Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk October 1, 2006 Cebu Football On The Rise “Sunod sa basket, uso naman kaayo ang football ron, no? This was the statement that I had been waiting to hear to gauge whether or not the growth of Cebu Football was for real. This came from a friend who has zero interest in football and yet discovered that many kids are now taking up the sport. This comment was prompted by the “noise” created by last weekend’s CebuFA Aboitiz National Football Festival. And I’m sure the leaders of the Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) led by Jonathan “Maxi” Maximo must be sporting ear-to-ear smiles these days. It sure looks like the previous highs of local football have now been surpassed and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can stop this momentum. The wonder of it all is that I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface of what local football can achieve. I have always been an advocate of “forgetting” what one has achieved with the eye of doing more in the future. Sure, we’ve already ac...

Bleacher Talk Sept. 24, 2006 UV’s 6th = # 3 It isn’t even fair anymore! Each time one talks about the CESAFI basketball tournament, it’s already a given to say that UV will win it even before the season starts. The real battle is actually for second place. True enough, UV won its sixth straight CESAFI championship when it nipped USC, 88-83, in overtime in Game 2 of the best of three championship series. It has now become an annual tradition for the Lancers of Coach Boy Cabahug to have an early Christmas celebration since the first season of the CESAFI. Congratulations and pats of ‘good job” are in store for Coach Boy, his coaching staff and the hard-working crew of Lancers. But this is where I’ll have to come in and take the killjoy role of a fan and a concerned follower who wants to challenge the way UV approaches Cebu Basketball. After winning a sixth straight, what’s next? Is UV satisfied with just winning the CESAFI every year? Are these their only goals as a ballclub?...

Bleacher Talk Sept 17, 2006 Regional Ball: NBC & MVBA Just when you thought you already had enough of basketball, the scene is shifting to high gear. The UAAP, NCAA, Cebu’s CESAFI and most of the collegiate leagues are entering the crucial playoff stage of it respective tournaments. The PBA is set to kick off in October and this will be followed by the PBL most likely also around October. But do you know what other leagues are going to keep the country busy with basketball action, especially in the south? Amidst all the mumbo-jumbo of alphabet leagues scattered nationwide, we in the Vismin welcome the regional / commercial basketball leagues: the National Basketball Conference (NBC) and the Mindanao Visayas Basketball Association (MVBA). The NBC kicked off its National Cup yesterday, while the MVBA refuses to be left behind as it launches its second conference on September 23. One can’t help but ask why there have to be two regional inter-city based leagues. Are the two leagues riv...

Bleacher Talk Sept 10, 2006 One College Basketball Family Yes. The headline should look very familiar. It was taken right out of last week’s column, “One Basketball Family.” And this is a natural rejoinder that looks into a natural consequence that will hopefully come out of the soon to be launched brand new national sports association for basketball. Ever since we started writing this column, one of our favorite pet peeve topics every year has been the lack of a legitimate and genuine tournament to determine a national collegiate champion. Sure, a number of attempts have been made to pit the best college teams against each other through the years, but none of these grew to become the credible college tournament that basketball fans looked up to when looking for a college basketball champion. The closest that we got to having a tournament that could’ve been “it” was the Champions’ League that disappeared last year. True to its name, the tournament gathered the collegiate ...

Bleacher Talk Sept 3, 2006 One Basketball Family Bring on Sister Sledge and sing with them, “We are family! I’ve got all my sisters with me. We are family”! The sports headlines were all blaring about what could be the biggest breakthrough in Philippine basketball family. In a rare sign of unity, the leaders of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), Pilipinas Basketball (PB) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) have agreed to sit down and create a new and united organization that will now serve as the legit national sports association (NSA) for basketball. While everyone will say that the country was the biggest winner in this development, it can’t be denied the PB’s relentless efforts to be recognized by the FIBA has finally reaped its fruits. For awhile, I had thought the FIBA was going to stay stubborn and recognize only the BAP as the country’s only basketball NSA. It now looks like the FIBA has acknowledged that PB does represent a fairly heavy vo...