Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk Dec. 31, 2006 Neither Here Nor There Cebu Basketball was just that in 2006: neither here nor there. We were the same old Cebu Basketball that didn’t pull any surprises or raise eyebrows, but we still managed to do the same old stuff that we’re already getting used to already. We broke it down to different sections… Our first section is called “What’s up?” (there in Manila). Acknowledging that Manila will still be the ultimate dream for Cebu’s top prospects, who are doing well at the top level of hoops in the PBA? Top-of-mind mention will have to go to Dondon Hontiveros of San Miguel and Junthy Valenzuela of Batang Red Bull. They’ve been the most consistent Cebu-bred performers with Dondon already being considered as one of the league’s biggest stars amidst the presence of those Fil-Ams. First honorable mention goes to Roger Yap while John Ferriols gets second mention. Something worth watching are the “comeback bids” up there being launched by Dale Singson (Alaska) and

Bleacher Talk Dec. 24, 2006 Breaking Through in 2006 Breaking through. This was hands-down the major accomplishment of Cebu Boxing in the year 2006. No, Cebu still doesn’t have a world champion to follow the exploits of Manny Pacquiao. But should a boxer out of the Cebu boxing family become a world champ in the next two years, he’ll surely look back to 2006 as the year that gave him that stepping stone to big time. In 2006, Cebu’s boxing “industry” not only made inroads in the local setting (as this is already a given); it followed the footsteps of one of Cebu’s biggest income earners: the export industry. Our boxers and boxing gyms are now becoming regulars in the international boxing scene, proudly showing off their stuff in front of a worldwide boxing audience. Never before has the local boxing family seen so many boxers train and participate in fights abroad, all the way from the United States to Japan, Russia, France and our neighboring ASEAN countries. 2006 will mark the year whe

Bleacher Talk Dec. 17, 2006 Asian Games Assessing the country’s performance at the Asian Games that just ended in is like sounding like a broken long play record. Pardon the generation gap, but it must be MP3’s or CD’s for today’s generation. The PR campaign hypes that the country had recorded its best Asiad since 1962, thanks to four gold medals. There were also several near-misses and close calls that could’ve added another medal or two. But then again, doesn’t the country’s sports PR team always say the same or a similar thing after each Asiad? And repeat the same words (more or less) after an Olympics or any other international event? Somehow I feel these PR experts need to be more creative with how to say the same thing repeatedly every four years. For the record, the Philippines recorded a 4-6-9 medal tally (gold-silver-bronze), with the golds coming from boxing’s Violita Payla and Joan Tipon; and one each from wushu (Rene Catalan) and nine-ball (Antonio Gabica). This standing wa

Bleacher Talk Dec. 10, 2006 ASEAN Summit & Boxing World Cup Call it irony but on the day that the media announced the postponement of the ASEAN Summit, local boxing gets a confirmation from Tony Aldeguer (ALA) that Cebu will host the eagerly-awaited boxing “World Cup” that will feature a Philippines vs. Mexico card on February 25, 2007. I’m no big fan of politics so I’ll take the good news and forget the bad (but learn from it). Cebu boxing fans were on a high when they heard that SGG Promotions won the purse bid to stage the WBO super flyweight championship fight between champion Fernando Montiel and mandatory challenger Z Gorres. Although we were all excited about the development, this excitement was also “suspended” since there was talk that the fight would be held in Manila. So worry no longer. You can now heave a sigh of relief, say thanks for answered prayers and start saving money asap so you can score a ticket to the fights. Yes, the big show’s coming to town. The irony of

Bleacher Talk December 3, 2006 Go ALA, Go SGG! The Pinoy boxing scene is rejoicing these days, still on a high after Manny Pacquiao’s three-round KO win over Erik Morales. This high was extended when Sammy “Don King” Gello-ani of SGG Promotions won the purse bid to stage the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super flyweight championship fight between champion Fernando Montiel of Mexico and Cebu’s Z Gorres. And it could be on another high when Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista overcomes Giovanni Andrade this morning (Saturday night in the U.S.). Another page in the history books of Pinoy boxing is being written once again by Cebu Boxing, and we should all be proud of what Sammy has done under the leadership of someone who goes by the initials ALA, and the support of Golden Boy Promotions. But the even as us fans continue to rejoice over this latest feat, you can be sure that the celebration of the ALA/SGG/Golden Boy (GB) team was marked with a different type of atmosphere. You can bet that instead