Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk Aug. 27, 2006 RP Basketball at FIBA's Hands It's on, then off again, and now on again. It's the never ending story about the country's official status in the eyes of the FIBA. And it's also turning out to be an odd situation. While the FIBA continues to recognize the authority of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) to stand as the country's official national sports association (NSA), the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has dissolved the BAP from its ranks and now considers Pilipinas Basketball as the legit NSA for basketball. The latest episode of this real-life drama that could easily become a hit reality-TV series (or should it be a sitcom?) is that both the BAP and Pilipinas Basketball have been given the opportunity to present their respective sides to the FIBA. Both will obviously present why they deserve to be the official NSA for basketball. On one side, the BAP is going to claim that they've been the country's lon...

Bleacher Talk Aug. 20, 2006 The “Worlds” It's not the tournament's official nickname, but it's not bad, is it? The basketball world is all set and excited about the 2006 FIBA World Basketball Championship that kicked off yesterday in Japan. And this nickname best describes what has been happening to the sport in the past decade. While the NBA will always be the top league in the world, the international scene is totally different where the world has caught up with the people who invented the sport. Through the history of basketball, the Worlds has never been as popular as the NBA Finals, the other “world championship” of basketball. But times have surely changed, and attention on the Worlds in Japan has reached record levels in the international basketball family. The trigger? Go back to the 2002 version of the tournament that was held in Indianapolis, Indiana, a place known as a hotbed of basketball. And it's right in the middle of the nation that invented the sport. A...

Bleacher Talk August 13, 2006 Phil. Badminton Campaigns Abroad This one is obviously for badminton fanatics. We get so little news about the activities of our country’s best badminton players in the sports pages, and it was the badminton buff in me that said if neither the big newspapers nor the local dailies are going to print anything about Philippine badminton, then Bleacher Talk will. We’ve always believed that if our country’s best shuttlers hope to make any noise in the badminton scene, they shouldn’t be wasting their time on local shores. They need to go abroad to get the much-needed training and exposure. And here’s good news! We have the latest on the activities of the Asuncion siblings Kennie and Kennevic, along with fellow Pinoys Karyn “Chibby” Velez, Paula Obañana and Eric Go. They all saw action recently at the 2006 Yonex OCBC U.S. Open this week in Orange County, California. Before anything else though, special mention though, should be made for 16-year old Chibby Velez o...

Bleacher Talk August 6, 2006 International Basketball: Asa na ta? With the NBA and the rest of the basketball world on its off-season, we may have thought no basketball action is taking place these days. Right? Wrong! It may not be as busy and hectic as the pro leagues, and is in fact going through a more laid-back phase these days. But it’s still basketball at its purest and is due to make its climax in two weeks time. The stage is set for international basketball. Every year, the period between July to September has been “reserved” by the international basketball family to get together for the holding of international basketball tournaments. And this year may be extra special since never before has so much attention been thrown at the international scene. We can credit this to one obvious reason. The USA is no longer the world’s best team, and fans worldwide are aching to see if the trend of the others beating Team USA will be maintained this year. Team USA was creamed at the last Wo...