Bleacher Talk

SHS-J WINS A GOLD & 2 BRONZES AT RIFA CUP Makati - The Sacred Heart School Jesuit (SHSJ) football teams snatched a championship and two third place finishes at the RIFA Cup held at the Colegio de San Agustin (CSA) campus in Makati over the weekend. The SHSJ Boys 97 team won the Boys 1997 age group with a nail-biting 3-2 win over PAREF Southridge via penalty shoo-out. The SHSJ Boys 95 and 96 teams copped third place in their respective age groups to assure the three-team delegation of a podium finish in the school’s first-ever trip to the RIFA Cup. The championship match ended in a scoreless draw although SHSJ controlled the tempo of the match and had more shots on goal. The Cebuanos bungled two close scoring opportunities and had to settle for the draw and a penalty shoot-out to decide the championship. Both teams were tied at 2-all at the end of the penalty shoot-out of three kickers per team. JM Acebedo-Kwan and Kiko Villamor delivered the goods for SHSJ. This set the stage for a...

Bleacher Talk January 28, 2007 Dayo Have you ever heard of the term “dayo”? Unknown to many fans, it’s actually a common term in sports. “Dayo” refers to a visiting team or athlete who travels to compete in a place away from his home turf. Although it traces its roots from Tagalog, it’s also accepted here in the South. I find the topic interesting especially today as three football teams of the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit (SHS-J) compete for the first time in school history in the RIFA Cup that is being held at the Colegio de San Agustin (CSA) campus in Makati. SHS-J is competing in three age groups: boys born 1995, 1996 and 1997. The 1996 team played yesterday while the 1995 and 1997 teams play today. Traveling to play in different places is nothing new. The most popular and recognized version of the dayo concept is the NBA’s home-and-away format as well as the one practiced in big league football in Europe. Boxing is also another classic case where a hometown hero is always pitted aga...

Bleacher Talk Jan. 21, 2007 Gold Mine of Sports Every time the feast of the Sto. Niño comes around, we are always reminded about one of the most important elements of a successful sports program: the youth. If you evaluate the current state of sports in the country and analyze why our ASEAN neighbors and the rest of the world have left us behind, one glaring missing link sticks out like a sore thumb. The country does not have a true and genuine national sports program for the youth that could’ve served as the foundation and source of the country’s world-beaters today and beyond. Let’s face it. Everyone talks about winning that first-ever gold medal at the Olympics. We all want to see more of the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Paeng Nepomuceno, and Efren “Bata” Reyes. There’s definitely nothing wrong with dreaming big, but shouldn’t these dreams be backed up by a strong sense of urgency to get things done? If you look at the most successful sports in the world, you can’t help but notice that ...

Bleacher Talk Jan 14, 2007 Basketball 2007: Make a Stand! The biggest story for Basketball 2007 will be the continuing and never-ending drama behind the thrust to unite the basketball family of the country under the new organization Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). Just as we thought that everything was resolved and moving in the right direction when both Pilipinas Basketball (PB) and the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) agreed to bury the hatchet and unite, we now seem to be headed nowhere. And it looks like we’ll remain suspended by FIBA, basketball’s ruling organization. At this point, it doesn’t look like the BAP plans to honor the unity agreement that was forged by both parties in Japan with no less than the top brass of the FIBA in attendance. With its recent sacking of its own President in Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, the BAP has proven again that it isn’t going to take things sitting down and will not allow itself to be pushed around by the SBP or proponents of PB...

Bleacher Talk Jan. 7, 2007 Cebu Boxing 2007 If boxing in 2006 was all about progress for Cebu Boxing and obviously the stature of Philippine Boxing in the international arena, expect 2007 to be even better. 2006 was the year for Cebu to be finally declared to the boxing world and media that the country's world-class boxers come from this island in the Pacific (and nearby BoholI should add). It was the year of seeing Gerry Peñalosa, Randy Suico, Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista, Z Gorres, Jimrex Jaca, Caesar Amonsot and Along Denoy carrying the tri-colors of the country on top of the square rings of Las Vegasand other parts of the U.S.Others who should be mentioned include Abe Concepcion of Binangonan and Diosdadi Gabi of Davao. So what will happen in 2007? A lot! 2007 will still see this success being sustained, with the country's best continuing to make us proud in the international scene, albeit in different ways. For a slow start, the country's biggest draw, Manny Pac...