The Philippine Online Chronicles

Power forward David West has confirmed that he will sign with the Indiana Pacers in the upcoming NBA season to play alongside Danny Granger and Darren Collison. The 31-year-old power forward, who last played for the New Orleans Hornets, will sign a two-year, USD 20 million contract with the Pacers in a couple of days.

In boxing, Lamont Peterson won the WBA and IBF junior welterweight titles via a controversial split decision over the heavily favored Amir Khan of the United Kingdom. Two judges saw Peterson winning and scored it 113-112, while another one saw it 115-110 for Khan. Khan knocked down Peterson in the first round, but the American came back and buckled the Brit’s knees with a hard right in the third. Peterson continued his aggression in the 10^th and 11^th rounds, before eventually securing the win with a point deduction from Khan in the 12^th.

Meanwhile, the Ateneo Blue Eagles survived San Sebastian’s stingy defense to extend 2011 PCCL Finals until Thursday. With the 56-51 win, the Blue Eagles forced a rubber match that would determine the best collegiate basketball team in the country.

NBA: David West will join Pacers

Two-time All-Star and former New Orleans Hornets power forward David West has agreed to sign a two-year, 20-million-dollar contract with the Indiana Pacers. West decided to join the squad believing that its mix of young and old players will enable it to be competitive in the Eastern Conference.

Last season, the 31-year-old West averaged 18.9 points and 7.6 rebounds before an ACL injury stopped him from playing a single game in the playoffs. West could have gotten USD 7.5 million with the Hornets, but he opted out and accepted the Pacers’ deal instead.

After the ACL surgery last April, West put in the work to rehabilitate his knee, enabling him to play pickup games during the lockout. The former All-Star also noted that he’s excited to team up with guys like Danny Granger, center Roy Hibbert, and former teammate Darrne Collison.

West’s decision to leave the Hornets could have been caused by the confusing ownership situation in New Orleans. The NBA is still looking for a buyer for the franchise and without an owner the team’s players and coaching staff are included in the league’s payroll.

Boxing: Peterson takes junior welterweight titles from Khan

Amir Khan was already eyeing a possible match against the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. by 2012. However, Lamont Peterson had something else in mind and instead of letting Khan defend his IBF and WBA junior welterweight belts for the sixth straight time, Peterson took them away.

Peterson defeated Khan via split decision in a highly controversial match that saw Khan’s camp calling for an immediate rematch. Khan believes that the referee erroneously deducted two points in the 12^th and seventh round for pushing. The 25-year-old boxer thinks that he should have been given a warning first before the points were deducted.

In the end, two judges gave the bout to Peterson by scoring it 113-112, while another one gave it to Khan, 115-110.

Khan looked like he was going to blow away Peterson by scoring a knockdown in the first round. However, the 27-year-old American came back and wobbled the champion with a strong right in the third.

It was a back-and-forth fight from that point on with both fighters making a rally. Peterson won the decisive 10^th and 11^th rounds when Khan began to fade away because of exhaustion.

Khan’s camp didn’t like the decision and they’re calling for an immediate rematch, which Golden Boy Promotions already approved.

2011 PCCL Finals: Ateneo edges out San Sebastian, 56-51

Even if their shooting didn’t show up, the Ateneo Blue Eagles escaped with a 56-51 win over the San Sebastian Stags to force a do-or-die game that will determine which team will be this year’s PCCL champions.

The Blue Eagles depended on their vaunted defense and clutch free throws to subdue a Stags team that seemed to have figured out how to defeat the current UAAP champions.

Reigning UAAP Rookie of the Year Kiefer Ravena gave Ateneo the go-ahead basket with just 2:39 left in the fourth period. After that, the Blue Eagles had to earn the win via their impeccable shooting from the free throw line.

The reigning UAAP champions created a 46-37 lead in the third quarter, but the Stags easily erased the deficit to make it a close contest until the very end.

Nico Salva led the Blue Eagles with 18 points while seven-foot center Greg Slaughter had seven points and 14 rebounds.

For the Stags, forward Calvin Abueva had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. However, the athletic point forward fouled out in the last minute with the game on the line.

It was a must-win ballgame for Ateneo, which conceded the twice-to-beat advantage to San Sebastian in the semifinals. The do-or-die ballgame between the two teams will be played on Thursday in San Juan.

“Hornets Player David West_3” by Schroder+Schombs PR_Brands|Media|Lifestyle c/o Flickr. Some rights reserved.