Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk November 2, 2008 Life After Death Yes, you read it right. Today’s topic is about life after death. After all, today is All Souls’ Day when we’re all encouraged to pray for all those who have moved on in life. We wish them well and that they all join our Creator in heaven in their life after death “careers.” But did you know that in sports, we also have a life after death situation for all athletes? But before you think of anything else, this is not about athletes dying per se, although we’ll all pass away in life. But if you look at it closely, athletes somehow “die” when their careers are over and need to do something productive for the rest of their lives, their lives after “athletic death.” One of the most interesting aspects of one’s career as an athlete is the so-called “what’s next” phase when his or her professional or sporting career is over. We hear so much about how athletes are at the peak or prime of their careers; how somehow their on top of the world and can...

Bleacher Talk October 26, 2008 CESAFI: Going Beyond Basketball Now that all the talk about the CESAFI basketball season has ended, it’s time to make an assessment of the season that just passed. Even if the tournament is already over, many questions still remain. Some are valid, and others are downright stupid. But the most valid question will always remain, “How can the CESAFI continue to boost its stock as the top collegiate league outside of Manila?” Like any product being sold in the commercial market, the CESAFI is more than just a basketball tournament. It’s the most unique basketball experience in Cebu whose influence and reach have taken it beyond the level of just being a mere game being played among eight basketball teams. It’s from this angle that we’ll take a peak at the CESAFI 2008 basketball season. On top of being a basketball tournament being played, it’s a brand with its own personality. It’s already a permanent fixture that’s intertwined with Cebu Basketball and can b...

Bleacher Talk October 19, 2008 Cebu Basketball on the Rebound The signs are of Cebu Basketball are indeed looking good. A quick review of what has happened since June is a good indicator of how far we’ve gone and how much more we can do in the future. The hands-down biggest story of local basketball would have to be the CESAFI 2008 season that topped all previous CESAFI basketball tournaments. The University of the Visayas (UV) Lancers won its eighth straight championship before full-house crowds through all four games of the series. The crowds were louder, rowdier and wilder this year, thanks primarily to the more balanced competition especially among the top five teams of the league. The UV-USC semifinals series and more elimination round games also filled up the Cebu Coliseum, something the league or Cebu as a whole hasn’t seen in a long time. The finals was such a hit that scalpers and makers of fake tickets made a killing. Greg Slaughter and Junmar Fajardo literally stood tall in ...

A Championship that Slipped Away One of the saddest parts of the CESAFI Championship series is how some just can’t seem to accept that UV won its eighth straight championship over USJR. Their top-of-mind reason is that the refs were behind UV’s championship. I think this is getting a bit too far. It’s rather odd that no credit is given to the Lancers and what they did to win the title. It’s as if the title was given to them on a silver platter. Don’t get me wrong. This corner bleeds for the Jaguars since they were considered as title favorites before the season started. The league could’ve benefited more if it had a CESAFI champion outside of the Lancers. But as they say in any sport, to win a championship, one has to literally take away the championship belt from the champion’s waist. And it won’t be easy as it’s tightly sealed, locked and well-defended. In USJR’s case, they just didn’t do enough to take that belt away. I think it’s best that we set aside discussions about the referee...

On to Bacolod for USC NC, SHSJ It’s on to Bacolod for the University of San Carlos North Campus (USC NC) and the Sacred Heart School Jesuit (SHSJ) as they topped the Small Basketeers Philippines (SBP) and Passerelle divisions, respectively, of the Cebu Milo BEST SBP/Passerelle twin basketball tournament over the weekend at the jam-packed Capitol Parish Gym. The Baby Warriors erased the stigma of finishing second last year by beating Don Bosco, 44-36, in the SBP division. The SHSJ Eagles won their first ever back-to-back championship in the history of the tournament with a nail-biting win over USC NC, 68-65. The SBP championship game was a nip and tuck affair through the first three quarters, with USC NC controlling the firs half, and Don Bosco dominating the third. USC NC enjoyed an 18-10 lead at the half, but Don Bosco came back to slice the lead to only one at 25-24, at the end of the third period. Don Bosco controlled the momentum at the start of the fourth quarter, taking a 30-28 l...

USC NC in Milo BEST Finals The University of San Carlos North Campus (USC NC) sent a message that they’re back as a serious contender in youth basketball by barging into the finals of both the SBP and Passerelle divisions of the Milo BEST SBP/Passerelle twin tournament Wednesday at the Capitol Parish Gym. USC NC nipped the University of Cebu (UC), 66-64 in overtime to arrange a showdown with defending champions Sacred Heart School-Jesuit in the Passerelle division, while their younger counterparts defeated sister school USC South Campus, 47-39, in the SBP division. The Baby Warriors leaned on the clutch performance of Michael Rita in overtime to fend off a fighting UC squad. With the score tied at 59-all, Harvey Palapar calmly sank two free throws for a 61-59 lead. After a UC turnover, Rita took over by adding a drive to up the lead to four, 63-59. He then added three more free throws to ice the game. Ahlen Kikuchi led USC with 13 points, followed by Rita’s 11. In the other Passerelle ...