MANILA, Philippines — Three-peat champion St. Francis of Assisi College faces its toughest challenge yet in its reign when it guns for a fourth straight Universities and Colleges of Luzon Athletic Association (UCLAA) basketball title against unbeaten Technological Institute of the Philippines today at the San Andres gym.

Game 1 of the best-of-three championship presented by Mang Inasal Bicutan/Muntinlupa/Tagaytay and Villa de Oro Tagaytay/Boracay is at 10:30 a.m. with Game 2 on Wednesday. A winner-take-all third game will be played Friday, if necessary.

“This is a battle for supremacy like no other in the young history of the league,” said UCLAA president Art Onas, who oversees the tournament along with vice president Ma. Angeles Prats and treasurer Jun Quinio.

Nat’l Age Group Triathlon Set

Excitement awaits triathletes as the recruitment program of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) will be tested at the scenic Subic with the launch of the 2012 National Age Group Triathlon (NAGT) series presented by Century Tuna on Feb. 5. The kick-off event starts at 6 a.m. Events on tap are the standard distance course (1.5 Km swim-40 Km bike-10 Km run) and the sprint distance course (750 M swim-20 Km bike-5 Km run).

Triathletes aged 16 to 19-years-old will compete in sprint distance while participants aged 13to 15 as well as first-timer adult participants will take part in the mini-sprint course (350M swim-16 Km bike-2.5 Km run). Also scheduled is the SuperTriKids Aquathlon (200 M swim-400 M run) for 9 to 10 years old and 350 M swim-1.5 Km run (for 11-12 years).

Karting season starts in Carmona

A busy weekend will mark the return of karting races with the staging of the championship round of the 2011 Petron Karting Super Series and the kickoff of the 2012 Denso KF2-KF3 Cup Series set Feb. 4-5 at the Carmona Racetrack.

Up for grabs are the series titles in the ROK Novice, ROK Junior, ROK Senior and ROK Overall division on Feb. 4 for the unfinished business of the 2011 Petron Karting Super Series sanctioned by the Automobile Association Philippines and sponsored by Petron Blaze, San Miguel Corporation, Motorstar and Aeromed.

The 2012 Denso KF2-KF3 Cup Series features the showdown of Filipino ace karters up against the foreign champion rivals from neighboring Asian countries for the titles at stake.

Melindo Too Much For Mexican 

CEBU CITY – Unbeaten Milan Melindo outclassed Mexican Juan Esquer as he scored a resounding technical knockout in their 12-round flyweight fight Saturday night that showcased his readiness to challenge for a world title.

Punishing his 25-year-old opponent with crisp jabs and deadly hooks, Melindo was in control for most of the fight that served as the main event of ‘Pinoy Pride XI: Philippines vs. The World’ boxing promotion before a jam-packed crowd at the Pacific Ballroom of the Waterfront Hotel and Casino here. The end came at the 2:16 mark of the seventh round when Esquer landed an obvious low blow.

Ateneo, Adamson batters blank foes

Ateneo and Adamson humbled their rivals in the UAAP baseball and softball tournaments held over the weekend at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The Lady Falcons, seeking a back-to-back women’s softball title via a sweep of the two-round series, scored an abbreviated 11-0 win over the Lady Archers of La Salle.

The Blu Eagles, not to be outdone, banked on their solid hitting, in shutting out University of the Philippines, 10-0, also in only four frames in the men’s baseball play.