The Philippines drew with Hong Kong 3-all

The Philippine Azkals came back from two goals down and if not for a late Hong Kong strike, could have won the game but was held to a 3-3 draw in the second edition of the Long Teng Cup at the Kaohsiung National Stadium in Taiwan.

Consecutive goals by Lee Wai Lim and Cheng Lai Hin in the second and 22nd minutes of the match gave defending champion Hong Kong an early 2-0 lead.

A Phil Younghusband penalty kick got the Philippines on the board in the 32nd minute of the first half.

Thirteen minutes later, Azkals co-captain Chieffy Caligdong’s scored the Philippines’ second goal to tie the count at halftime.

Buoyed by the comeback the Azkals pressed for the winner and it was the Air Force winger from Iloilo that came up with the big shot.

Receiving a diagonal ball in the 63rd minute from James Younghusband Caligdong gained control and fired into the top corner to put the Philippines ahead for the first time in the match.

Hong Kong then was reduced to 10 men as Ng Wai Chiu received his marching orders and despite threatening on the wings throughout the game the Azkals held firm.

The Philippines thought they had achieved a remarkable comeback leading 3-2 into the final five minutes of the game but Hong Kong’s Au Yeung Yiu Chung turned in the equalizer from a free kick in the 87th minute.

The equalizer brought the teams back onto level terms, probably a fair result given Hong Kong’s better use of possession throughout much of the game. Both teams hung on to the draw and in the end it still signals a good result.

In the same fixture last year, Hong Kong’s Under-23 squad scored a 4-2 win over the Azkals. Now the Philippines have held their seniors team to a 3-3 draw. Seemingly fond of six goal thrillers both teams will be looking to Taiwan and Macau to maximize their goal difference as if Hong Kong and the Philippines win their remaining two games only goal difference will decide who wins the competition.

The long search for a trophy continues for the Philippines but they are making progress and showed great heart. Unlucky not to have won this game they have put in a performance full of resolve. The slow start is perhaps attributable to the debuts given to five new players; Roland Müller made many good saves despite conceding three while Matthew Hartmann, Jeff Christiaens, Carlos de Murga and Oliver Poetschke showed potential.

It was veteran winger Chieffy Caligdong who stole the plaudits though. Scoring a brace within the game he was unlucky to have been injured and replaced by Christiaens. After the game coach Michael Weiss hailed the winger for his “fantastic" performance and mused that “We should have been rewarded with the win just for Caligdong’s effort."

Clearly disappointed with some of the referee’s decisions he particularly thought the team could have won the game when Phil Younghusband appeared to be wrongly flagged offside. Through on goal at that time it would have put the Philippines up 4-2, an exact reversal of last year’s score and would have put the game to rest.

With Hong Kong slight favorites to win the competition avoiding defeat means the Philippines have a real chance at winning their first trophy in almost a century. Weiss now has the options to switch things up when needed after being criticized in the past for not trusting his substitutes. His main concern, though, will be the injury which forced Caligdong off the pitch. With a race to the highest goal difference (goals scored minus goals conceded) imminent, the Philippines will need all the creativity they can get.

A big disappointment in the game, however, was Jason de Jong’s second yellow card in the last minutes of the game. Obviously disappointed he once more failed to hold his temper, received his marching orders for dissent and will miss the game against Taiwan on October 2. Hong Kong, however, was reduced to nine men when Loi Keung was also sent off. How the teams will react remains uncertain and the Long Teng Cup remains wide open. — JVP, GMA News

Philippine Azkals vs. Hongkong Live Stream

Hong Kong vs. Philippines on Sept. 30, Fri at 9:30 p.m. on Studio 23 (r- Oct. 1, Sat at 1 p.m. on BALLS) as per ABS CBN Sports.

Sorry guys! wala talaga akong ma e-share na livestream. Maghintay nalang muna tayo hanggang 9:30 PM at ipapalabas eto sa Studio 23.

Or maybe click this site AZKALSLIVE.COM..baka available na... :))

Go Azkals!!!!!

Cat with two faces lives years, sets record

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Frank and Louie the cat was born with two faces, two mouths, two noses, three eyes — and lots of doubts about his future.

Now, 12 years after Marty Stevens rescued him from being euthanized because of his condition, the exotic blue-eyed rag doll cat is not only thriving, but has also made it into the 2012 edition of Guinness World Records as the longest-surviving member of a group known as Janus cats, named for a Roman god with two faces.

"Every day is kind of a blessing; being 12 and normal life expectancy when they have this condition is one to four days," Stevens said, stroking Frank and Louie's soft fur as he sat on her lap purring. "So, he's ahead of the game; every day I just thank God I still have him."

Frank and Louie's breeder had taken him to the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, where Stevens was working at the time, to be euthanized when he was just a day old. Stevens offered to take him home, but experts told her not to get her hopes up.

Janus cats almost never survive, and most have congenital defects, including a cleft palate that makes it difficult for them to nurse and often causes them to slowly starve or get milk in their lungs and die of pneumonia. The condition is the result of a genetic defect that triggers excessive production of a certain kind of protein.

But Frank and Louie did not suffer from most of the common Janus problems. Stevens used feeding tubes to nourish him for three months, hoping that would also save him from the danger of choking on food going down two mouths.

It turned out she didn't have to worry about him choking, because Frank and Louie used just one of his mouths to eat.

"The condition itself is very rare, and I think that the fact that this cat became an adult, a healthy adult, is remarkable," said Dr. Armelle deLaforcade, an associate professor at Cummings and head of the emergency services section.

Colleagues at the veterinary hospital told Stevens that trying to raise Frank and Louie might not be good for him — or her.

Still, she "stood firm and stood by the cat, and I'm really glad she did because this cat really has fewer problems than many cats that have very normal anatomies," deLaforcade said.

Frank and Louie's two faces have a complicated relationship. Both noses work, but one mouth does not have a lower jaw and isn't connected to his one esophagus, so he can't eat with it.

Stevens discovered that only after the cat got an MRI later in life.

The animal can see out of only two of his three eyes. The middle one can't even blink and makes Frank and Louie appear to be staring even when his other eyes are closed.

Frank and Louie does not seem to be bothered by his condition and has developed a friendly personality. The breed is known for its soft and silky fur, docile temperament and penchant for relaxing in a person's arms like a rag doll.

He is "very, very laid back, not afraid of people, very friendly and he's actually more of a dog than a cat," Stevens said. "He walks on a leash, he goes right in the car; he loves car rides."
People often want to touch Frank and Louie's long, luxurious fur while Stevens is out walking him.

"It's funny because people walk up to him thinking it's a nice, fluffy white cat and they're walking up with a big smile on their face to pat him, like, 'Oh, what a beautiful cat' and I see a look of horror come over their faces when they actually see his face," Stevens said, laughing.

Thirty years ago, a cat like Frank and Louie might not have been given a chance to live.

Said deLaforcade: "You can look at a cat like this as either a very strange and bad omen, or you can look at this cat as a miracle."

He gets paid to sleep on the job

Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - He has the best excuse to sleep on the job.

Lee Jia, 27, earns 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) a month just to test the comfort level at hotel rooms.

Besides sleeping, he checks out the scent of the rooms, the cleanliness, the brand of toiletries and the type of TV programmes available.

Sin Chew Daily quoted Lee, a Chinese national, as saying that his job was more than just sleeping in hotel rooms and that it could get stressful at times.

His job, he said, required him to observe well his surroundings.

Lee, who loves travelling, said he would then write a review of the hotel and its facilities on his blog.

"You need to be highly focused and articulate to observe every detail in order to produce a comprehensive report," he said.

'Backroom fired Erik,' says Boy Abunda

INQUIRER.NET - TV personality Boy Abunda, who used to head the talent management company Backroom Inc., said he was disappointed with his former ward, singer Erik Santos, and wanted to “set the record straight” on why the artist transferred to Star Magic.

“Erik didn’t leave Backroom. He was released,” Abunda told Inquirer Entertainment in a phone interview on Sunday night. “We gave him a formal letter explaining why we had to let him go. This was because he badmouthed Backroom and lied to some of our common friends.”

Abunda was reacting to a story published Sept. 21 in Inquirer Entertainment, in which Santos said he left Backroom because “there were a lot of changes in its management” since Abunda left it to focus on caring for his ailing mother.”

In the same story, which quoted Santos during a media gathering for his new album, “Awit Para Sa ’Yo” (Star Records), the singer explained: “I’m not saying I didn’t like the changes. It’s just that I have other considerations, both personal and professional.”

Santos ended his seven-year business relationship with Backroom Inc. in August, and is now comanaged by ABS-CBN’s Star Magic group and Cornerstone Talent Management Center headed by Erickson Raymundo.

“I nurtured him, although he also worked hard,” Abunda said. “I think Erik has forgotten this. It’s sad that he has disregarded the contributions of Backroom to his career.”

Abunda said he felt bad when he found out that Santos had spoken to people about how he felt Backroom had neglected him. “Erik also said he disliked some of the people in the office. I just want to remind Erik to slow down. He should give credit where credit is due.”

Abunda, however, is open to talking with Santos. He added that he understood how difficult it must have been for the singer to answer questions in a press conference. “I still think he should have spoken the truth, or he could have just said, ‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore’ when reporters tried to grill him. He had a choice not to go into details.”

He may not be a perfect manager, Abunda admitted, “but I know I deserve respect. I still love him (Erik). I consider this just a crack in our relationship. I just want him to learn a lesson.”