Bleacher Talk

Sacred Heart Wins RIFA Cup The Sacred Heart School Jesuit (SHSJ) Boys 97 football team defeated Colegio de San Agustin (CSA), 3-1, in a penalty shoot-out to win the Rizal Football Association’s RIFA Cup 2008 at the CSA football field in Makati over the weekend. The game ended in a 1-all tie at the end of regulation period, and SHSJ needed to rely on their penalty kicks for the second straight year to defend their crown. CSA scored first in the first half of regulation, but the Eagles retaliated through JM Acebedo-Kwan’s penalty kick after Kiko Villamor was fouled by a CSA defender in the penalty area late in the game. Acebedo-Kwan’s goal not only found the back of the net, but more importantly lifted the spirits of the Eagles, enabling them to gain back the momentum they had lost after finding themselves down 0-1, going into the end-game. Acebedo-Kwan, Jerby Bernaldez and tournament MVP Villamor made sure that there wouldn’t be any doubt to the outcome as they nailed their respective k...

Bleacher Talk January 27, 2008 NBTC Call it good timing or providential, but the launch of the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) took place two days after the feast of the Sto. Niño. And the common denominator here is celebrating and recognizing the value of the youth. No less than BAP-SBP Executive Director Pato Gregorio welcomed and introduced 38 teen-agers who will compose the NBTC’s first batch of trainees under the eyes of the program’s national head Eric Altamirano and Cebu’s head trainer Ramon Fernandez. The importance of starting our national team program from the grassroots and the youth has always been neglected in the past, but with its launch, the NBTC might just be what the country needs to produce competitive national teams in the future. The NBTC is composed of two sets of players according to their ages. The younger set is for those 14-15 years old while the other is made up of 16-17 year old boys. All of them will train together under a 60-hour program that wi...

Bleacher Talk January 20, 2008 Organized Mess It’s organized. It’s a mess. It’s confusing. It’s boggling. But you know what? It will be all good for basketball. What a way to start the basketball year. A year after the unity congress for basketball was organized and the two sides of this family problem were supposed to have kissed and made up, here we are back to square one. Or so it might seem. Right here in Cebu’s collegiate scene alone, we have four tournaments out to collar Cebu’s best collegiate teams. Off and running are the CESAFI Partners Cup and the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA). On deck is the upcoming Hotel Fortuna Cup tentatively set to start on Tuesday and the BAP’s National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC) from February 26-March 2, another two leagues for collegiate basketball. And if that weren’t enough, we also have the regional and national legs of the PRISAA tournament. So when is enough really enough? We have three major entities featuring colleg...

Bleacher Talk January 13, 2008 Cebu Boxing in 2008 This early, it’s already obvious that 2008 is going to be great for Cebu Boxing. If there were to be a theme for the year, then it would be something along the lines of Cebu stamping itself as the country’s true hotbed of boxing and serving as the country’s top boxing “exporter” to the world. Cebu Boxing is no longer a local brand. It’s global. Cebu Boxing is starting out the year with two Cebu-bred world champions in WBO bantamweight champ Gerry Peñalosa and WBO miniflyweight champ Donnie Nietes. Although many expected another set of names to become world champs in 2007, the two proved that they too, deserve our attention. They may not be as popular as the likes of Manny Pacquiao, Boom Boom Bautista and AJ Banal, but what counts most is that they have the belts that the others don’t. Both Gerry and Donnie should weather through all the storms in 2008 and finish the year unscathed. Gerry will defeat Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in his first ...

Bleacher Talk January 6, 2008 Basketball in 2008 What do we expect to see in Cebu Basketball in 2008? It looks like the year will be the same as 2007. Don’t expect major changes or surprising things to happen. I’m not sure if this is good or bad for local basketball, but what bothers me is that we seem to be getting stagnant in terms of development. If there’s something we would like to see in 2008, it’s the “upgrading” of Cebu Basketball to a higher level amidst the total Philippine outlook. It’s crystal ball time so let’s see what will happen this year. For starters, our basketball leaders will remain to be the same. The Michel Lhuillier – Yayoy Alcoseba team will still remain to be the region’s leaders at the BAP-SBP, while Lorenzo “Chao” Sy will hold on to his post as the BAP-SBP’s Director for Cebu. The CESAFI will still have Engr. Rolly Villa as President, but the big question is if Commissioner Felix “Boy” Tiukinhoy will push through with his resignation when the CESAFI 07-08 se...