ONE gauge of a player’s leadership qualities is how he sets examples for his teammates.

Purefoods considers itself doubly lucky for having two beacons in Kerby Raymundo and James Yap, the KFC/Accel- PBA Press Corps’ Co-Players of the Week for the period Oct. 27 to Nov. 2.

The rest of the Giants rode on the able shoulders of the dynamic duo in fashioning a thrilling 108-105 overtime win over the Air21 Express in the Philippine Cup’s Halloween presentation last Friday.

The victory, coming on the heels of a more cruising 92-81 triumph over Barangay Ginebra the Sunday before, marked the first time hobbled Purefoods fashioned back-to-back wins in the conference, jacking their win-loss record to 3-4 and barging out of the cellar.

Giants coach Ryan Gregorio knows exactly whom to give the bulk of the credit.

"They were remarkable in our last two wins, especially in our game against Air21," said Gregorio of Raymundo, who scored a career high 37 points, and Yap, who had 31, against the Express.

"We simply rode on their backs with their combined output of 68 points," Gregorio added. "They showed great leadership when we were on the verge of losing."

The Purefoods stars became the first teammates to put together 30-point performances in a single game since San Miguel’s Danny Seigle and Dondon Hontiveros accomplished the feat in a 119-115 win over Red Bull in Game Seven of the 2006-07 Philippine Cup semifinals.

Raymundo dished out his best game since a 31-point game against Talk ‘N Text in the 2006 Philippine Cup and Yap’s was also his best since scattering the same output versus Coca-Cola in the last Fiesta Conference.

Yap’s game, also spiked by nine rebounds and two assists, was made more remarkable by the fact that his status was questionable before the game, hobbled as he is by a bad back and two sore ankles.

Yet he grabbed the loose ball and came through with a big three-point shot at the buzzer as Purefoods completed its 20-second rise from a 91-96 deficit to tie the game at 97, and force overtime.

It was also Yap who pushed the Giants ahead for good in the extension with a layup, before adding two more baskets in an 8-2 binge that virtually iced the dramatic contest that had 11 deadlocks and as many lead changes.

The Giants would not have been even in a position to stay in the game if it were not for Raymundo, who also had 11 rebounds and four assists.

Picking up the cudgels for his injured co-star, Raymundo scattered 29 points in the final half, highlighted by a triple that started their rise from that five-point deficit in the last 20 seconds of regulation.

"Together, they made things happen for us," said Gregorio.

The youthful-looking but grizzled coach knows the road ahead remains rough for his team, especially now that starting point guard Roger Yap remains out with a knee injury. But with his two major players leading the way, Gregorio is confident the task could be overcome.

special credits: pba.com.ph

"It’s been a long time coming. But tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America," he said in front of a crowd of 65,000 people.

He continued: "All of those watching tonight from beyond our shores, in the parliament and in the palaces, those huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular but our destiny is shared."

"A new dawn of American leadership is at hand," he said to applause.

"To those who would tear the world down, we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security, we support you."

"We have proved that the true strength of our nation comes not from the scale of our wealth but from the power of our ideals — opportunity, democracy, liberty and hope."

He paid tribute to his campaign team, his wife, children and recently deceased grandmother.

"Along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure," he said.

He added: "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements."

"Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms and the front porches of Charleston.

First black president

Americans emphatically elected Democrat Barack Obama as their first black president Tuesday, in a transformational election which will reshape US politics and the US role on the world stage.

Obama, 47, will be inaugurated the 44th US president on January 20, 2009, and inherit an economy mired in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and a nuclear showdown with Iran.

Television networks projected his victory over Republican John McCain after Senator Obama solidified traditional Democratic states and cut deep into the Republican territory which his rival needed to control to win the White House.

Obama’s win was greeted with euphoria by a vast crowd gathered in his home city of Chicago, as his supporters, screamed, waved American flags as they waited for him to arrive to deliver his victory speech.

New York’s Times Square exploded in joy at a moment of healing for America’s racial scars, a huge crowd gathered outside the White House and the result immediately reverberated around the world.

Democrats also made ground in Congress, and will hold an unshakeable monopoly in power in Washington after a rare generational and political realignment.

McCain concedes defeat

McCain was gracious in defeat, and noted that his election was a moment to cherish for African Americans.

"The American people have spoken, and they have spoken clearly. A little while ago, I had the honor of calling Senator Barack Obama to congratulate him on being elected the next president of the country that we both love," he said.

"Though we fell short, the failure is mine, not yours," he told a crowd of supporters in Phoenix in his home state of Arizona.

President George W. Bush who has steered his country through eight turbulent years also congratulated Obama.

"Mr president-elect, congratulations to you," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino quoted the president as saying in a phone call to Obama.

"What an awesome night for you, your family and your supporters. Laura and I called to congratulate you and your good bride."

James was picked by 56 percent of the league’s general managers to secure the MVP title, ahead of Los Angeles’ Lakers guard Kobe Byrant, who won the title last season and was chosen by 37 percent of managers to repeat the feat.

It was the third successive year James has been tipped for MVP honors, though his coach Mike Brown suggested he may be forced to rest the player in more games this season.

"It’s something we talked about before the season started," Brown told reporters after James sat out the 97-79 pre-season loss to the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

"We sat down and talked about the possibility of getting him a game off, two games off, especially after all the basketball he has played."

James has been a virtual ever-present in the Cavaliers since the team chose him as the number one draft pick straight out of high school in 2003.

He started 79 regular season games in his 2003-04 rookie season, 80 in 2004-05, 79 in 2005-06, 78 in 2006-07 and 74 last season and has averaged more than 41 minutes per game.

However he, along with Bryant, spent the off-season helping the US "Redeem Team" to win gold at the Beijing Olympics and neither has had much opportunity to recharge their batteries.

While James is favored to earn MVP honors few believe it will be enough to carry the Cavaliers to the title, with 46 percent of general managers picking the Lakers to avenge last year finals loss to the Boston Celtics.

Just 19 percent of general managers believed the Celtics would retain their title.
 

If Manny Pacquiao beats Oscar de la Hoya, famed trained Freddie Roach said his ward will probably go after Ricky Hatton and former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.–if he goes out of retirement.

Roach, who is very confident about Pacquiao’s chances against the bigger de la Hoya, told BoxingConfidential.com’s Brad Cooney that boxing history favors their side.

“We are not going to win by decision, we are going to knock this guy out. In history, guys that go up in weight classes and then come back down get knocked out. Roy Jones Jr, Sugar Ray Leonard, guys like that,” Roach said.

If Pacquiao succeeds on beating the Mexican-American star, Roach said they will be running after Hatton, then Mayweather.

“A win over De La Hoya makes him a superstar, and sets up the Ricky Hatton fight,” Roach explained. “Obviously, Floyd is the best fight for us, if he comes back.”

Pacquiao’s coach said Mayweather could slug it out with his ward somewhere between 140 to 147 pounds.

“Floyd is a great fighter, and has a whole different style than the other fighters. Manny’s best fighting weight is at 140lbs… he likes 147, so let’s meet somewhere in the middle,” he said.

Preparations versus DLH

Roach said they are presently devising strategies to nullify de la Hoya’s strengths.

“Well, obviously, the left hook gets our attention. Obviously we will be watching out for that. We are working on getting away from that hook daily. We are working on everything that Oscar does well,” said Roach.

With Pacquiao’s speed advantage, Roach said they are incorporating more head movements in the training.
 
“I love the way Manny is moving his head right now, and I love where Manny is at right now,” he said.

Roach added that regarding de la Hoya’s size advantage, Pacquiao is “handling bigger guys quite well.”

“We just finished a great sparring day. Manny just hurt a 160-pound sparring partner with a right hook,” he said.

The famed trainer added that Pacquiao’s power does not seem to be affected with the added weight. He is currently walking around at 151 pounds.

“His punches are unbelievable. I wore the body suit for the first time with Manny Pacquiao because I don’t want him holding back his body punches. He knocked the wind out of me three times today. We will be testing Oscar’s body out, trust me,” he said.

1. LeBron James, $27 million
Born: Dec. 30, 1984

King James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first conference title ever this year. When not on the court, James oversees construction of his 35,000-square-foot home outside of Cleveland, which includes a bowling alley, casino and barber shop. This year the cycling aficionado also acquired a minority stake in Cannondale, manufacturer of high-performance bicycles.

2. Reggie Bush, $24 million
Born: March 2, 1985

Bush entered the NFL last year with a Heisman Trophy and a scintillating game that had companies lining up to have him sponsor their products. Deals with Adidas, Subway, Pepsi and EA Sports net Bush $5 million annually. His big money comes from his contract with the New Orleans Saints, spanning six years and worth as much as $62 million. Last year Bush earned $19 million in base salary and bonuses from the deal

3. Maria Sharapova, $23 million
Born: April 19, 1987

Tennis’ "It" girl struggled with injuries in 2007, winning only one tournament and banking $1.7 million on the court. That’s down from five tourney wins and $3.8 million in prize money the previous year. Not to worry, Sharapova’s endorsement portfolio is one of the strongest in sports. This year she added Pepsi as a sponsor to an already impressive roster that includes Nike, Canon, Colgate-Palmolive and Motorola.

4. Michelle Wie, $19 million
Born: Oct. 11, 1989

Wie showed incredible promise in 2006, finishing in the top five in three of the four Grand Slam events. The only other golfer to do that: Tiger Woods. But this year injuries often kept the 17-year-old wunderkind off the course. In the fall, she enrolled at Stanford where she is not eligible to play on the golf team because of her professional status. With endorsement deals worth $16 million a year, she shouldn’t have a problem with the university’s $33,000 annual tuition.

5. Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen, $17 million each
Born: June 13, 1986

The petite twins lord over Dualstar, the largest star-driven ‘tween merchandising empire on the planet outside of Disney. Mary-Kate and Ashley merchandise retails at Wal-Mart; their new high-end Elizabeth & James sportswear is available at Neiman Marcus. Not that the twins have given up acting. Mary-Kate has an extended role on Showtime’s Weeds, and generated headlines for her on-camera kiss with Ben Kingsley in the Sundance film The Wackness. Ashley is filming The Informers with Winona Ryder.

6. Daniel Radcliffe, $15 million
Born: July 23, 1989

Better known as the title character of the Harry Potter film franchise, Radcliffe generated a media frenzy this year after he appeared onstage nude in a West End revival of Equus. The fifth Potter film, this summer’s The Order of the Phoenix, grossed $938 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year. Since his 2001 foray into wizardry at age 12, both Radcliffe and his paycheck have matured remarkably. The actor was offered a reported $145,000 for The Sorcerer’s Stone six years ago. His most recent role earned an estimated $14 million.

7. Hilary Duff, $12 million
Born: Sept. 28, 1987

The pop star-actress-’tween merchandise mogul has replaced the Olsen Twins as your teenage daughter’s favorite. Her Stuff by Hilary Duff line of apparel and accessories is sold at Kohl’s, Target and Claire’s. Duff also licenses her name to footwear company Candie’s and Electronic Arts, which made her a character in the Sims videogame franchise. In April, she released her sixth studio album, Dignity, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts. Look for her in next spring’s action flick War, Inc., opposite John Cusack.

8. Avril Lavigne, $12 million
Born: Sept. 27, 1984

The decidedly less-sullen Canadian songstress released her third album, The Best Damn Thing, in April; to date the Billboard-topping album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. And in a nod to the value of the international music market, "Girlfriend," the album’s catchy first single, was recorded in seven additional languages, including Mandarin and German. The video for that song is the second most-watched video in history on YouTube.com.

9. Carmelo Anthony, $10 million
Born: May 29, 1984

Anthony took his game to a new level last season as he finished second in the NBA in scoring to Kobe Bryant. He averaged career highs in points, assists, rebounds and steals. This year Anthony kicked off a five-year, $80 million contract with the Denver Nuggets that he signed in the summer of 2006. His biggest endorsement deal is a six-year contract he signed with Nike when he entered the league in 2003, worth $3 million annually.

10. Keira Knightley, $9 million
Born: March 26, 1985

Knightley became a bona fide star as a result of her role in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, though she wasn’t paid like one. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer locked her in to the first two films at scale; Knightley finally finagled a raise, to $5 million, for this summer’s At World’s End. The new face of Chanel, Knightley recently wrapped filming on The Edge of Love, about poet Dylan Thomas’ lovers, with Sienna Miller. In May Knightley won a $6,000 libel award against The Daily Mail after the British paper insinuated the reed-thin actress was anorexic.

The BBC World Service survey found the most common view in all nations polled was that Obama — who staged a euphoric European tour two months ago that included a speech to 200,000 fans in Berlin — should win in November.

An average of 46 percent of all those questioned thought US relations with the rest of the world would improve if Obama took office, compared to just 20 percent for McCain, the survey of 22,500 people found.

Global approval ratings for the United States are currently low — a BBC World Service poll earlier this year found 49 percent of people surveyed had a negative view of US influence, compared to 32 who viewed it positively.

Those most optimistic about an Obama presidency’s impact on US external relations were people in America’s NATO allies — Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Italy — as well as Australia, Nigeria and Kenya, where Obama has family.

Forty-six percent said having a black US president would "fundamentally change" their perception of the United States, and 27 percent said it would not.

"Large numbers of people around the world clearly like what Barack Obama represents," said Doug Miller, chairman of GlobeScan which conducted the poll.

"Given how negative America’s international image is at present, it is quite striking that only one in five think a McCain presidency would improve on the Bush administration’s relations with the world."

However, there is nothing to suggest Obama’s popularity abroad will bring success at home — he is neck and neck with McCain in US opinion polls, and a similar BBC survey before the 2004 US election found strong global support for John Kerry, the Democrat who eventually lost to incumbent George Bush.

In Tuesday’s poll, the margin in favour of Obama ranged from just nine percent in India to 82 percent in Kenya. On average, 49 percent preferred Obama to 12 percent in favour of McCain.

Nearly four in 10 people did not take a position, with this attitude most common in Russia, Singapore, Turkey, India and Egypt.

An average of 46 percent thought US-world relations would improve under Obama, 22 percent thought they would stay the same and seven percent thought they would get worse.

Only 20 percent thought relations would improve under McCain, although this figure was around 30 percent in China, India and Nigeria. An average 37 percent expected no change and 16 percent thought relations would get worse.

A separate poll in the United States mirrored these conclusions, with 46 percent expecting better relations under Obama and 30 percent under McCain.

Who says that you need to finish college in order to earn billion of bucks.. Well these few people around here says it all.

Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $25 billion
Dropped out of University of Illinois
Chicago-bred tech tycoon studied physics at U. of Chicago; didn’t graduate. Started Oracle in 1977. Took public in 1986, one day before Microsoft. Companies have been fiercely competitive since. Side bet: invested $125 million in Web software outfit NetSuite. Still yearning to win yachting’s most prestigious trophy, the America’s Cup. Lost last year to Luna Rossi. Also owns 453-foot Rising Sun; building a smaller leisure boat because megayacht is hard to park.

Roman Abramovich
Net Worth: $23.5 billion
Dropped out of college
Orphaned as a child, Abramovich dropped out of college, then made a fortune in a series of controversial oil export deals in early 1990s. His fortune took off in 1995 when he teamed up with Boris Berezovsky (now also a billionaire) to take over oil giant Sibneft at a fraction of its market value. He spent some of his cash buying U.K. soccer club Chelsea. He recently finalized divorce from the mother of his five children, Irina, but largely stays out of public eye, except for occasional spottings with rumored girlfriend Daria Zhukova.

Amancio Ortega
Net Worth: $20.2 billion
Left school at 14
With help from then-wife Rosalia Mera, got start making dressing gowns and lingerie in their living room 45 years ago. Business became one of world’s most successful apparel manufacturers, $14.8 bil (2007 sales) Inditex. Group now has 3,902 stores in 70 countries. Ortega is chairman. Owns a horse-jumping circuit and part of a soccer league. Shuns neckties. Ortega may be looking to his succession. Daughter Marta is now working at Inditex; reports are she is being groomed to eventually take his place.

Francois Pinault And Family
Net Worth: $16.9 billion
Dropped out of high school
Majority shareholder of luxury goods group PPR (formerly Pinault-Printemps-Redoute), whose brands include Gucci, Balenciaga and Stella McCartney. Also owns more affordable catalog brands Lerner and Chadwick’s. Pinault, who also owns auction house Christie’s, scrapped plans for a 352,000-square-foot museum in the former Renault factory in western Paris because of supposed red tape. His personal art collection is now showcased in Venice in the Palazzo Grassi. Was awarded the French Legion d’honneur last year.