Bleacher Talk

Note: published March 27, 2006 It happened. We had predicted it would happen, but we also wished it didn’t happen, but it did (happen). Get it? The wedge that has split the basketball family into two has gotten so deep and wide, and it doesn’t look like a quick solution is around the corner. It sure looks like each is going his own way. On one side is the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), the erstwhile national sports association (NSA) that was disowned by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC). On the other side is the group called “Pilipinas Basketball” (PB). It’s the brand new NSA recognized by the POC. It was developed to put all basketball stakeholders under one roof, but BAP President Joey Lina didn’t want any part of it. Its major players are the PBA, PBL, UAAP and NCAA. With this as a scenario, what will the year of basketball be like? Whose

published March 19, 2006 Unprecedented, timely and deserving. These were the first three words that came to my mind when I read about Golden Boy Promotions of Oscar de la Hoya tying up with the ALA Gym to manage the careers of Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista and Z Gorres. We also couldn’t help but feel proud and happy for the Cebu boxing family and more specifically the ALA boxing program that has been knocking on the doors of the U.S. boxing scene since the 90s. Well it sure looks like Cebu Boxing has finally been spotted on the radars of the U.S.-based promoters. But while words of praise, kudos and cheers of “good job” are the order of the day, we’ll also need to face the reality that it’s not exactly the time to celebrate. As we rejoice and whoop it up over this big achievement in Cebu boxing history, it’s also important to stop the celebration just as quickly, and get back to work. Sorry for being a killjoy, but it’s time to roll up our sleeves & get back to the gym asap! There’s a n

Published March 12, 2006 United Basketball? Will the basketball family finally be united? Much time has passed ever since POC Head Peping Cojuangco and the FIBA agreed that a unified basketball body involving all the major stakeholders of the sport be formed by the end of March 2006. If you check your calendar, that’s exactly 19 days from today (including weekends). Somehow, I get the feeling that the ticking of the clock is getting louder as we get closer to the deadline. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think the recent developments out of our major basketball leaders are pointing to this direction. I’m actually more confused with the good and bad news from all sides. The good news is that the sport’s biggest players have gotten together to draft what could be the by-laws and constitution of the future mother of all basketball organizations. Leading this endeavor is the PBA through Commissioner Noli Eala. Among the others involved are the PBL, UAAP, NCAA and the BAP through its Presiden

Bleacher Talk Published February 26, 2006 National Collegiate Champ? Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the best college team of them all? Hmmm. It's a simple question but will admittedly meet resistance, difficulty and a lot of controversy. Because up until today, the basketball community can't come up with a common answer. If we are to base it on the tournament organized by the Philippine Basketball Federation (PBF), UAAP champions Far Eastern University (FEU) should be considered as the best team since it defeated Letran yesterday in the finals of the National Students Basketball Championship. Moreover, they also won the UAAP championship, the most prestigious collegiate league of local basketball. But if the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) is to be asked, they'll say the "official" tournament has yet to kick off in Legazpi on Tuesday. The pre-tournament favorites there are National University (NU), the Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) and

Bleacher Talk March 5, 2006 When Politics Gets In The Way Everything seems to go wrong when politics gets in the way. When a boxing champ / national hero comes home from a great win, he is honored with a motorcade; and guess who’s waving his hand as if he were the world champion. When the country wins an over-all championship of an international meet, you already know who’ll be at the front of all the celebration, kudos and hoopla. When the country fails in a sporting event, guess who’s initiating an investigation on the why’s and how’s of the failure, all in the aid of legislation, as if something positive will come out of it. When the country is declared to be in a state of emergency, a historical event for the fastest growing sport is postponed (or is it canceled?). So if politics and sports don’t mix, whey are so many politicians getting into the sports pages? Many people say that the sight of politicians using sports as a tool for publicity is getting to be a sick practice. But is