The Philippine Online Chronicles

Novak Djokovic of Serbia defeated Rafael Nadal to capture the 2012 Australian Open title in Melbourne Australia.

In UFC action, former light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans took a convincing unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Phil Davis in the main event of UFC on Fox 2.

Lastly, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters defeated the Powerade Tigers, 110-101, to win the 2011-2012 PBA Philippine Cup title at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Australian Open Finals: Djokovic defeats Nadal in five sets, wins title

Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain battled for almost six hours to determine the 2012 Australian Open winner. After countless rallies and winners, Djokovic pulled off an epic 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 win. The match is considered the longest major singles final in history and it may also go down as one of the most intense and dramatic of all time.

Djokovic became only the fifth man in the Open Era to win three straight major finals. He is now 7-0 over Nadal since last year, proving to everyone that his amazing 2011 run was no fluke.

Unfortunately for Nadal, he became the first man since 1968 to lose three straight major finals and incidentally, all of those setbacks came from Djokovic.

Nadal actually made a huge comeback in the fourth set when he overcame a 3-5 deficit to tie the match at two sets apiece. The 25-year old Spaniard and winner of 10 major titles reeled four straight points before taking the set when Djokovic’s forehand shot went wide.

In the fifth set, Nadal looked like he was on his way to his 11^th major title after erecting a 4-2 lead. However, the number one ranked Djokovic made huge shots and winners to take a 6-5 lead before finally claiming the match with a forehand winner.

Meanwhile, this is only the second time in his career that Nadal lost the match after winning the first set.

UFC: Evans wins over Davis, earns light heavyweight title shot

The much-awaited match between Rashad Evans and Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title will finally happen after Evans defeated highly touted prospect Phil Davis via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC on Fox 2.

Evans, a former UFC light heavyweight champion himself, controlled the fight from the opening bell until the fifth round. Evans was so dominant that all three judges scored the fight in his favor at 50-45.

With the win, Evans will be facing Jones on April 21 at Atlanta. The two fighters have been scheduled to fight last year, but injuries stopped their highly anticipated Octagon match from happening.

Davis actually tried to land big shots on Evans, but Evans’ excellent defense simply cancelled out whatever damage Davis intended to do. Davis, a former wrestling champion back in college, failed to take Evans to the canvas despite many attempts.

Meanwhile, Evans was just too experienced and too good for Davis as he effortlessly took down Davis to the ground and controlled the top position for long periods during the five-round match.

In the co-main even of the evening, middleweight contender Chael Sonnen escaped with a controversial unanimous decision victory over Michael Bisping.

Known as an excellent ground fighter, Sonnen struggled to keep Bisping on the ground after taking him down in the first two rounds. To make matters worse for Sonnen, he also received a couple of clean shots from Bisping during standup.

Things changed a lot during the third round when Sonnen began to fully control the ground game. This time, Sonnen put Bisping on the canvas for good, doing a lot of damage while on top.

Judges gave the win to Sonnen with scores of 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28. With the win, Sonnen will be facing longtime UFC champion Anderson Silva for the middleweight crown.

PBA Philippine Cup: Talk ‘N Text wins back-to-back Phil Cup titles

The Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters made history by winning their second All-Filipino title in two years after defeating the Powerade Tigers, 110-101, in Game 5 of the 2011-2012 PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Texters became only the second PBA team in history to win back-to-back All-Filipino titles in 27 years after Great Taste did it way back in 1985.

Fil-am guard Ryan Reyes played his best game of the season with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and a record-setting 10 steals. Aside from Reyes, center Ranidel De Ocampo contributed 18, Jimmy Alapag 17, and Jason Castro 13.

Meanwhile, sharpshooter Larry Fonacier was hailed as the Finals MVP.

The Tropang Texters built a 23-point lead in the first half. Though the Tigers tried to mount a rally, the Tropang Texters answered with their own run to keep the Tigers at bay.

This is the deepest that the Tigers have gone in the playoffs. They became the first eighth-seeded team to beat a top-ranked squad in the quarterfinals by overcoming B-Meg. After that, the Tigers fought tooth and nail to outlast a young and motivated Rain or Shine squad in the semifinals.

Unfortunately, the Tropang Texters simply have too much experience and depth for the Tigers to handle. The Tropang Texters had the chance to sweep the series last Friday, but the Tigers pulled off a miracle to extend it.

For the Tigers, Best Player of the Conference awardee Gary David led the team with 37 points while center Sean Anthony and point guard JV Casio added 22 and 19, respectively.

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