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

Bleacher Talk November 18, 2007 Quiet Kids Football Scene If you’re a follower of local youth football, then you’re probably on a high right now as your read the news about the performance of Cebu’s under-15 team at the Philippine Olympic Festival. As of yesterday, they swept their group, 4-0, and are already in the semifinals which took place yesterday. A win there would mean a trip to today’s finals. That’s the good news and if there’s good, bad news won’t be far behind, right? I don’t want to describe it exactly as bad news, but let’s just call it a “concern.” I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but the youth football scene has suddenly become quiet after the San Roque Festival and the Mint Sports Shop Festival held in August. Three months later and approaching Christmas, I haven’t heard of another football festival coming up, at least not officially that is. The down part about this impasse is that the very foundation which has become the source of talents for our older Under-15 and Un

SHSJ TAKES 2ND PLACE IN ALASKA CUP The Sacred Heart School Jesuit Football Club (SHSJ FC) grabbed second place of the Boys 10 age group at the Alaska Cup Football Festival Sunday at the Alabang Country Club in Muntinlupa City. The SHSJ FC lost to Tamasak Football Club of football hotbed Barotac Nuevo Iloilo, 1-2, in a penalty shoot-out in a nail-biter of a championship game. The game ended 1-1 in regulation with Gani Fernandez scoring the first goal of the game for SHSJ FC in the first half. Tamasak, however, came back strong in the end game, scoring the equalizer with three minutes left in the game. With both teams tired after a long day of football, no other goals were scored and the championship was decided through a penalty shoot-out. The runner-up finish proved to be a memorable achievement for SHSJ FC which was making its first appearance at this annual football festival that drew teams from all over the country. SHSJ FC dominated its group in the elimination round, sweeping the

Bleacher Talk November 11, 2007 SHSJ on a Mission As most of us were enjoying the luxury of a double whammy long weekend last week, two teams of the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHSJ) quietly slipped out of Cebu and headed to Bacolod to compete in the Visayas Regional Finals of the Milo BEST Basketball Tournament. The minor surprise that might have jolted students and the local Cebu basketball world enjoying the sem break was the fact that the Eagles were the ones representing Cebu at the Milo BEST Visayas Finals. SHSJ going to the regional finals hasn’t been the norm and has in fact been a first for the school. University of San Carlos (USC) North and South have always been Cebu’s representatives to this tournament as they’ve dominated the Cebu scene for the Pasarelle (13-14 years old) and SBP (12 & under) age groups for the past decade. But could there be a changing of the guard? Is it SHSJ’s time to shine? For the first time after seven years, SHSJ scored a double championship in

La Salle Cebu Goes Bad Results! It was a Green day as the La Salle Green Team smothered the La Salle White Team to win the over-all championship of the “LA SALLE goes BAD! The 2nd President's Cup Badminton Tournament” of the One La Salle Cebu Alumni Association (OLSCAA) Relying on the undefeated run of three of its doubles teams, The Green Team outscored the White Team, 19-5, in the one-day dual meet tournament. Leading the attack was the Level B pair of Deo Dumaraos and Jason Co which was good for a perfect six points coming from two straight-set wins over their Level B counterparts. The Green’s other Level B pair of Chinky Cortez and Pepi Martinez were good for four points. Meanwhile the Green Team’s Level A pairs were good for nine points with the pair of Martin Ledesma and Dr. Leo Jiao registering five points from a straight set win and another three-set win. The other Level A pair of team captain Gerry Malixi and Gabby Cruz contributed four points to the Green’s winning cause.

Bleacher Talk October 28, 2007 Sports sa Kabataan Sports sa Kabataan. It’s admittedly not a great sounding slogan or motto, but as the country goes out to vote for their barangay chairmen, councilors and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) officials, I can’t help but cite the importance of the relationship between youth development and sports. It’s something that SK candidates always talk about, and they even sound as good as the veteran politicians when they promise to use sports as a tool to develop the youth. But where are all the activities from all these? Where are the sports programs, competitions, training clinics and top young prospects from all this? But let’s give them the benefit of the doubt. Let’s just assume that all our SK representatives just forgot about their promises of the past. More importantly, let’s also assume that they’re honest (not corrupt) and have genuine concern for their constituents. And finally, let’s assume that they listen to unsolicited advice from the all ble

Bleacher Talk October 21, 2007 Basketball’s Twilight Zone This time of the year in the basketball world is always the “worst” for us. Just as most of the collegiate leagues end, everything suddenly comes to a stop. After going through a high of watching the exciting championship series of the CESAFI, UAAP and NCAA, we’re suddenly left with nothing as big and as exciting. It’s the basketball year’s twilight zone when everything is relatively quiet and the natural transition of basketball action will take us from college ball and on to the commercial or pro leagues. If you take a closer look at it, the transition is very much a mirror of what takes place when the careers of college players come to a close. The most logical next step in their careers is to go one notch higher to try their luck in the commercial leagues. In a sense, this time of the year is spent for anticipating the next steps of both the basketball scene and the careers of our local collegiate stars. For starters, it’s e

La Salle Cebu Goes Bad! The colors of green and white will be in the spotlight anew as the One La Salle Cebu Alumni Association (OLSCAA) holds the “LA SALLE goes BAD! The 2nd President's Cup Badminton Tournament” Saturday at the Casino Español de Cebu. This was announced by tournament director and OLSCAA sports committee head John Pages as he called on all La Salle alumni to sign up for the event. Players will be divided into two teams (Green and White) in a dual meet format. Players of the same level will clash against each other, and the team with the most number of matches won will be crowned as over-all champions. “The tournament is really more of a fellowship activity for the association. We had this last year and had a lot fun. The impact was awesome. And so we’re going to do it every year.” Pages said Leading their respective sides are team captains Gerry Malixi and Cholo Verches. Among the players expected to lead the charge for their respective teams include OLSCAA Preside

Bleacher Talk October 14, 2007 USC & UV CESAFI Finals 2007. This is what basketball is all about. And I’m pretty sure Dr. James Naismith will agree with us if he had been part of the ongoing championship series between USC and UV. As I write this column, the opening tip-off of Game 5 is about to take place, so I’m sure you would’ve read somewhere else here who won the championship. And so I ask: Why is the ongoing USC-UV CESAFI Finals the biggest draw of local sports these days? Given the scenario, there doesn’t seem to be a logical reason why one would want to watch the games. There is no air-conditioning. It’s hot, cramped and stuffy. Yet the Cebu Coliseum is packed to the rafters. You won’t see TV cameras, a row full of photographers, a VIP row or a special table for the press. No indicators that it’s a big league thing. And the highlight of all this is that it’s all absolutely commercial-free! No streamers of cell phone companies, no halftime gimmicks care of a sponsor, no TV c

Bleacher Talk October 7, 2007 Pacman Sunday Today is Pacman Sunday. It’s the most important day of the sports calendar for 2007 as the entire country will literally come to a halt to watch our beloved hero report to work. But unlike his previous fights, a few interesting twists have arisen and the skeptics and pessimists have jumped on the occasion to add their own share of negative forecasts. I just thought it would be nice to bring these up first and see how fans of the Pacman will react. For starters, some have said that Pacquiao is once again besieged with all kinds of distractions: showbiz, his businesses, problems in his LA apartment and even a third party. All these are supposed to bother him so much that he’s going to climb the ring thinking about these and not the fight per se. Then there’s the choice of Cebu as his main base or training camp for today’s big fight. Why Cebu? Somehow, Cebu is now being pictured as the wrong place to train for a world championship fight. Amidst

Bleacher Talk September 30, 2007 Sunday Boxing Sunday boxing? Nothing new here, right? We’re all used to watching the big fights from the U.S. on a Sunday morning since these are held on a Saturday night. When Manny Pacquiao fights Marco Antonio Barrera on Saturday night (October 6) in the U.S. the entire country will be glued to their TV’s on Sunday morning (October 7). But wait a minute. We’re not talking about a fight in the U.S. We’re talking about Sunday night boxing here in Cebu! Just when you thought that the ALA Boxing Gym and SGG Promotions didn’t have anything new to spice up local boxing, they spring up yet another surprise. After the “Moment of Truth” in February and a foreign-laced boxing promotion last July, SGG is back, this time with Sunday night boxing. I can’t recall watching a boxing event of this magnitude held on a Sunday night, but then again nothing wrong here. And so the show is on at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel for another night of boxing that promises to be

Bleacher Talk September 23, 2007 CESAFI in High Gear Fasten your seat belts and hold on tight. The CESAFI has shifted to high gear and there’s no slowing down. With the elimination round over, the dust has settled with four teams stepping up to the plate to find out who’s who in local college ball. And the big question remains, can anyone stop UV? CESAFI’s version of the Final Four features the top-ranked UV Lancers going up against #4 USJR. The other half of the draw has the #2 USC Warriors facing #3 SWU Cobras. The semis start on Wednesday with the UV-USJR series kicking things off. The semifinal format is a best-of-three series with the winners facing off in a best-of-five finals. The interesting thing about the semis is that UV is facing the only team to which it lost in the elimination round. Believe it or not, the mighty Lancers aren’t invinci

Bleacher Talk September 16, 2007 National College Basketball Tournament As the various collegiate basketball leagues approach their respective playoff games every year, I always bring up the issue of the need for a genuine and united nationwide tournament that will bring the best of all leagues together for an ultimate showdown of the best of the best. There’s nothing like seeing the champions of the UAAP and NCAA fending off the challenge of all the other leagues in the country whose main goal is to topple the “college powers.” Although the UAAP and NCAA championship is viewed to be more important to college teams, I’d like to believe that with the right mix of negotiating and careful review, a national tournament similar to that of the NCAA in the United Sates is feasible and can grow to be the ultimate tournament for which college teams will program their seasons. For now, it looks like the Champions’ League of Rey Gamboa and Joe Lipa seems to have the edge over the other so-called

Bleacher Talk September 9, 2007 Sports in School 3 Yes, there’s a “3” in the headline as recent turn of events have made the topic deserve a third piece dating back to the first one that I did in July. In sum, I had stressed that the best avenue for genuine grassroots sports development will be the country’s youth in schools. I pointed out that we can easily find in schools the structure, the target kids and the mix of academics and sports that perfectly blend together to make a sports program work. And as if scripted, five major stories or events came out in the local media about youth-based sports programs. Three of these already exist, while the other two are all talk so far. We’ll have to play a waiting game to see if these ever become reality. Last weekend saw the launch of the annual Milo BEST SBP and Pasarelle basketball tournament. The nationwide tournament features the top schools in the Under 14 (Pasarelle) and Under 12 (SBP) age groups. Nic Jorge’s brainchild is the most pop

Bleacher Talk September 2, 2007 CESAFI Sights The NBA once ran a TV commercial (which still airs once in awhile) that listed the reasons why to love the NBA. An “endorser” started off his statement with “I love the NBA because…..” and then stated the reason why he or she loved the NBA. After admittedly being away from the CESAFI for awhile, I’ve learned to appreciate the league more than ever and what it has to offer as Cebu’s top basketball league and entertainment venue for sports. I guess this temporary “distance” away from the league has given me a fresh breath from which I can follow the league anew. And yes, it may be due to my current involvement with the league. And so let’s take a look at some sights of the CESAFI and see why it continues to be the country’s top collegiate league outside Manila. For starters, where else can you see a high school division that is no longer afraid of the so-called basketball powers? Gone are the days when the University of the Visayas (UV) was i

Bleacher Talk August 26, 2007 Train in Peace We may not realize it, but Cebu is the envy of Philippine boxing these days. And it’s all due to Manny Pacquiao’s decision to make the country’s boxing hotbed as training base for his upcoming fight against Marco Antonio Barrera. When we first heard about this news, we didn’t want to believe it. After all, why choose Cebu over the usual Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach? Why didn’t Manny decide to work out at the Wild Card Gym in Parañaque, Roy Golingan’s gym in Gen San or the ABAP Gym in Baguio? Every time local training for Pacquiao was discussed in the past, these were always the only venues proposed to or for the Pacman. The irony of all this was that Cebu was always left out in all these talks. I guess what goes around comes around. For the first time since tying up with Freddie Roach, Pacquiao is not making Wild Card as his main base of operations. Believe it or not. Cebu is it! I can now recall those previous marketing communication camp

The SHSJ Football Club bagged the championship of Under-12 age group at the San Roque Football Fiesta. They defeated CIS, 1-0, in the finals yesterday. (L-R) Orson Tan, Miggy Acebedo-Kwan, Pompom Veloso, Vinson Nery, AJ Pelicano, Anthony Adlawan, Matthew Miñoza, Will Villaver, Coach Lito Ramos, Donald McNevin, Gabby Sungcad. MVP. AJ Pelicano, who headed in the winning goal in the finals, was named MVP of the Under 12 age group of the San Roque Football Fiesta. With him is his proud mother Tonet.