chris Greatwich, Rob Gier, Jeffrey Christiaens, Carli De Murga, Paul Mulders, and Juani Guirado.

With Schröck pulling the strings in midfield, the Azkals established a foothold early in the match. The Azkals broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute when James Younghusband scored with a header.

Hong Kong tried to look for an equalizer, with their best attempt coming in the 69th minute when they were given a penalty for a foul by Guirado inside the box but Etheridge, saved the penalty shot.

Hong Kong had 18 shots, with 7 on target. The Philippines had 7 shots, with only 2 on target.

Bob Arum said Pacquiao may never again fight in U.S.

Bob Arum revealed that Manny Pacquiao may never fight in the U.S. again.

The topic came out when Arum was asked about Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s bold decision to take on Mexico’s star unbeaten world super-welterweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez on Sept. 14 in Las Vegas.

“Let’s not even go there,” said Arum, who has failed repeatedly in attempts with Mayweather Jr. and the boxer’s promoter, Richard Schaefer, to stage the super-fight.

“By fighting outside the country, as he’s doing in this Rios fight, Manny doesn’t have to pay U.S. taxes anymore – at a rate of 40% for a foreign athlete.

“If this pay-per-view and other things take off like we think they may, I can’t imagine Pacquiao will ever again fight in the U.S.”

Pacquiao will fight former world lightweight champion Brandon Rios on Nov. 23 in Macau, China.

Arum said the fight will be on the morning of Nov. 24 in Macau so the pay-per-view will air live on a Saturday night in the U.S., he also have a deal to allow Chinese consumers to purchase Pacquiao-Rios for what equates to $5 to view the bout on their tablets or cellphones.

“We could do as many as $10 million to $20 million in sales with this. It changes everything. Will it work? We’ll see in November.”

Arum has also negotiated with resorts in Singapore for a possible future Pacquiao bout.