Bleacher Talk

Bleacher Talk May 23, 2010 ALA International Sounds like a new airline company, doesn’t it? In a way, ALA’s like an airline company; starting with value/low fare domestic flights, but now venturing to new heights. When the ALA Promotions team went to Dubai to bring a set of boxers to fill up a card, we had analyzed that something was brewing. Little did we know that after the Dubai trip came the announcement that ALA was going international. International? But aren’t they already international sending their boxers to fight in Dubai, Vegas, Mexico and LA? I guess this wasn’t “international” enough in their eyes because here they are now venturing to become an international boxing promotions/management team. Don’t look now, but it looks like they have plans of making it even bigger. By international, you’re talking about the likes of Top Rank and Golden Boy. In the Asian scene, Teiken Promotions of Akihito Honda of Japan would be the benchmark although most of their projects are in Japan...

Bleacher Talk May 16, 2010 Milo BEST Did you know that there are two events in May that have become an annual tradition? Aside from the Fiestas of May, also standing out is the Milo backed BEST basketball clinic better known as “Milo BEST.” The Milo BEST is actually a partnership between two leaders in their respective fields. For the past three decades, this has stood out as a benchmark and icon in youth basketball. When one talks about summer clinics for basketball, Milo BEST is always a top-of-mind mention among basketball afficionados. It’s only apt that Milo tied up with the BEST Center for its basketball clinics. It’s a perfect match between a market leader in the chocolate drink industry, and a pioneer/leader in the realm of basketball clinics/training in the Basketball Efficiency and Scientific (BEST) Training Center. Milo has always been known as the “Olympic Energy Drink” and has been associated with sports for as long as it has been in the market. If you pick up a Milo produ...

Bleacher Talk May 9, 2010 Vote Each time an elections takes place, I’m not too sure how to feel. Do I feel hopeful that our next leaders will lead us to happier days? Or will it all be the same? Just a show of promises that will be left unkept? It can be frustrating listening to politicians make the same pitches, promises and guarantees but what you get when they’re in office is a totally different thing. But then again, there’s always hope. And before I can throw more criticisms, we’ll have to take a look at our own backyard of sports. I’m afraid I can’t say that the sports world is much better off than politics. Unfortunately, the sports world is probably just as messy as the national politics scene with all the in-fighting, back-stabbing and vested interests. At the Palarong Pambansa in Tarlac which I had the chance to witness as a spectator and as a parent, I saw a not so pleasant scene among our sports leaders. There was a city that gave allowances to their athletes. Good news, or...

Bleacher Talk May 2, 2010 Taking Care of Athletes They say that half of the job (or even more) in producing top-quality athletes comes from what happens behind the scenes of an athlete’s life. His or her performance out there on the field is a reflection of how well cared for he/she is when off the court. In the recent months, we’ve had the chance to take a peek at the way athletes have been either pampered or treated shabbily. Unknown to many, the Philippine 14-Under football team is quietly training at the Don Bosco Boys Home in Liloan for an upcoming tournament in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The country’s best 13 and 14 year old football players are camped out in Liloan under the strict watch of the national team coaching staff led by Oliver Colina. The more interesting footnote to this is that the Cebu Amateur Football Club (CAFC) is reportedly financing the training of the team while here in Cebu. On paper, it all sounds good, doesn’t it? But some things don’t seem right. Don’t get m...

Bleacher Talk April 25, 2010 Boxing Upgrade There’s good news and bad news for Cebu Boxing. The good news is that the ALA Group has broken ground and become the first Pinoy group to stage a boxing event in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Last Friday, Milan Melindo, Boom Boom Bautista and Larry Canillas all won by knock-out to formally announce that Cebu Boxing has landed in Dubai. The bad news is that with this latest venture into co-promoting fight cards abroad, it looks like the ALA Team might have more of these and less of local events (for obvious reasons), but we’ll dwell on this later. We can all remember how Cebu Boxing was supposed to have been part of a big Dubai card featuring Nonito Donaire and Donnie Nietes defending their world championships around a year ago (or two?). But due to a few snags here and there, the event never took place and instead made Donaire and Nietes idle, something they didn’t need. There was so much hype, enthusiasm and anticipation for the big eve...

Bleacher Talk April 11, 2010 Summer Sports (Again) Summer will always be known as the time of the year for children to get into other things outside of their academic interests. And the most popular way to spend a productive summer is by attending summer sports clinics. This annual tradition dates back to way back in history when the rise of the so called summer leagues and clinics were held. And this year isn’t any different. Cebu alone is already “loaded” with so many sports clinics covering different sporting events. The more popular clinics will always be for basketball. If you’re looking for where to send your son, most of the clinics started last week but it’s never too late to catch up especially for the clinics that will run through the whole month of April and even May. The most logical starting point on where to enroll your child will always be his/her school. All schools with basketball programs have summer clinics. The bigger schools would be the likes of Sacred Heart Schoo...

Bleacher Talk March 28, 2010 A Bill Bradley in our Midst? It’s election time once again and the candidates are off and running, from those running for President all the way down to those running for local spots in the council. You have the usual “trapos” or traditional politicians, the young turks on the rise, and dreamers with no chances of winning. Somewhere along this mix are those in sports. Since the elections are also recognized to be a popularity contest of sorts, people from the fields of showbiz and sports also throw their hats into the action. Everyone knows how Manny Pacquiao is bent on becoming the only seven-time world champion and Congressman at the same time. On a “smaller” note, the likes of Franz Pumaren (for Quezon City Congressman), Yayoy Alcoseba (Cebu City Councilor), Boy Cabahug (for Provincial Board) and many more have made that switch from the hardcourt to run for the halls of politics. But why are they running for office? Are they there just because they’re su...

Bleacher Talk March 14, 2010 When Stars Collide Attending awards nights or awarding ceremonies has become a routine practice for sportswriters. They’ve attended so many awarding ceremonies in their lives whether this happen on a basketball court, on top a boxing ring or at the athletics oval. They’ll also be secretive to admit that some of these have gotten to be boring and dragging. But what happens when stars collide? What happens when you gather the best athletes of Cebu Sports under one roof to recognize their amazing achievements? Thursday night was something special for the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) at the 28th SAC-San Miguel Beer (SMB) Cebu Sports Awards where the SAC gave recognition to the best of the best of 2009 coming from the different sporting events which has made Cebu Sports so rich. But unlike previous SAC-SMB Awards nights, Thursday was something else. It was something different. Never before have we gained so much from attending a simple dinner banquet ...

Bleacher Talk March 7, 2010 Following Pacman? While there is no doubt that Manny Pacquiao is the only show in town for Philippine boxing, boxing fans are eager to find out who among the country’s world-beaters could be an heir apparent to the Pacman. And if we are to look at the month that just passed, I’m not sure if there were any clear indications of a good find. Nonito Donaire did a great job of dismantling Manuel Vargas, but while I don’t want to take anything away from Donaire, we all know that this wasn’t a legitimate fight that could elevate Donaire to a higher level. Vargas was a last-minute replacement for original opponent Gerson Guerrero who failed the pre-fight medical exam. Note that Vargas was the same fighter who lost to Donnie Nietes for the WBO minimumweight championship. Vargas fought Nietes at 105 pounds, then suddenly “went up” to 115 pounds on a three-day notice. Moreover, Vargas flunked a post-fight drug test, an indication that he may not have been fit to fight,...

Bleacher Talk February 28, 2010 Youth Ball 2010 Only two months of the year have passed and so much has already taken place in Cebu Basketball. The good news is that it’s not all about commercial or pro ball. While we get the usual dose of the NBA and PBA on TV and the news, Cebu has been busy with age group basketball to start off the year. And although this doesn’t attract as much fanfare as those of the big boys, we all know how crucial this is for the future of Cebu Basketball. Coming to a close today is the ML Kwarta Padala (MLKP) Cup of the Cebu Youth Basketball League or CYBL. Using all of February’s weekends and a dose of holidays, the MLKP Cup started off the year with the goal of kicking off Cebu Basketball’s activities where they should practically start: age group hoops. The league features three age groups: 16, 13 and 10 Under, involving 21 teams playing for some nine schools. In today’s championship games, the University of San Carlos (USC) South Campus and Sacred Heart S...

Bleacher Talk February 21, 2010 More Than a Champion If you saw the convoy that welcomed and accompanied him on the way to Mandaue and eventually to Banilad, you would’ve thought that a Presidentiable candidate was in town. But there were no wang-wangs or an unusual presence of armed men playing the role of bodyguards. The convoy was a mix of the black SUV’s of the ALA Boxing Gym and a host of motorcycles, Multicabs and other ordinary-looking cars that you don’t see at parades or motorcades. No, it wasn’t the arrival of Many Pacquiao or any other Pinoy world champ. It was the arrival of more than a champ; it was no less than Cebu Boxing’s loved one, Z “The Dream” Gorres. Though he didn’t return as a world champion, Gorres has proven that one doesn’t have to be a world champ to gain the admiration of the boxing family. There’s no need to get into the details of how his last fight ended. But the most amazing aspect about his situation is how he will now serve as an instrument to bring ab...

Bleacher Talk February 7, 2010 ML Kwarta Padala and CYBL 2010 Cebu Basketball’s calendar of activities is off to a flying start with the games of the CESAFI Partners Cup and National Basketball Training Center (NBTC). Both leagues showcase Cebu’s best collegiate and high school teams, and are stepping stones towards a possible career in basketball. And today, the calendar just got busier with the launch of the Cebu Youth Basketball League’s (CYBL) ML Kwarta Padala Cup. But what’s the difference among the three tournaments? It’s all about ages and the way these are designed to help Cebu Basketball. The CESAFI collegiate division handles players between 18 to 24 years old, while CESAFI high school teams are composed of players 18 and below. Meanwhile, the NBTC is a national tournament featuring players between 16-18 years old. And to complete the whole picture, the CYBL features players in three age groups: 16-Under, 13-Under, and 10-Under. Welcome to Cebu Basketball: grassroots and yout...

Bleacher Talk February 14, 2010 CVIRAA Experience Every time the months of February or March come around, just when students get into the final stretch of the schoolyear, the region hits its peak period of the sports calendar. This is when over 6,000 athletes coming from the different divisions of the Department of Education (DEPED) get together for the games of the annual CVIRAA or Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association. The CVIRAA 2010 ends today in Danao City, with favorite Cebu City bagging the over-all championship (expectedly). And so another year has passed and all the athletes go back to their respective hometowns, bringing with them tons of experiences and a more mature outlook towards sports. The CVIRAA and all the other regional meets across the country is an experience that all athletes should go through. At every meet, an athlete is there not only for the sports part per se, but one gets to experience a whole lot more. By tagging along with athletes from other schoo...

Bleacher Talk January 31, 2010 Boxing 2010 Start The start of local boxing was a mix of good and bad news. The good news is that Milan Melindo and AJ “Bazooka” Banal started out the year with impressive wins over foreign opponents. The bad news is that Brian Viloria lost his IBF light flyweight championship to Carlos Tamarra of Colombia. More good news came in the form of Jimrex Jaca’s knock-out win in his comeback campaign. And some not so good news is Jason Pagara’s unpopular majority decision win over his most recent foe. And even more good news is that Z Gorres is slowly but surely making progress, having moved out of the hospital and now undergoing therapy. And how can we “forget” that Manny Pacquiao has “forgotten” Floyd Mayweather and has now set his sights on Joshua Clottey? All of this happened in January alone. Not bad for a start, no? If this were to be a prelude of 2010, it looks like a rough road ahead for boxing with a good mix of ups and downs. We just hope there’ll be m...

SHSJ Wins RIFA Cup Winning the RIFA Cup of the Rizal Football Association is getting to be a habit for the Sacred Heart School Jesuit (SHSJ) boys 97 football team. The SHSJ 12-Under football team won its fourth RIFA Cup championship in five years over the weekend, defeating Del Monte of Bukidnon, 1-0 in the finals of the boys born 1997 age group at the Ateneo de Manila High School football field. SHSJ kicked off its elimination round on a high note with a 1-0 win over defending champion and 2009 tormentor Southridge. This set the tone for the rest of the games in the elimination round where they went undefeated. The scores of their other games were 4-1 over Ateneo de Davao, 1-0 over Colegio de San Agustin, 8-0 over Binan-Laguna, and a draw with HEDCEN. Topping the group, they defeated Ateneo de Manila in the semifinals, 3-1. Del Monte topped Xavier in the other semifinal match, paving the way for the championship game between the out-of-towners. This is the fourth RIFA Cup championshi...

Bleacher Talk January 24, 2010 Cebu Basketball 2010 Cebu Basketball in 2010? Anything new? Any breakthroughs or extraordinary thing happening? These are the questions that I always ask myself each time I try to look forward to another year of basketball. Unfortunately for this year, I don’t see any of these happening. For starters, it sure looks like another dominating year for the M. Lhuillier ballclub. Representing ML Kwarta Padala/Cebu in the Liga Pilipinas, another championship is almost a guaranty even before the season kicks off. There is simply is no match for Jewelers/Niños out there. That’s how strong they are, and stronger they’ll get as this early, they continue to strengthen their team with more reinforcements. The big question now is if any other team out there can come close to overcoming the Niños. The only real opponent of the team will actually be themselves, especially if complacency sets in. I’m sure Coach Yayoy A...

Bleacher Talk January 17, 2010 Running Success!!! The gauge of a great movie is how much talk it generates after people have seen it. To this day, movie fans still talk about the “Star Wars” series and other blockbuster movies. The same can be said about big sports events. People will always be in awe when talking about Manny Pacquiao’s last fights against Miguel Cotto, Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya. While we may not be able to generate events that will match the post-event talk levels of “Star Wars” or a Paquiao fight, Cebu can stand proud and brag about big sports events that we host with great success. We’ve had success at hosting world championship fights in boxing, thanks to ALA Promotions. We’ve also had successful runs of hosting dancesport competitions, practical shooting and a few events of the Southeast Asian Games a few years back. For the record, we can now proudly add another event to this list: the Cebu City Marath...

Bleacher Talk January 10, 2010 Running in 2010 Running is going to be THE “in” thing in 2010. And with May fast approaching, we’re going to be bombarded with news about all those who are running this year. But don’t get confused. For the record, there are two types of 2010 runners. We have the runners who’ll be doing it for the noble purpose: for their health, and getting in shape. We also have another set of runners who say they’re doing it for “noble” reasons. Wow. Just imagine if all of them and their noble goals would actually be achieved, we’d be better off as a country! So as we start the year, we’d like to pose this interesting question, “Which type or group of ‘runners’ is going to achieve its respective goals, and make a difference for themselves or for the country this year?” Cebu’s running scene blasted off at 4am today at the Cebu City Marathon (CCM), a footrace that features a 42K, 21K and 5K run which have drawn over 3...

Bleacher Talk January 3, 2010 Cebu Boxing Wishes for 2010 So what’s in store for Cebu Boxing in 2010? For starters, Cebu’s current crop of world champions will hold on to their belts. Donnie Nietes starts the year off on January 23 when he defends his WBO minimumweight championship for the fourth time. Nietes is the most underrated champion among the country’s world champions and doesn’t even get half of the attention of what the likes of Brian Viloria and Nonito Donaire are receiving. For 2010, my wish for Nietes is that he gets more recognition and respect from sports fans and the media. WBC light flyweight champion Rodel Mayol will also hold off a Mexican challenger (possible Omar Niño) in his first title defense. My 2010 wish for Mayol is that he takes on an even more focused and determined mindset towards boxing, and not give in to complacency. If he puts his heart into it, he’ll be good enough to last as champ for at least two years. Interim WBO light flyweight champion Johnriel ...

Bleacher Talk December 27, 2009 Biggest Wins, Events of 2009 It’s time to recall the biggest achievements and events of 2009. These are not in any specific order but they surely made their impact in local sports. Cebu Boxing was the biggest newsmaker for the local sports family in 2009 for giving the country three world champions. Donnie Nietes (WBO minimumweight champion), Rodel Mayol (WBC light flyweight champion) and brand new interim WBO light flyweight champion Johnriel Casimero stand out for dominating and proving that Cebu can win at the world level. Casimero was the latest addition to the list after stunning former world champion Cesar Canchila via an 11th round TKO in Nicaragua last Sunday. Mayol and Casimero are new additions to the list of world champs for winning their titles this year while Nietes has been a world champ since 2007. The rest of Cebu boxing will surely count on the achievements of the three world champs as we have more potential world champs just biding thei...

Bleacher Talk December 20, 2009 Boxing Year-ender 2009 Cebu boxing will best be remembered for a mix of ups and downs First, the good news. Of the country’s five current world champions, two are products of Cebu boxing. Donnie Nietes is the WBO minimumweight world champion while Rodel Mayol recently won the WBC light flyweight championship. We already know that Manny Pacquiao is the country’s top gun, with Fil-Am Brian Viloria (IBF light flyweight) and Nonito Donaire (WBA Interim superflyweight) as the country’s other world champions. Two out of five isn’t bad at all. No other place can claim such as record. For the third year in a row, Nietes started and will end the year as a world champion. He is one of the most underrated Pinoy world champions who doesn’t get the same attention as the other world champs. But after going through what he had to this year, maybe sports fans will finally recognize him. He had to the tough task of defending his title not once, but twice on hostile terri...