Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk December 30, 2007 Cebu Boxing in 2007 2007 will go down in Cebu Boxing history as a year of the unheralded pulling the rug from under their more popular brethren, proving time and again that the underdog does come out on top to win battles. In the end, the typical underdog in Cebu remained to be to tops in boxing. The Philippines produced four world champs in 2007, with two of these champions tracing their roots to Cebu Boxing. Gerry Peñalosa and Donnie Nietes joined Nonito Donaire Jr. and Florante Condes as the country’s officially-recognized world champions alongside uncrowned champ Manny Pacquiao. The interesting thing about this is that both boxers weren’t exactly “expected” by the boxing family to become world champs. They were always the names behind the more popular boxers who were a common sight in the sports pages. In the case of Nietes, he has always had to play second fiddle to the ALA Gym’s more recognized Boom Boom Bautista, Z Gorres, AJ Ba

Bleacher Talk December 23, 2007 Cebu Basketball in 2007 Cebu Basketball in 2007 will go down the record books as a year featuring basically two major entities on the rise: CESAFI and Yayoy, not in any particular order. The CESAFI 2007 basketball tournament was the biggest and most successful in Cebu collegiate history, featuring record highs in terms of attendance, competition, support, and over-all impact on the local basketball scene. Although they were shoo-in favorites to win a seventh straight title, the University of the Visayas Lancers (UV) had to go through some scary moments against both the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) and the University of San Carlos (USC) in the playoffs. UV was stretched to rubber matches against both teams, and if it weren’t for their championship experience and heart, we might have seen a new CESAFI champion this year. CESAFI’s successful seventh season wouldn’t have been possible without the more balanced competition and the tremendous suppor

Bleacher Talk December 16, 2007 Behind Pacman Cup If you’re a regular follower of the sports pages of any of the local dailies, you might have come across stories about the MP Cup Invitational Basketball Tournament that ended last week. Team Pacman won the championship over USC-M. Lhuillier last Sunday to cap the two-month tournament that was originally set up as a Manny Pacquiao’s way of saying “thanks” to his friends in basketball. You might have noticed that we in Bleacher Talk didn’t write about it (until now), but that was for a particular reason: delicadeza. I guess you can say that now it can be told. Bleacher Talk was asked to serve as the tournament director of the MP Cup by the Pacman’s close friend, Barangay Captain George Rama, through TF sports editor Manny Villaruel. Since we were about to end the CESAFI basketball tournament where we served as a Deputy Commissioner, we felt that this would be a piece of cake. But it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. I write about this as I s

Bleacher Talk December 9, 2007 December Basketball I’ve always believed that many activities are supposed to take a back seat to the usual December itineraries whenever this time of the year rolls around. Malls are filled. Stores are swamped with Christmas shopping. Restaurants enjoy their peak days. Every weekend of the month is filled with at least a party that one has to attend, whether this be for the office, a supplier, school or a friend. And sports? Did you ask about basketball? Will basketball also take a back seat? Believe it or not, it’s actually just as busy as all this Christmas shopping. On this day alone, you have the opening day of the CESAFI Partners Cup at the Cebu Coliseum. Five teams are seeing action here. Last Friday, M.Lhuillier wrapped up the Visayas Division championship of the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA) and will face MisOr in the MVBA Finals. Game 1 will be played in Cagayan de Oro, but all the succeeding games will be played here in Cebu wi

Bleacher Talk December 2, 2007 Booming Bazooka As boxing fans eagerly await the official announcement of the Pacquiao-Marquez rematch, they’ll be treated to another Sunday morning of boxing featuring two boxers who are being groomed to follow in the footsteps of the “Pambansang Kamao.” Every time the question of succession is discussed, there is no unanimous reply as to who deserves to be called the next in line to the Pacman. Z Gorres, Boom Boom Bautista, Rodel Mayol and Yuka Gejon had their chance earlier this year, but it was the unlikely trio of Nonito Donaire, Florante Condes and Donnie Nietes who got the job done without all the fanfare and hype that the likes of Boom Boom and Gorres have received. And so we ask again. Should Boom Boom still be part of this list of future world champs? The steep road to that elusive goal starts today when Boom Boom defends his WBO Intercontinental super bantamweight championship against Mexico’s Antonio Meza at the Araneta Coliseum. While I expec