Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk July 22, 2007 Love Team: Refs & Coaches Love team in sports. Yes sir. No, we’re not referring to the likes of Raymart and Claudine, Angel and Richard, and Vic and Pia. Showbiz is not the only place where these are found as the sports world has its own share. The love teams in sports are much bigger, long-lasting, and can even be more controversial than all of showbiz love teams combined! Referees and Coaches. I couldn’t think of a better pair. So bring in those theme songs, “Perfect Combination,” “Endless Love,” “Love Team”… You love them and you hate them. They love each other, and yes, they hate each other. Like any other relationship, they have their ups and downs, lover’s quarrels, joyous moments, and painful experiences, but that’s what love is all about, di ba? But the optimist in me would prefer to look at the brighter side of things. I’m confident that referees and coaches can work together to establish a lasting relationship that is smooth, trouble-free and s

Bleacher Talk July 22, 2007 Oplan Beijing When Team Pilipinas opens its drive to make it to the Beijing Olympics later in the week, all of the Philippines will be watching. And whether or not they like it, the PBA-initiated national training team program is going to be on the hot seat. All eyes will be on them and these eyes won’t be those of only the basketball family. The entire sports family: officials and fans alike will be training their critical eyes on the most talked about national team program in years. And the million-dollar question? Is this the correct formula to bring the Philippines to the Olympics? If the Philippines makes it to the Olympics, then a resounding “yes” will automatically be the answer. If we fail to qualify, many people will say “no.” But that’s not going to stop others from saying “yes.” The “yes” group will provide a disclaimer that the program that was ran for the past year wasn’t exactly the same as the original version proposed by national team Coach C

Sacred Heart, Barili Football Club Win The Sacred Heart School-Jesuit Football Club (SHSJ-FC) and Barili Football Club (BFC) split the Under-12 and Under-10 age group titles at the First Barili Fiesta Cup Sunday in Barili. The hosts BFC struck first in the Under-12 division by beating SHS-FC, 2-1, in the finals of the 7-a-side football festival. BFC scored the first two goals, one in each half, before SHSJ-FC retaliated with a goal courtesy of Vinson Nery. BFC then clamped down on defense and held off all SHSJ-FC rallies to bag the championship. Both the BFC and SHSJ-FC squads went undefeated in the elimination round, including a scoreless draw between themselves before facing off in the finals. SHSJ-FC, however, bounced back in the younger Under-10 division with a 3-0 win over BFC. Kiko Villamor made up for their elder counterparts’ loss with the quickest goal of the tournament, scoring on SHSJ-FC’s first possession from the opening kick-off. He followed this up with two more goals to

Bleacher Talk July 15, 2007 College Ball & Pride Have you surfed channels and observed the ongoing PBA Finals and basketball games of the UAAP? Did you notice which games had more “K”? Which games had more fans or spectators? From this lot of fans, which fans were wilder, rowdier, or were simply having more fun? Which games had louder cheering support for teams? Which TV production/coverage had more TV sponsors? If you answered the PBA, guess again. The period between July and September is actually the time the PBA takes a back seat to the real stars of local basketball. It’s time for college ball once again as the UAAP leads the pack of the country’s collegiate leagues in “taking over’ local basketball. Incidentally, it is of no coincidence that the PBA and PBL are taking their respective off-season breaks. I’ve always admired the way the UAAP and NCAA games are being conducted, from the actual games, to the fans and their TV coverage/productions. All these are at par or are even

Bleacher Talk July 8, 2007 Going International on Local Shores How do you describe a boxing event that’s held in a posh Cebu hotel? Sosyal, classy, unique; something for a change? Now what if this featured for its main event a 12-round championship bout between a Korean champion and a Thai challenger? Yes, you read it right. We had two foreigners slugging it out for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific super lightweight championship here in Cebu! And it took place last night at the Waterfront Hotel. Don’t ask me. Just like you, I’m still at a loss on how to describe last night’s foreign-flavored boxing promotion organized by SGG Sports, the ALA Boxing Gym and BP Entertainment of Korea. But don’t worry if we can’t think of a name or tag for the event (for now). After all, never before have we seen something like this in the past. Five Koreans, Two Thais, One Indonesian. That’s a total of eight visitors showing off their skills before Cebu’s boxing fans in one night. We used